Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell remains one of the most controversial figures in British history. After leading the New Model Army to victory in the English Civil War, he ruled the country as a republic for five years.

Early life

Oliver Cromwell was born on the 25th April 1599. He became MP for Huntingdon in 1628 and made a couple of speeches in support of the people.

His parliamentary career was soon cut short when Charles I decided to run the country on his own for a decade, without recourse to the Commons.

Origins of the English Civil War

When Charles ascended the throne in February 1626, he inherited a financial mess made largely by his father, James I. He also undertook a series of disastrous wars on the advice of his confident, the Duke of Buckingham. His quick solution was to ask Parliament for more funds, but Parliament was unwilling to listen unless he also addressed their grievances.

Two times Charles asked them to raise taxes, but each time they turned him down. And when Buckingham was assassinated in 1628, the King dismissed the third with a flourish. For the next eleven years Charles ruled the country without a Government, raising his own funds by selling off monopolies and instituting the highly unpopular ‘Ship tax’.

All went well whilst the money trickled in, but serious problems began in 1640 when Charles tried to force a new prayer book on the Scots. The Scots rebelled in force, and Charles was ill-prepared. He was in urgent need of an army, but the only way to get the extra funds was to recall Parliament.

Parliament, having been left in the doldrums for eleven years, was in no mood to comply. Oliver Cromwell himself was one of the MPs who bitterly opposed the power of the King to run the country without recourse to his people, and voted to impose restrictions on his person.

When Charles foolishly tried to arrest five of its members in the House, they themselves rebelled. Charles was now facing a war on two fronts – against the Scots and Parliament.

Oliver Cromwell, and the New Model Army

Cromwell was originally just a plain-old captain in charge of a small band of men, but quick victories led to his promotion in 1643.

He then secured East Anglia and the East Midlands for parliamentary forces, and was appointed second in command of the Eastern Association army – by then parliament’s largest regional army. His rank of lieutenant-general made him one of the most powerful men around. As the victories mounted, so did Cromwell’s political power.

In 1645 he argued for a radical reworking of army rules, and the New Model Army was formed. Victory at the battle of Naseby in June 1645 virtually sealed the Government’s win.

In January 1647 Charles surrendered to the Scots, and by April he was back in the hands of Parliament.

Execution of King Charles I

As head of the army, Cromwell was now in a position to dictate policy and tried his best to accommodate the King. He suggested a return to the throne with restrictions on his power. Charles, however, was a firm believer that his role on Earth was ordained by God. He escaped to the Isle of Wight, and made plans for a second war.

The Second Civil War was a brief affair, and was put down at the battle of Preston in 1648. Parliament was incensed that Charles had the gall to start up yet another war, and put him on trial for treason. The trial started on the 22nd January 1649, and he was sentenced to death on the 27th. He was executed three days later on a grandstand outside Banqueting House.

Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector

Cromwell then left the country to put down rebellions in Ireland and Scotland, leaving Parliament in charge. But their first attempt at running the country ended in disaster – they quickly descended into a bickering oligarchy. They even tried to pass a law that prevented their removal. When Cromwell returned he was incensed, and dismissed the Rump by force in April 1653.

From the 16th December 1653, Cromwell ran the country as a benign military dictator. In June 1957 Parliament even offered him the crown, but Cromwell turned them down.

Death of Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell died on the 3rd September 1658. His place was taken by his son, Richard. Unfortunately, he proved rather less than a capable leader, and the whole edifice came crashing down around him. The army quickly shunted him aside, and the monarchy was restored two years later.

Charles I’s son, Charles II, then exhumed Cromwell’s body and ‘beheaded’ it on the anniversary of his father’s death – 30th January 1661. The head was placed on a spike in Westminster, and his body is believed to be buried somewhere under Tyburn (now Marble Arch).

In 1685 his head was finally taken down and ended up in Cambridge College.