BBC - KS3 Bitesize History- Oliver Cromwell : Revision, Print http://www. bbc. co. uk/bitesize/ks3/history /tudors _stuarts/oliver_ crom... KS3 Bitesize Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell is one of the most famous, and most controversial Britons of all history. He was a Member of Parliament and ended up leading the country. Contents Overview Who was Oliver Cromwell? Ireland and Scotland The Protectorate Consequences Interpretations Overview Cromwell was a Puritan, who opposed the king in the Long Parliament of 1640. During the Civil War he fought for Parliament. He thought that Parliamentary leaders did not do enough to try to defeat Charles. Cromwell became the most powerful man in England, as the leader of the 'New Model Army'. It consisted mainly of radical [radical: Having extreme views.], Puritan soldiers. After the ChrH At the end of the first Civil War [civil war: A war between groups of people from the same country.] in 1646, Cromwell and the Army tried to negotiate peace with Charles I. In 1648 he betrayed them and started the Second Civil War and they resolved to 'bring him to account'. Cromwell was one of those who tried Charles in 1649 and sentenced him to death. Parliament asked Cromwell to put down the remaining Royalist rebellions. He did this brutally, especially in Ireland and in particular at the siege of Drogheda in 1649. The Protectorate When Cromwell returned to Parliament, he found the 'Rump', the last few remaining MPs, of the Long Parliament still sitting. He closed Parliament by force. He attempted to create a 'Parliament of Saints' (1653), also known as 'Barebones Parliament', which failed. The army declared Cromwell 'Lord Protector' and he ruled England almost like a king, but he refused an offer to actually be made king. 1 of6 02110/2014 4:54PM
BBC- KS3 Bitesize History- Oliver Cromwell: Revision, Print http:/ /www.bbc. co.uklbitesize/ks3/history/tudors _stuarts/ oliver_ crom... As Protector [protector: Someone who rules a country if the king or queen is a child, or if there is no king or queen.], Cromwell could not agree with his Parliaments and he dismissed them both. Instead, he ruled the country through his major-generals, which meant that England virtually became a military dictatorship. He allowed greater religious freedom for Protestants, but introduced a string of 'moral' laws which banned the theatre and bear-baiting, and forbade people to drink or celebrate Christmas, among other things. Cromwell increased the navy, which defeated the Dutch and captured Jamaica from the Spanish. When Cromwell died, the Protectorate [protectorate: The time when Oliver Cromwell and then Richard Cromwell were Protector of England.] collapsed and Charles II was restored as king. Who was Oliver Cromwell? Cromwell was a small landowner from Cambridgeshire. In his 30s, he became committed to Puritanism. In 1640, he became a Member of Parliament, and supported those MPs who opposed the king. He joined Parliament's side when the Civil War broke out. He was a good cavalry commander, although he was never in charge of the army. At the Battle of Marston Moor, Cromwell helped defeat the Royalist army by attacking them at tea-time. He was also criticised for recruiting men 'of low birth'. As the war went on Cromwell became increasingly angry with the Parliamentary leaders. He accused them of not trying hard enough to defeat King Charles. New Model Army Generals Portraits of New Model Army generals. Top left, left to right: Robert, Earl of Essex; Alexander, general of the Scots army; Sir Thomas Fairfax; Edward, Earl of Manchester; Bottom, 1-r:Philip Skipton; Oliver Cromwell; Waller; Cromwell as solider and statesman 2 of6
BBC- KS3 Bitesize History- Oliver Cromwell: Revision, Print http://www.bbc.eo.uk/bitesize!ks3/history/tudors _stuarts/oliver_ crom... Oliver Cromwell 1599-1658. English soldier and statesman. From the book 'Lodge's British Portraits' published London 1823. Cariacature of Cromwell lw"''.fi::.k~':f l}udj~jhilc. lh If:. t-j mw't:hr:r,.jf:y~ (lt::jer. Caricature of Oliver Cromwell praying while King Charles I is beheaded, with the caption 'Oliver seeking God while the K. is murdered by his order.' Circa 1647. The triumph of Cromwell Oliver Cromwell has his foot planted on a Scotsman, holds a Frenchman under his arm, grips an Irishman's neck between his legs, and holds the guts of a disembowelled Dutchman in his right hand. At the same time, a griffin places a crown on Cromwell's head. Circa 1657 Cromwell's death mask 3 of6
BBC - KS3 Bitesize History- Oliver Cromwell : Revision, Print http://www.bbc.co. uk/bitesize/ks3/history /tudors _stuarts/ oliver_ crom... Oliver Cromwell's death mask taken in plaster from 1658 He was one of a 'War Party' of MPs in Parliament. In 1645 they forced through: The Self-Denying Ordinance- this made every man who was an MP resign from the army. This meant the army was independent of Parliament. The creation of the 'New Model Army' - a well-trained, well-equipped, well-disciplined, well-organised army, with officers chosen for ability not social standing. It was politically open to new ideas and most soldiers were Puritans and so they supported Cromwell. After the New Model Army defeated Charles I, there were three powers in the country trying to negotiate the peace - the king, the Parliament and the army. Cromwell and his son-in-law Henry Ireton suggested a settlement called the Heads of the Proposals. When Charles I started the Second Civil War [civil war: A war between groups of people from the same country.], Cromwell resolved to bring "that man of blood" to justice. He was one of the people who signed the warrant for Charles I's execution. Ireland and Scotland In 1649 Cromwell was put in charge of the armies sent to defeat Ireland and Scotland. Cromwe!! in Ire!and There had been problems in Ireland since the Catholic Irish had rebelled and massacred [massacre: Killing a large number of people in a violent manner.] Protestant settlers in 1641. About 4,000 Protestants had been killed, but Parliament put the figure nearer 200,000. So Cromwell - who thought Catholic beliefs were wrong - went to do a "great work against the barbarous and bloodthirsty Irish". Cromwell spent just nine months in Ireland: He captured Drogheda in September 1649. His troops massacred nearly 3,500 people, including 2,700 Royalist soldiers, all the men in the town with weapons and probably also some civilians, prisoners and priests. 4 of6 02/l0/2014 4:54PM
BBC - KS3 Bitesize History- Oliver Cromwell : Revision, P1int http :1 /www. bbc. co. uk/bitesize/ks3/history /tudors _stuarts/oliver_ crom... At the siege of Wexford in October 1649, 2,000 Irish soldiers and perhaps 1,500 civilians were killed. Many historians accuse Cromwell of: Slaughtering civilians as well as soldiers. Transporting many Irish Catholics as slaves to the West Indies. Giving Catholics' land to Protestant settlers and exiling the Irish to poor land in Connacht in the west of Ireland. Other historians point out that: Cromwell ordered his men not to kill civilians and hanged those who did. Cromwell refused to show mercy to the people of Drogheda, as the laws of war allowed at the time, because they had refused to surrender. He wrote later that he gave the order only to stop bloodshed in the long run. There is little evidence that he ever sent slaves to the West Indies. Cromwell left Ireland two years before the Act for the Settlement of Ireland (1652) which confiscated Catholics' lands. e""'""'"' " in Scotland Cromwell returned from Ireland in May 1650. He defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar (September 1650), and finally defeated the royalist army at the Battle of Worcester (September 1651). The Parliamentary army destroyed Dundee, killing 2000 of the inhabitants. They transported many Scottish prisoners as slaves to the West Indies. The Protectorate After the execution of Charles, England was ruled by a small group of MPs called 'the Rump'. After three years, they had still not agreed to call a new Parliament. In April 1653, Cromwell and 40 musketeers marched into the Rump Parliament and closed it down. At first, Cromwell tried calling a Parliament, known as the 'Barebones Parliament', also known as the 'Parliament of Saints', but it was dissolved as some of its members were seen as too radical [radical: Having extreme views.]. In December 1653, the army declared Cromwell 'Lord Protector', and gave him almost the powers of a king in 1657. Government: Cromwell dismissed both his Parliaments, which he regarded as too radical [radical: Having extreme views.]. He refused a petition to make himself king. local government: He set up a system of 'Major-Generals', who ran the country as a military dictatorship until 1657. Religion: Parish priests had to be Puritans. He tried to allow people to believe what they wanted in their own homes with the exception of Catholics. He invited Jewish people to return to England. He is often described as a 'killjoy' because he passed laws forbidding dancing, Christmas and the theatre, but he also forbade bear-baiting and drunkenness. Foreign policy: He built up the navy, which defeated the Dutch. New World Colonies: He insisted that colonists were allowed religious freedom. Catholics could own land there. In 1655, the British navy captured Jamaica from the Spanish. 5 of6
BBC - KS3 Bitesize History - Oliver Cromwell : Revision, Print http://www. b be. co. uklbitesize/ks3/history /tudors _stuarts/oliver_ crom... Cromwell died in 1658 and within a year the Protectorate [protectorate: The time when Oliver Cromwell and then Richard Cromwell were Protector of England.] collapsed. In 1660 Charles was restored as king. Cromwell's body was dug up and hanged. Consequences Cromwell: Destroyed the power of the king- for which he is sometimes called the 'father of democracy'. Destroyed the royalist resistance and brought the Civil Wars to an end. Introduced Puritan religion and way of life to Britain. United the country in hatred of rule by the major-generals. Britain has since been hostile towards the possibility of a military dictatorship. Created a long-lasting hatred and resistance in Ireland. Built up the British navy - this was the start of England's naval supremacy. Captured Jamaica from the Spanish - and thus began the British Empire. Allowed Jewish people to return to Britain. However, many of these consequences were temporary - the Restoration of Charles II saw the return of the monarchy, the Church of England and a freer way of life. Interpretations At first, after the Restoration, Cromwell was understandably hated. In 1667 the Royalist writer Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, described Cromwell as "a brave bad man"- portraying Cromwell as a genius who greatly harmed the country. For most of the 18th century, Cromwell was seen as a dictator who ruled by force. In the 19th century, however, the Whig [the 'Whig' historians: English historians of the 19th and early 20th century, who believed that England's history was a steady, inevitable and destined march from monarchy to democracy, and that this is what had made Britain 'Great'.] historians liked Cromwell's strict morality [morality: Strong beliefs about what is right and wrong.] and strong foreign policy. They portrayed him as the hero of democracy who saved the country from the tyranny of Charles I. S R. Gardiner (1902) - who was a descendent of Cromwell- declared him "the greatest Englishman of all time". In 1899, a statue was erected of Cromwell outside the Houses of Parliament. Cromwell's reputation took a nose-dive in the 1930s. American historians began to see parallels between Cromwell and the military dictators such as Mussolini and Hitler. After the Second World War, historians began to see Cromwell as a complex character, who was mainly influenced by his religious beliefs. In the BBC poll of 2002, Cromwell was placed as the third greatest Briton of all time, behind Winston Churchill and IK Brunei. Many historians, both Irish and English, believe that Cromwell was excessively brutal in Ireland. Many historians accuse him of the 'ethnic cleansing' of Catholics, and he is hated by Irish Catholics. "The curse of Cromwell upon you" is an Irish curse. Films There have been two significant films about the Civil War [civil war: A war between groups of people from the same country.], both of which concentrate on the personality of Cromwell rather than the events. Cromwell (1970) portrays Cromwell as a good and excessively godly man forced against his will to take up arms, whereas To Kill a King (2003) portrays him as a violent psychopath. Both films were over-simplified and littered with historical errors. What is your interpretation of Cromwell? 'Hero' or 'villain'? 'Dictator' or 'father of democracy'? 'Good and godly' or 'a violent psychopath'? What do you think motivated him - pride, religion, or something else? And, thinking long term, was he a success or a failure? More from O!iver Cromwell BBC 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. Mobile site Advertise With Us Ad Choices Terms of Use Privacy Cookies About the BBC Accessibility Help Contact the BBC Parental Guidance 6 of6