The second-last phase of his life was Ireland. After the execution of Charles in September 11th 1649, he ordered the conquest of Ireland, massacring civilians at Drogheda and Wexford, and the remaining population was constrained by the Act of Settlement in 1653. “His troops massacred nearly everyone in the garrison and the town - which Cromwell justified as the "righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous wretches". -*6
The final phase of Cromwell’s life was as a Ruler. In 1653, Cromwell dissolved Parliament and became Lord Protector and in 1657, he rejected Parliament's offer of the crown and remained Lord Protector. In 1657 Cromwell was offered the crown, but Cromwell rejected it. He rejected his crown due to many problems.
First of all, you have to realize that Cromwell was first and foremost a religiously devout man. He was what might be called a Fundamentalist in today's church. Cromwell believed in God a lot, *7- ‘He believed God had rewarded him for his struggles.’ Here is a part of a letter that Cromwell wrote to Oliver St. John-“ I have a lovely company. They are honest Christians.” These two following quotes show us that Cromwell was a military genius and had well disciplined men: ‘I would rather have a plain-coated captain who know what he is fighting for, and loves what he knows, than a rich gentleman.’ And this quote is taken from a newspaper published by Parliament-‘If a man swears, he pays 12 pence. If anyone is drunk, he is set in the stocks or worse.” It should be obvious that Cromwell was a brilliant commander, after the fact that only 300 soldiers died on the Parliamentarian side, while 4000 royalist soldiers were killed. After the war, Cromwell told parliament-“This is the hand of God, and to Him alone belongs the glory”, once again this shows us that Cromwell was very Godly. It was a remarkable achievement for a man who probably had no military experience before 1642. Cromwell consistently attributed his military success to God's will. Historians point to his personal courage and skill, to his care in training and equipping his men and to the tight discipline he imposed both on and off the battlefield. Cromwell was strict and stern, but his newly trained, hand picked cavalry, the Ironsides, won battles and finally the war. These were crusaders not seen in England for hundreds of years. They were True Believers.
Now in the death of Charles, Cromwell had signed 3rd on the document that Charles should be executed. Nevertheless, there were reasons for it: Firstly, the King had lost 2 wars. According to Cromwell, God might have made Charles lose, and thus, God wanted Charles to die. The second reason is that Charles could not be trusted, because he talked peace before but then he deceived the ordinary people and started another war. He could do it again. These two reasons show that Charles did not want to kill Charles for power, but for peace. ‘The action of putting the King on trial may be seen as justified or evil and tyrannical.’ -*8. Nevertheless, Cromwell believed that he was killing a traitor who had previously betrayed parliament by abandoning democracy, and that he was delivering the country from the evil of Charles. In ways, Charles’ trial was fair, although the outcome was almost definite even before the trial had started. A judge and a jury were present in the trial and Charles was allowed to speak for a limited time. Here is a quote from the speech that Cromwell spoke at the Parliament –“When it was first suggested that the King should be put on trial for treason. I thought anyone who agreed was the greatest traitor in the world, but since God’s will and necessity said it was right.”
In 1647 he shot some Levellers. Levellers were people who wanted to be equal with everyone else. Some their ideas were to: vote for elections, slaves need freedom and they needed equal land. Anyways, the MP’s rejected their ideas and the Levellers got angry. There were some rumors that they were planning to seize power. Cromwell thought that some of the ideas were good for example: Protestants should have freedom to worship God. However, the new republic could never survive without the landowners. Colonel Rich said “Servants will try to destroy their masters if they are equal voters.”-*9. They hated the Levellers. Now, this shows us that there is a big problem if Levellers were allowed to vote and elect, then the landowners might leave, consequently, there might not be any support for the country, and wars might be inevitable. Levellers were in the New Model Army, and helped Cromwell gain power. In 1649, Cromwell executed the Levellers outside a church. There are different views as to whether this was justified or not. Some historians say this was the right thing for Cromwell to have done and it was completely vindicated. They say the Levellers ideas were far too radical and would have therefore caused chaos. Cromwell’s views were slightly different – he believed that letting the levellers have their way would have undermined his authority and position. Cromwell also thought that equality for everyone would make criminals and wrongdoers demand too much from the country.
The Drogheda incident might have been the most controversial matter, but anyways here is a brief description of what might have happened: “His troops massacred nearly everyone in the garrison and the town - which Cromwell justified as the "righteous judgment of God upon these barbarous wretches" -*10 During the English Civil War Cromwell had heard terrible stories from Protestants in Ireland. He heard that Catholics committed horrible cruelties such as cutting off people’s hands and feet and beating women’s brains with poles. That is why he wanted to get revenge on the Irish. . In this matter, (he says) that he acted on God’s behalf. Cromwell was also taking revenge because the Irish has “English Protestant blood on their hands”. Cromwell also said that he acted by the rules of war and takes responsibility on what happened. Cromwell was also greeted as a hero after the massacre. All of the three sources say that Cromwell gave a chance to surrender. In 1649, the Irish Catholics lead a rebellion against Cromwell. He and the Parliamentary army were sent to Ireland to stop them. Cromwell and his army won battles and restored order, and the army of Drogheda surrendered when hunger forced them to. This is seen by many historians to be a heroic thing to have done to save Parliament and to prevent Charles II from taking over. The Catholics were Cromwell’s enemies anyway and had been continually revolting since 1641. Cromwell believed he had no choice – he was sent to Ireland by Parliament for a duty and it had to be carried out. He thought he also had God on his side at the battle of Drogheda.
After this, in 1657, some MP’s asked him to be King. Cromwell took time for his decisions, but he felt that God, himself had destroyed the title. This shows us that Cromwell was a very godly person. One hundred officers told Cromwell that it was not pleasing to his army, because it was dangerous to him and it could make way for Charles Stuart. Also, General Fleetwood and Colonel Desborough that those offered him the crown were Charles Stuarts’ friends. Cromwell rejected the offer, and in my opinion he did a very outstanding thing that no one probably has ever done. When Cromwell was Lord Protector of the Kingdom, England was very peaceful and became godlier. This shows us he was a very good King. In some ways, this was believed to be a positive step forward for Cromwell. Cromwell nobly turned down the crown as he knew his army would not forgive him for doing this after they fought for a democratic society. At this time, the country was in desperate need of a successful leader as the many previous methods of ruling and parliament had all failed in one way or another. This desperate time called for the desperate measure of Cromwell being appointed Lord Protector. This was Cromwell’s middle ground between a monarchy and a Parliament to try to please both Parliamentarians and Royalists. Cromwell felt that a parliament alone didn’t let him rule as well as he could have, causing him to accept this position; and this did in fact create some stability in the country.
Many people have said that Cromwell was a killjoy. But, he was not one. Cromwell played practical jokes on women on a party and he loved dancing and singing. He took part in signing a treaty to ban Christmas and Easter. Now, this was probably a big loss, but Cromwell thought that the Church should be based on the Bible. In 1658, Cromwell died, and was given a hero’s funeral.
On the other hand, some of the things Cromwell did were villainous. He left London for Cambridge in July to raise soldiers for Parliament. Cambridge University was sending money to help the King. Cromwell and his soldiers stopped them. This was very dangerous. Charles did not declare war and Cromwell was creating treason. “As a soldier, he might be guilty of nepotism, favoring certain people and promoting common people, as many were on his side.”-*11 The fact that he had many peasants on his side, unskilled in fighting, provokes the argument that it was numbers, not skill that won him the war. Cromwell himself was in fact just a farmer before the civil war, thus causing people to doubt his ability as a general. But success against the King made Cromwell many enemies during the war, almost canceling out the allies he made. Therefore interpretations of Cromwell as a military leader differ because he did things that may be seen as good or bad, like the defeating of the King’s army. He believed strongly in the rights of poor people and did not use nobles just because of their position. So there were both good and bad points relating to Cromwell and the New Model Army.
During the trial of the King, the King was still popular with the people of his kingdom. However, Cromwell wanted to be popular, so that could be one reason why he signed the treaty. No one has ever put a King on trial. So Cromwell is a traitor. Also, God, to rule the country, puts Kings and Cromwell probably wanted the throne for himself. Most historians say that Oliver Cromwell persuaded a lot of people that Charles I should be executed. “Cromwell was 3rd to sign on the treaty, this shows us he wanted the throne as quickly as possible.” -*12 is a quotation telling us what Cromwell said at the trial of King Charles: “I tell you we will cut off his head with the crown upon it.” This shows that Cromwell was a cruel MP, and that he was a villain. A trial for treason has to be the traitor against the monarchy. In this instance, the traitor was the King, hence making this a trial against himself. There are arguments that this shouldn’t have been allowed and wasn’t fair. Although the judge and jury were present, they were all parliamentarians and therefore biased. In addition, a judgment and a punishment cannot be made without the defendants plead of guilty or innocent. Charles didn’t plead, so his trial could be seen as unfair. Charles believed in the Divine Right of Kings, saying he had been chosen by God to be the ruler and King of England. His execution would therefore be the murder of God’s anointed monarch. Cromwell’s original aim of the civil war was to remove the king’s advisors, so the murder of the King is a little confusing. This may have just been part of a plan to get Cromwell power of the country. Consequently, Cromwell maybe seen as a hero or a villain as the trial was fair and unfair in different senses.
Cromwell decided that he wanted to be Lord Protector, because he wanted to be King, but at the same time he did not want to lose support of his army. So that is why he chose to be Lord Protector, and not for the sake that he wanted to protect his country and people. During his rule, he insulted the Prestige of the Parliament and closed it down, and people no longer had a voice. He also took all of the power of a King. This shows us that he might have closed Parliament down purposely and for the sake of power. He also wore royal robes just like a King, when he was not one; this shows us that he acted as a King, but under a different title. Here is a description of Cromwell’s investiture: “As he entered Westminister Hall. His highness was dressed in a robe of purple velvet lined with ermine, being the dress used at the investiture of princes.” -*13 He was apparently disliked at the time because he didn’t do the things people wanted, which included making Britain Puritan which meant canceling Christmas and taking away entertainment; but he lived in luxury, which was against Puritan beliefs and principles. Some views implied he mimicked kingship, thus killing the King only for another, but he wasn’t “God’s anointed leader”. Although the army despised him, he had to use them to rule the country to enforce law, making him seem a bully and a dictator. Therefore, Cromwell can be seen as a hero in this respect because of the good he did as Lord Protector, and by first stabilizing the country after the Kings execution. This was probably the most successful of Cromwell’s systems to rule the country, although none of them were as successful as a monarchy. Cromwell can also be seen as a villain because of the unwanted Puritan laws he enforced upon the population of England. He also still enforced laws without the approval of Parliament, as he didn’t get on well with them, although he first led the Parliamentarians to stop this.
In the Levellers’ problem, he thought that ordinary people should not be involved in politics. Now that is totally unfair. He wanted the power for himself. He also shot Levellers for mutiny and arrested them for treason. It was wrong to execute the Levellers, as they had been loyal and fought for him in the New Model Army. Without their help, Cromwell wouldn’t have got very far as his army wouldn’t have been much without them. The levellers helped put Cromwell in a position to change how the country was ruled, and in return they were executed, and a compromise wasn’t even sought as to how the country should be ruled. Therefore, Cromwell’s treatment of the Levellers portrays him as a hero because they had radical views, making it very hard to reach a compromise. He also had no other choice than to execute them – they may have rebelled if no compromise was sought. Cromwell can also be viewed as a villain in this respect because he used them to gain power and then disposed of them. This was an unfair and unwarranted act. Another situation was with ‘Women’, they wanted a share in freedoms of this state and an equal interest for the nation. Here is a part from the women’s’ petition: “We desire a share in the freedoms of this state. Have we not an equal interest with the men of this nation?” However, Cromwell told them to go home and meddle with housewifery.
In the Drogheda matter, there has been evidence that he mistreated prisoners. This shows us that he was a cold-blooded person. He killed them in the Church. This tells us he really is not a very godly person. Finally, he killed many innocent Protestants. His treatment of the Irish was harsh and unnecessary; both women and children were killed in the battle as well as soldiers, few were spared death. This is a quotation from what Clarendon wrote: “The soldiers threw down their arms on an offer of quarter. The enemy entered Mill Mount without resistance. They put every soldier to sword and all the citizens who were Irish.”-*14. He was very cruel in his handling of the Irish and their property after the battle – he took their fertile land and took it for the English, and forced the Irish out of their homes in winter. They were given a choice of Hell or Connaught, a barren land in the west. This shows that Cromwell’s treatment of the Irish may be seen as justified, because he had no other choice of how to treat the continually rebelling Irish. But he may also show that Cromwell was cruel and harsh because of the way in which he carried his duty out with unfair consequences for the Irish people.
Cromwell was also known as a killjoy and a religious bigot. He closed theatres and banned Christmas and Easter. This shows us that, he wants his people to follow his view but in a very different and commanding way. Theatres were closed because Puritans said the devil used them. Dancing around May Poles was banned. Many inns were shut and popular sports of bull and bear baiting were prohibited. Nobody was allowed to work or even play football on Sundays! Even Christmas day was made a day of fasting. This was strictly enforced with soldiers used to remove meat from ovens in London homes. If caught swearing you would have to pay a fine. Cromwell was also known to smoke and drink even though he banned music, singing, gambling, smoking and drunkenness. This shows that he is not a very godly person.
Cromwell was a villain because of his changing and inconsistent beliefs and aims. He firstly set out to eliminate the Kings advisors, but ended up trying to dissolve the monarchy by executing the King. After this, he executed the Levellers, a group who had supported him all the way through the civil war. He then became the Lord Protector of England, which very closely resembled the King’s position anyway. After making Britain Puritan, being very unpopular with the public, he betrayed the Puritan principles and beliefs by living in luxury. This illustrates Cromwell becoming power mad and turning into an English Dictator, betraying Parliament and constantly changing his beliefs
In my opinion, I think Cromwell was a hero. He was extremely godly and ruled the Kingdom very well as England was peaceful. Cromwell was a great man who had helped to make Britain stronger and religious. Cromwell, as a ruler made mistakes, but had many successes and always did his country the best. He might have been a complicated man but was very godly. He thought a lot about his decisions and came out with the best. As you can see, in every situation, he associated God in some way and made us understand he was a very good man. He always struggled to discover God’s will for him and the country. Cromwell was a modest man, as you can see one of his famous quotes he ever said-'I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me ... warts and everything as you see me.' Oliver Cromwell was a wonderful man, he helped to win the Civil War. In conclusion, I think Oliver Cromwell is a HERO.
The websites I used were: , , , , , , ‘King’ Cromwell?’ and ‘Societies in change’.
