![]() This culminated in the 1660 Stuart Restoration, when Charles II returned to the throne, after which Cromwell's body was removed from its resting place in Westminster Abbey and displayed at Tyburn. In December 1653, he was named Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, a position he retained until his death in September 1658, when he was succeeded by his son Richard, whose weakness led to a power vacuum. He quickly demonstrated his military abilities and in 1645 was appointed commander of the New Model Army cavalry under Sir Thomas Fairfax, playing a key role in defeating the Royalists in the First and Second English Civil Wars.įollowing the death of Charles I and exile of his son, military victories in Ireland and against the Scots from 1649 to 1651 firmly established the Commonwealth and Cromwell's dominance of the new republican regime. In 1640, Cromwell was returned as MP for Cambridge in the Short and Long Parliaments, and joined the Parliamentarian army when the First English Civil War began in August 1642. While he generally supported tolerance for the various Protestant sects of the time, he later opposed those he considered heretical, such as Quakers and Fifth Monarchists. He became a religious Independent in the 1630s and thereafter believed his successes were the result of Divine providence. Įducated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, Cromwell was elected MP for Huntingdon in 1628, but the first 40 years of his life were undistinguished and at one point he contemplated emigration to New England. Selected 10th in a 2002 BBC poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, he nevertheless remains a deeply controversial figure in both Britain and Ireland, due to his use of the military to first acquire, then retain political power, and the brutality of his 1649 Irish campaign. A leading advocate of the Execution of Charles I in January 1649, which led to the establishment of the Republican Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, he ruled as Lord Protector from December 1653 until his death in September 1658. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, first as a senior commander in the Parliamentarian army and then as a politician. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 – 3 September 1658) was a member of the landed gentry from Huntingdonshire who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |