Commander of the period of the English bourgeois revolution and the English Civil War. Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Oliver Cromwell was born in the city of Huntingdon into a noble family. Educated at Cambridge University. Then he studied law in London.
In 1628, Cromwell was elected from Huntingdon to the Long Parliament, where he defended the interests of the bourgeois strata of society and the new nobility and opposed the aristocracy and absolute monarchy. In 1629, following the dissolution of the Long Parliament by King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell returned to Huntingdon. The king convened parliament again only in 1640 in connection with the war with Scotland. Once again, the royalists and oppositionists did not find a common language. The result of this conflict was two civil wars (1642-1646 and 1648), in which Oliver Cromwell gained fame as a commander and an outstanding political figure.
So, irreconcilable differences between the English parliament and the king led to the fact that Charles I Stuart left London and went to the north of the country to the city of York, where the royalists had a strong position. There, the king's supporters tried to seize weapons supplies near the city of Gull, but failed. Then Charles I went to the county of Nottingham, where he began to gather an army to fight parliament.
On August 22, 1642, the royal standard was raised in a solemn ceremony in the city of Nottingham. This meant a declaration of war on Parliament under the pretext of suppressing the “rebellion of the Earl of Essex,” who commanded the newly created Parliamentary army.
In March 1642, Parliament issued a decree - an ordinance, according to which the lords-lieutenants of the counties were to collect Englishmen fit for military service. On July 4, the Defense Committee was created, which headed the military activities of parliament. Oliver Cromwell proposed forming an army "for the defense of the chambers, true religion, liberty, laws and peace." On July 6, parliament decided to recruit a 10,000-strong army, appointing the Earl of Essex as commander-in-chief.
42-year-old Cromwell, with the rank of captain, led a volunteer cavalry detachment of 60 horsemen, recruited from peasants and artisans.
Cromwell raised his soldiers in his own way. Being an ardent Puritan, he demanded personal honesty and iron discipline from everyone, and forbade robbing the local population and using foul language. The basis of Oliver Cromwell's military philosophy was religious, Puritan zeal. In his opinion, the army cannot consist of “scoundrels, drunkards and all kinds of social scum.”
Cromwell's cavalry can be considered exemplary for that time. He carefully selected people for it, provided them with the best horses and the latest weapons. He introduced time-based payment for military service. He conducted exercises for cavalrymen, personally taught their commanders tactics and maneuvering on the battlefield and forced marches.
As a rule, Cromwell's cavalry advanced on the enemy not at a gallop, but at a trot. Such a move of the horses gave the cavalry detachment freedom of maneuver and allowed them to strike where there was weakness in the enemy ranks.
The cavalryman's weapons also changed. All soldiers and officers of Cromwell's cavalry had a flintlock pistol in a holster. At the beginning of the attack, when approaching the enemy, they fired from these pistols at the enemy, and then drew their double-edged three-pound swords and rushed into hand-to-hand combat. Cromwell and his soldiers, dressed in steel cuirasses, were nicknamed “ironsides.”
The successful actions of his volunteer cavalry unit received wide publicity among supporters of Parliament, and he became a regimental commander with the rank of colonel. Cromwell's cavalry defeated the Royalists in fierce battles at Grantham, Gainsborough and Winsby in 1643. His regiment, consisting of fourteen squadrons (11 thousand people), was twice the size of an ordinary cavalry regiment.
Cromwell carefully selected officers. Here is what the Earl of Manchester said about this in 1645: “Colonel Cromwell chooses not those who have ... many estates, but simple people, poor, not born, as long as they are pious and honest people. If you look at his own regiment, you will see many who call themselves God's men."
Indeed, in the new English army, which became the military force of Parliament, Cromwell abolished the so-called privilege of gentlemen to hold command positions. Under his command, skipper Rainsborough, cabman Pride, shoemaker Houston, boilermaker Fox and other soldiers of the parliamentary army rose to the rank of colonel, thanks to their personal merits.
Cromwell initiated the reform of the armed forces of parliamentary England. On December 19, 1644, Parliament passed the “Bill of Self-Denial,” according to which parliamentarians had no right to hold command positions in the army. Thus, unity of command was established in the anti-royal armed forces. General Thomas Fairfax was appointed as the new commander-in-chief, and Oliver Cromwell, who simultaneously commanded the cavalry of the parliamentary forces, was appointed as his deputy.
According to the Bill of Self-Denial, Cromwell could not hold command positions. But parliament made an exception for him, given his military merits and popularity in the army. The City of London petition about Oliver Cromwell stated:
“The universal respect and love which both officers and men of the whole army have for him, his own personal merits and abilities, his great solicitude, energy, courage and loyalty to the cause of Parliament, shown by him in the service and marked by major successes, compel us publicly tell you about all this."
At the proposal of Lieutenant General (Deputy Commander-in-Chief) Oliver Cromwell, Parliament decided to form a new army of 22 thousand people, consisting of 10 regiments of cavalry, one regiment of dragoons (mounted infantry soldiers) and 12 regiments of infantry.
Built on unity of command, the parliamentary army was distinguished by strict discipline. Oliver Cromwell said: “When I command, everyone obeys or immediately quits. I do not tolerate objections from anyone." In the combat manual of the new army it was written: “Anyone who abandoned his banner or fled from the battlefield is punishable by death... If a sentry or lookout is found sleeping or drunk... they will be mercilessly punished by death... Theft or robbery is punishable by death.”
In 1644, the Parliamentary troops were given the "Soldier's Catechism", which explained the objectives of the war against the king. The soldiers were taught that their profession was noble and that, since the war was of a religious nature, God himself blessed them with it. One of the main means of educating the parliamentary army was considered to be the study of the Holy Scriptures by soldiers.
In the “Soldier's Catechism,” in particular, it was written: “a just cause instills life and courage in soldiers’ hearts”; “An army of deer led by a lion is stronger than an army of lions led by a deer.”
During the 1st Civil War, the parliamentary army inflicted several serious defeats on the troops of the English king. On June 2, 1644, the Battle of Marston Moor took place. Royalists (18 thousand people), led by Prince Rupert, fought with a parliamentary army of 27 thousand and its Scots allies under the command of Lord Fairfax, Manchester and Lieven. A strong Royalist cavalry charge was successfully repulsed by Oliver Cromwell's "ironsided" soldiers, who decided the outcome of the battle after the enemy defeated the right wing of the Parliamentary army. With this victory, Cromwell established control over the northern part of England.
The parliamentary army demonstrated its true combat capabilities in the decisive battle of the 1st Civil War at Naseby on June 14, 1645. Here the 13,000-strong parliamentary army under the command of Thomas Fairfax and 9,000 royalists under the personal command of King Charles I clashed (in fact, his troops were commanded by Prince Rupert). As a result of the first onslaught, the royalist cavalry threw back the enemy's left wing, but, as usual, became carried away in pursuit of the retreating ones.
At this critical moment in the battle, Cromwell's cavalry attacked on the right flank of the Parliamentary army. The timing of the attack was chosen very well - the royal cavalry, carried away by the pursuit, did not have time to return to their main forces. Under attack from Cromwell's superior forces, the Royalist infantry was almost completely destroyed. The winners captured 5 thousand prisoners and all the artillery of the royal troops. King Charles I himself was captured.
The military reform carried out on the initiative of Oliver Cromwell bore fruit. For many generations of English soldiers, red coats, introduced in the year of the Battle of Naseby, became a symbol of that distant year 1645.
After the capture of Charles I and the victory of the English bourgeois parliament, the internal political situation in the country changed dramatically. Major peasant unrest began, caused by government policies in defense of the new nobility and industrialists. These unrest also spread to the parliamentary army, which was significantly reduced without payment of monetary debts. Oliver Cromwell brutally suppressed soldier unrest and even carried out show executions of rebels.
Having become one of the most influential people in parliamentary England, Cromwell soon changed his views on the future of the country. Participating in the parliamentary trial of Charles I, he agreed to the execution of the monarch and the destruction of royal power in England and the House of Lords, since the majority of the aristocracy took the side of the royalists. Now Oliver Cromwell advocated the most extreme measures in suppressing any anti-government protest.
On January 30, 1649, King Charles I Stuart was executed as a "tyrant, traitor, murderer and enemy of the state." In February, Parliament declared England a republic, which was the proclamation of a new political system in Europe.
Oliver Cromwell's army suppressed the performance of the klobmen (bludgeoners) - peasant self-defense units created for the mutual "defense of rights and property, against all robbers and all lawlessness and violence, no matter who they came from." The Klobmen operated in small armed groups, and their total number reached 50 thousand people.
When the 2nd Civil War broke out in England, Oliver Cromwell, with the rank of Commander-in-Chief, led the army of Parliament. The decisive clash with the royalists took place in mid-August 1648 near Preston. The battle was attended by 4 thousand supporters of the king, led by Sir Marmaduke Langdale (who had previously been abandoned by the main forces of the Scots army) and almost 9 thousand Cromwell’s army. He was the first to attack the enemy, and after four hours of desperate resistance, almost all the royalists were killed or captured. This battle and the fall of the king's besieged supporters in the city of Colchester ended the 2nd Civil War.
Oliver Cromwell became a key figure in the political life of the country. In 1650, Parliament officially appointed him Lord General - commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the English Republic. But he had actually been one for several years - the parliamentary army was in his hands.
On September 3, 1651, Cromwell won one of his greatest victories. Two armies met near Worcester: a 12,000-strong Scottish army under the command of Charles Stuart, the son of the executed King Charles I, and a 28,000-strong parliamentary army. Charles the Younger was the first to attack Cromwell's flank, but was successfully repulsed and retreated to Worcester, where he was met by another part of the Parliamentary troops under Fleetwood. The Royalist Scots were scattered, they lost 3 thousand people killed and many were captured, including three lords and five generals. Charles Stuart himself managed to escape to France.
Subsequently, Cromwell waged an armed struggle against the democratic movement in England itself and with the national liberation movement in Ireland (1649-1652) and in Scotland in 1652, and continued the colonial expansion of Great Britain.
The commander-in-chief of the English army acted with particular cruelty in Ireland, where the local Catholic population took up arms against English rule. In August 1649, Oliver Cromwell's troops landed in Dublin, the capital of Ireland. In September of the same year they broke into Drogheda, a stronghold of Irish Catholics. After the storming of this city, all its surviving defenders and the entire local population were destroyed. After this, the Irish stopped armed resistance to the English Republican Army.
In 1652, Cromwell annexed Scotland to England. At Dunbar he defeated a Scots army almost twice his size. Taking advantage of the thunder and storm, he suddenly attacked the enemy and won the battle. A year later, the remnants of the Scottish troops were defeated at Worcester.
Seeking a personal dictatorship, Oliver Cromwell dissolved Parliament in 1653 and, being proclaimed Lord Protector of England, Ireland and Scotland, became the absolute ruler of the country. However, his reign was not long. Cromwell died of malaria and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Even during his lifetime, Cromwell's enemies secretly prepared the restoration of the Stuart monarchy. With his openly anti-democratic rule, the Lord Protector only contributed to this. In 1660, shortly after his death, royal power in Great Britain was restored. On January 30, 1661, the anniversary of the execution of Charles I Stuart, the ashes of Oliver Cromwell were removed from the grave and given public desecration.
Alexey Shishov. 100 great military leaders
Name: Oliver Cromwell
Age: 59 years old
Activity: statesman, commander
Family status: was married
Oliver Cromwell: biography
Oliver Cromwell is an English commander and statesman of the 16th-17th centuries. He became the leader of the English Revolution, led the movement of Independents who separated from the Puritans, and in the later years of his political career served as Lord General and Lord Protector of England, Ireland and Scotland.
The biography of Oliver Cromwell began on April 25, 1599 in the city of Huntingdon. His parents were poor English nobles - Elizabeth Steward and Robert Cromwell. The latter was the youngest son in a family descended from Thomas Cromwell (the closest ally of King Henry VIII and his main assistant in implementing reforms). During the reign of this king, the ancestors of Oliver Cromwell made a fortune through the confiscation of ecclesiastical and monastic lands.
Oliver received his primary education at the parish school of his hometown. Between 1616 and 1617 he studied at Sidney Sussex College, affiliated to the University of Cambridge. This college was known for its Puritan spirit. Cromwell Jr. began studying at the Faculty of Law, but soon decided to quit his studies and married the daughter of a neighboring landowner.
Oliver was prompted to take such a step by the death of his father: he had to give up his education in order to help his mother and sisters. During this period of his life, he ran a household as a squire should: he brewed beer, made cheese, sold bread and wool.
Policy
In 1628, Cromwell attempted to start a political campaign. He even managed to get elected to parliament from his native Huntingdon district. Oliver's first speech in the highest legislative body of England took place in February 1629. It was dedicated to the defense of Puritan preachers. But already in March of the same year, King Charles I dissolved parliament, and Cromwell’s career ended before it really began.
Over the next eleven years, Cromwell again led the life of an ordinary landowner. In the period from 1636 to 1638, he took part in the movement to protect the communal rights of peasants. A few years later, Oliver Cromwell reappeared on the political stage of his country: in April and November 1640 he was elected to the Short and Long Parliaments, respectively. Cromwell became MP for Cambridge. In his speeches, he mainly defended the interests of the new nobility and bourgeoisie.
English Revolution
In August 1642, the English Revolution (English Civil War) began. The main opposing forces during this revolution were King Charles I and parliament. Oliver Cromwell fought on the side of the parliamentary army, which he joined with the rank of captain.
He decided to recruit soldiers not under duress - instead, he wanted to find volunteer cavalrymen for whom divine justice and the fight against the king would be akin to conviction. Oliver Cromwell found such “ideological” subjects in the yeoman peasants who lived in East Anglia.
They were ardent Puritans and strongly opposed the feudal order. Cromwell's regiment, composed of these peasants, was nicknamed the "Ironsides" for their exceptional discipline and fortitude.
The commander went through many battles with his army, gradually receiving higher and higher ranks. In 1644 he was awarded the title of lieutenant general. His skill as a military leader was of particular importance in the Battle of Marston Moor, which took place on July 2, 1644, and in the Battle of Naseby, which took place on June 14, 1645. These battles were decisive in the history of the English Revolution, and without the military genius of Oliver Cromwell they could have gone differently.
The history of England after the victory of Parliament in the First Civil War followed the path of transition to a constitutional monarchy from an absolute one. The dictatorship of the king, who single-handedly determines how the country's politics will develop, is a thing of the past. Moreover, it was the organizational skills and inexhaustible energy of Oliver Cromwell, confident that he was fighting for a just cause, that largely determined the success of parliament in confronting the king.
Soon after the end of the English Revolution, Cromwell demanded the transformation of the state army. In 1645, he contributed to the creation of a new type of army, based on “ironside” units. Cromwell used the experience gained over several years of war to create an effective army.
Civil War
Directly during the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell represented the forces of revolutionary democracy. But after the parliament defeated the king's troops, the commander decided to move to a more moderate political position and abandon radical democratic views. Because of this, he had a confrontation with the Levellers, who were not happy with the result of the English Revolution and demanded that the battles continue.
In 1647, Oliver Cromwell found himself caught between three serious political forces: the king, the army and the Presbyterian representatives in Parliament, who had the majority of votes. In such a situation, from a brave and inspiring military leader, Cromwell turned into a clever and resourceful politician, relying on the army and brutally punishing rebellious soldiers in a secret alliance with the king.
Also in 1647, the army captured the king. Oliver Cromwell tried to resolve the situation by negotiating with the king about the conditions under which the monarchy could be maintained. The Levellers, still demanding radical change, saw this as a betrayal. No matter how hard the politician tried to unite the warring parties, he failed to prevent the Second Civil War, which began in 1648.
During this revolution, Oliver Cromwell opposed the royalists and, in order to strengthen his army, agreed to an alliance with the Levellers. During September and October 1648 he fought against the royalists in Scotland and the north of England. In early October, his troops entered Edinburgh, where a victorious peace treaty was signed. In the following months, the commander, coming to London with his army, achieved the cleansing of the House of Commons of ardent royalist supporters.
In 1649, Cromwell agreed to the execution of the king, the destruction of the monarchy and the proclamation of England as a republic. The “silk” independents, led by Oliver Cromwell, were in power. He showed himself to be a tough ruler: he ruthlessly suppressed any attempts at uprising, initiated a bloody military expedition, during which Ireland learned firsthand about the cruelty of his soldiers, and continued to mercilessly crush royalist detachments.
last years of life
As Oliver Cromwell's life waned, his reign became increasingly conservative. Once a defender of the people, he began to be hostile to the desire of his subjects to establish democracy and to the social demands they made. In 1650, he became Lord General of the Republic, that is, commander-in-chief of all its armed forces, which he intended to use to establish a personal dictatorship.
In 1653, the commander adopted a new Constitution, which was called the “Instrument of Control.” This document gave him the status of "Lord Protector" in England, Ireland and Scotland. Conducting the state's internal policy was difficult for him: an economic crisis was brewing in the country, acute social problems remained unresolved. At the same time, Cromwell was successful in foreign policy, capturing Jamaica, signing a trade treaty with Sweden and concluding peace with Holland on terms favorable to England.
Although during Oliver Cromwell's lifetime the republic was not abolished, and his power was not questioned, the commander's inept internal policies only brought the restoration of the monarchy closer. After his death in 1658, his son Richard, who soon lost power, became the successor to the Lord Protector.
Personal life
Cromwell's only wife was Elizabeth Bourchier, whom he married after dropping out of university.
This marriage produced eight children: sons Robert, Oliver, Henry and Richard, and daughters Frances, Maria, Elizabeth and Bridget.
Death
Oliver Cromwell died on September 3, 1658, the cause of death being typhoid fever and malaria. The funeral of the state leader was magnificent and pompous, but soon after this, unrest, chaos and arbitrariness began in the country, which Cromwell’s successor, his eldest son Richard, could not cope with.
In 1659, deputies, having called Charles II to the throne (the son of Charles I, whose execution was once agreed to by Oliver Cromwell), exhumed the commander’s body on charges of regicide in order to carry out a posthumous execution. The body hung on the gallows for several hours, after which his head was placed on a pole near the Palace of Westminster.
- There is a legend that as a child, little Oliver Cromwell met his peer Charles I, who was destined to become king of England. During the game, the boys fought, and Cromwell even broke his friend’s nose.
- In 1970, the historical film “Cromwell” was shot, in which the leading actor, Richard Harris, received praise from film critics for his excellent embodiment of the character.
- In early childhood, Oliver had two brothers, but they died in infancy. As a result, the boy grew up surrounded by six sisters, with whom he had warm relationships.
- Until the age of 41, Cromwell did not feel any particular passion for revolutionary activity. Only when he recruited a detachment of “ironsides” with his own money did a true love for politics and a desire to make the history of his country awaken in him.
- September 3 turned out to be a fatal date in the fate of Oliver Cromwell. It was on this day that he defeated the Scottish troops at Denbar, the army of Charles I at Worcester, it was on September 3 that his first parliament began to work, and subsequently this day began to be celebrated as Thanksgiving Day. Oliver Cromwell also died on September 3.
Cromwell, Oliver(English Oliver Cromwell; April 25, 1599, Huntingdon - September 3, 1658, London) - leader of the English revolution, Lord Protector (dictator) of England in 1653-58.
He initiated the return of Jews to England.
Origin and short biography
Oliver Cromwell was a distant descendant of Chancellor Thomas Cromwell, who served and was executed by King Henry VIII. With the help of Thomas, the confiscated monastery lands were purchased and inherited by Oliver.
Born into the family of a poor Puritan squire in Cambridge. He studied at Huntingdon parish school, and in 1616-1617 at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. His father died when Thomas was 18 years old. He left Cambridge to look after his family, but spent about a year studying law at Lincoln Inn in London. In August 1620 he married Elizabeth Butcher; they had nine children.
At the age of 30, Cromwell sold his lands and became a tenant of Henry Lawrence, who led an illegal Calvinist sect. They planned to go to America, but were unable to. There is evidence that Oliver was a preacher in a secret house of worship.
During the Revolution, Cromwell became a Member of Parliament. In 1643 he received the rank of colonel, recruited and trained a cavalry regiment. Successfully fought against the royalists. He rose in rank to general. He carried out reforms in the army, completely reorganized it. Defeated the royal troops.
As a member of parliament, he insisted on the execution of the king. Having become a political leader, he seized power and established a personal dictatorship. He abolished the House of Lords and carried out a number of important reforms in the field of civil law.
Brutally suppressed uprisings in Ireland and Scotland. He carried out an administrative reform that increased the level of order and security in the country. After this he organized new parliamentary elections.
Oliver Cromwell made peace with Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, and Portugal. He continued the war with Spain. He appointed his successor - a new king, who was supposed to take power after Cromwell's death (thus restoring the monarchy).
He was completely incorruptible, which almost never happened in those days. He was very popular among the people. Died of an unknown reason. Given the constant attempts to kill him, historians do not rule out poisoning. However, it is impossible to know this for sure, since the level of sanitation and medicine of that time did not contribute to the long life of even rich people.
The process of returning Jews to England begins
Having Puritan views based largely on the Old Testament, and being religiously tolerant, Cromwell considered Jews useful. He quickly realized the material benefits of their return to the country.
In 1653, England accepted the first 20 Marrano families who fled the Inquisition. The head of the underground Jewish community in London, Antonio Fernandez de Carvajal, helped parliament with money in the fight against the king and, through his agents, obtained information about royalist connections with Spain.
When Menashe ben Israel presented Cromwell with the Humble Addresses, a petition for the return of the Jews to England, Cromwell initiated a conference in Whitehall in December 1655. It was attended by representatives of the army, business circles, lawyers and 16 theologians. Cromwell carefully selected them on the basis of religious tolerance.
First of all, the conference established that there was no law prohibiting Jews from living in England, and that the expulsion of 1290 was illegal in the first place. But when discussing the conditions for the return of Jews, the interests of the conference participants and the segments of the population they represented began to influence. When it became apparent that return could only be permitted on the most unfavorable terms, Cromwell dissolved the conference after its fourth meeting.
It was expected that he would give a favorable response to Menashe ben Israel with his own authority. However, taking into account public opinion, Cromwell preferred to accept informal agreements. The London Marrano community had to be content with a favorable response to a modest petition in which they simply asked for permission to establish a cemetery and to be granted religious freedom.
Cromwell's personal sympathies were evident in the £100 pension granted to Menashe ben Israel. His favorable attitude toward the Jews was so noticeable that, according to his enemies, the Jews looked upon him as one of their own.
In London, in front of Westminster Hall with its centuries-old stones, there is a lonely monument. A man in armor and boots stands with a slightly bowed, bare head and a tired but adamant face. With his right hand, as if on a cane, he leans on the sword, and with his left he holds the Bible. At the foot of the monument lay a lion, the symbol of Britain. This is exactly how he appears to us centuries later - a symbol of the English revolution, a desperate grunt and a cold-blooded judge who executes a king, a cruel pacifier and a gentle father, a true Christian and a dictator who almost became a king himself, and all this is one person - Oliver Cromwell.
A little philosophy and maxims
Different human communities develop differently. Deriving the patterns of this development is an incredibly difficult task to solve, practically unsolvable. Similar processes and stages in the history of different civilizations and peoples do not, in fact, go beyond the framework of similarity, repetition and borrowing of experience. But in some cases, events can occur without obeying any theories with axioms, but only based on subjective factors. We are talking about revolutions.
Different societies go through them in different ways. The excesses of destruction of previous, outdated orders can range from the total destruction of all structures and the most severe, multi-year, sometimes more than one generation, crisis and overcoming the consequences. But sometimes a revolution is limited to minimal bloodletting, and this action from the arsenal of healers of the past produces a healing effect. Perhaps, from this angle one can look at the history of the English Revolution and the subsequent civil war in the mid-17th century.
A short excursion into English history
Over the previous three centuries of its history (XIV-XVI centuries), England experienced many adversities: the Hundred Years' War, 30 years of the War of the Roses, which led to the extermination of almost the entire ancient aristocracy and the end of the Plantagenet dynasty; confrontation with Spain, which wiped out most of the new nobility. But this thinning out of the upper class turned out to be an inoculation against the absolutism that flourished on the continent and ultimately brought Britain into world leadership, thanks to its purely British characteristics, which consisted of a combination of a constitutional monarchy and an industrial revolution driven by the national bourgeoisie.
Dictator - Puritan
The main actor in all these turbulent events, by chance, became not the darling of fate and the favorite of the crowds, but a man with the boring face of a rural squire. However Oliver Cromwell came to his place not to play any role, but to do work (as he understood it) for the good of Britain. And the fact that assessments of this work are placed by both contemporaries and historians in a very wide range - this only confirms the complexity of this work. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and put the cart before the horse, but let’s start in order...
The future dictator of England was born on April 25, 1599 in the family of Robert Cromwell, bailiff(Judge of the Peace) of Huntingdon Township, Huntingdon County. The town, which had 1000-1200 inhabitants, was actually a village (and not even a big one). The family, despite the father's position, was not rich, having an annual income of around 300 pounds. The fact is that Robert Cromwell was the youngest son of Sir Henry Cromwell and, according to the laws of England (and Europe too) at that time, he was, in the language of the stock market, a minority shareholder and his share in the inheritance was tiny, if it existed at all...
The Cromwell surname, although not one of the aristocracy, was nevertheless well known thanks to Thomas Cromwell- an incredibly bright personality. He was an advisor to Henry VIII and one of the main founders of Anglicanism ( Act of Supremacy).
As the son of an innkeeper from Putney (a criminal area of London of that era), he left for the continent in his youth and fought for some time as a landsknecht in France and Italy. Remaining in Florence, he enters the service of the Friscabaldi bankers. The originality of his personality helps him advance in his career. On business with this service he travels to the Vatican, takes a keen interest in Macchiaveli and takes the theses of “The Prince” into service. Returning to London, he quickly makes an incredible career leap, becoming one of the most important figures of the era of King Henry VIII.
Thomas Cromwell takes care of Richard, the son of his sister Catherine, who married Morgan Williams, a lawyer from Wales, taking him into his service. Richard Williams would later take his uncle's surname (and his mother's maiden name) and become Oliver Cromwell's great-grandfather.
Information about the childhood and youth of Oliver Cromwell is extremely scarce; it is only known that it was a Puritan family of rural squires. At the age of 17 (1616) he entered Cambridge University, where, after studying for a year, he returned home due to the death of his father. For two years he helps his mother, Elizabeth, run the household, being the only man in the family. Then, in 1619, he went to London to study law. There is no information about this period of his life and Oliver is discovered in 1620 in connection with his marriage to the daughter of a furrier, Elizabeth Burshire. After which he returns to Huntingdon. The next 20 years of his life included the birth of seven children, of whom six (two daughters and four sons) survived.
In 1628, Oliver was elected to Parliament from Huntingdon and took part in its work until the dispersal of Charles I on March 2, 1629. The time of “reaction” came, as Soviet historians would write in this case, and it lasted for 11 long years.
These years were difficult for Oliver Cromwell. In the spring of 1631, having quarreled with the top of his town, he sold all his property and the family moved to the town of St. Ives, five miles below, along the River Ouse. Finding himself as a tenant farmer, he experiences financial difficulties, teetering on the brink of poverty. Only the death of his childless uncle, Thomas Steward, makes the situation a little easier. He moves to Ely, County Cambridge.
And yet Cromwell’s state of mind cannot be called positive. At this time, Oliver Cromwell begins to think about emigrating to New England (America). In his house, persecuted Puritans find shelter; a severe spiritual crisis during this difficult period of his life transforms Oliver Cromwell into a furious Calvinist Puritan, henceforth convinced of his duty to defend justice and contribute to its victory.
Beginning of the ascent
Ruling for 11 years without parliament, King Charles I tirelessly increased the number of his enemies, which is not a sign of amazing statesmanship. He crushed all layers of society with taxes and extortions. Using the privileges and powers of the Middle Ages, he squeezed out the “ship tax” (1635), strangled nobles with fines (as, by the way, Cromwell) if they refused the title of “sir” for a fee, introduced “voluntary offerings”, etc. . etc. The king thus violated the laws, since without the consent of parliament he did not have the right to impose new taxes on the population. All of Charles's short-sighted policies spoke of a movement towards an unlimited monarchy and absolutism, like those of his French neighbors, where the Louis-Sun Kings enjoyed life. Which, presumably, their English colleague was fiercely jealous of...
In 1638, Charles started a so-called war with the Scots. "Bishop Wars" (Bishop's Wars), allegedly with the aim of imposing the Anglican Church canon on them. However, the Scots, being staunch Presbyterians, categorically disagreed with this and the war flared up in a way that was not childish. Charles I, in dire need of money and gritting his teeth, was forced to convene parliament in order to maintain the appearance of legality and without looking like an outright usurper, approve new taxes and receive allocations for the war with the Scots.
But in February 1639, a 20,000-strong Scottish militia invaded England and put the royal soldiers to flight in several brutal skirmishes. In the summer of 1639, Charles signed a truce, practically without bargaining and promising a lot of things: amnesty, independence of the Scottish kirk, etc. The majority, of course, did not believe all of Charles’s promises and it turned out to be absolutely right. He sends secret instructions to the bishops in Scotland not to stop hostile actions against the Presbyterians, and negotiates with a lot of promises to the heads of the mountain clans under the general leadership of Montrose.
On April 13, 1640, the so-called Short Parliament met ( Short Parliament), where Cromwell was also elected from Cambridgeshire. He immediately identified himself as an irreconcilable opponent of the Anglican Church and the authorities, attacking them as a true Puritan. But on May 3, 1640, the enraged Charles dissolved parliament, which had thus worked for less than a month.
But soon in the summer the war resumed and on August 28, in a battle near Newburn-on-Tyne, the royal troops were defeated. The next day the Scots took Newcastle.
It was in these circumstances that the Long Parliament met on November 3, 1640, and was destined to play a vital role in this fateful turn in English history. And he began to live up to expectations by abruptly taking off from his place in the “quarry”: a week after the start of work, he arrested and sent Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, to the Tower.
Opposition leaders: Pym, Hampden, St. John, Barnard went all in, initiating a parliamentary petition against Strafford. If the House of Lords had not supported this initiative, all of them would have faced inevitable death. But Charles’s “wise” policy deprived him of support even among the highest nobility, which, in fact, played to the benefit of the future English revolution.
On November 9, Strafford appeared in London and spent a long time in audience with Charles. Two days later, on November 11, he was supposed to join the House of Lords and bring charges of treason against Pym, Hampden, St. John and other parliamentary leaders and obtain a decision for their arrest.
On the same day, November 9, Pym, soberly and coldly aware of the mortal danger hanging over him and his comrades, makes a brilliant and emotional speech in the House of Commons against Strafford, accusing him of arbitrariness, greed and deceit of the “good and most Christian king” and therefore “Everywhere where the king allowed him to interfere, he brought grief, fear and unbearable suffering to His Majesty’s subjects, hatched and carried out plans detrimental to England.”
The chamber exploded with indignation and rage. In vain, some of the deputies loyal to the king tried to object - based on the facts set out in Pym’s speech, it was decided to present the Earl of Strafford with treason to the House of Lords and take the Earl into custody for the duration of the investigation.
Strafford was immediately summoned to the House of Lords. The speaker read the text of the accusation to the kneeling leader, and right from there he was sent to the Tower. A week later, Archbishop William Laud was also arrested.
All this time, Cromwell, actively participating in the activities of parliament, gained experience, delving into the intricacies and nuances of London politics. From a rude and uncouth village squire-tenant, he begins to transform into what he will very soon become - the furious and fanatical leader of the Puritan revolution.
He attacks the privileges of priests and bishops, demanding the annulment of their various privileges, rightly seeing in this a similarity with the corrupted Catholic priesthood, serving not only not the flock, but not even God, but only the powers that be.
On December 11, a draft bill was introduced into the House of Commons for the complete destruction of “the tree of prelacy, root and branch,” signed by more than fifteen thousand people. On December 30, he advocated the adoption of a bill for the annual convening of representatives of the House of Commons. However, after much debate, parliament in February 1641 approved "Triennial Act". According to it, the king is obliged to convene parliament every three years.
But Cromwell continues to stubbornly hit the hated princes of the church: on February 9, an “Act for the abolition of superstition and idolatry and for the better maintenance of true worship” is introduced, aimed, in fact, at depriving the priests of their special position in the kingdom. To which the adherents of traditions fearfully stated that if equality in the church is legislated, sooner or later the question of equality in the state will arise, especially since bishops are one of the three pillars of the kingdom, and they have their representation in parliament.
Meanwhile, the trial of Strafford was completed with great difficulty and, with even greater difficulty, approval of the death sentence was wrested from the lords and the king, for which Pym had to organize a demonstration of angry and armed people at the walls of Westminster and the royal palace.
Finally, on May 12, 1641, the head of the royal favorite rolled off the block. So far this was not a point in Cromwell’s personal account - he only played actively in the team, but this became an overture to the upcoming personal triumph of the recently unknown country gentleman.
The summer of 1641 was a hot time in the work of parliament in the abolition of the attributes of absolutism and the limitation of royal autocracy: June - the dissolution of the king's army, the abolition of customs duties. July - abolition of the Star Chamber, the High Commission, emergency courts - instruments of royal tyranny.
August - abolition of “knightly fines”, forest taxes and the “ship money” that made Hampden famous.
In the fall, events begin to accelerate, acquiring a frightening acceleration every month. On October 23, the Irish uprising begins. On November 22, parliament passes the Great Remonstrance.
Beginning of civil war and revolution
1642 - January: The king tries to arrest five leaders of the parliamentary opposition, but fails and flees to the north. February: Parliament passes an act to confiscate 2.5 million acres of comfortable land from the Irish to secure a £1 million loan received by the government to suppress the Irish rebellion. Cromwell participates in this loan. On June 2, Parliament passes the “Nineteen Proposals” to the king. On June 12, a decree was issued on the organization of a parliamentary army under the command of the Earl of Essex. On August 22, the king declares war on parliament - he raises his banner in Nottingham. 23 October - First major battle between parliamentary and royal forces at Edgehill. Cromwell participates in it with the rank of captain.
1643 - January: Parliament issues an act of abolition of the episcopate. February: Cromwell is appointed colonel of the troops of the Eastern Counties Association. May 13 - Battle of Grantham. In June, John Hampden was mortally wounded. In summer and autumn, Cromwell creates the first detachments New model armies. July 28 - Battle of Gainsborough. On August 10, the Earl of Manchester was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the Eastern Association, and Cromwell was appointed his deputy. September: Parliament accepts the Scottish "Holy League and Covenant". September 20 - Battle of Newbury. On October 10, Cromwell's troops defeated the royalists at Winsby. November - siege and capture of Basing House:
1644 - the Scottish army, an ally of the English Parliament, enters the territory of Northern England. Cromwell is appointed lieutenant general. His second son Oliver dies. On July 2, the Battle of Marston Moor takes place, where Parliamentary troops win a decisive victory.
October 27 - Second Battle of Newbury. In November, a tough confrontation took place between Cromwell and the Earl of Manchester regarding the intensification of the confrontation with the king. November 25 Cromwell sharply accuses Manchester at a session of parliament. On December 9, Cromwell gives a speech in parliament about the need for radical reform of the army. He proposes to the House a bill of self-denial. ( Self-denying Ordinance), according to which all members of both houses (commons and lords) had to refuse command posts in the army.
1645 - On February 17, parliament passes an act on the creation of a new model Army. In its ranks there were 22 thousand soldiers and officers, distributed among twenty-three (23) regiments: 12 infantry, 10 cavalry and 1 dragoon. Strict discipline and a Protestant spirit reigned in the New Model Army. Cromwell's associate Thomas Fairfax is rapidly training new soldiers. June 14 - Battle of Nasby - victory of the parliamentary army. Bristol was captured in September.
1646 - On February 24, parliament destroys another relic of feudalism - the “knighthood” personified Chamber of Guardianship Affairs.
Late April: Charles I flees to the north where the Scots take him prisoner. On June 24, Oxford was taken. December: The Scots hand over the king to Parliament for four hundred thousand pounds.
1647 -January: Cromwell becomes seriously ill, doctors find an abscess on his head, threatening the life of Oliver, who is tormented by severe headaches. February: The Scots hand over the king to the commissioners of the Parliament. The royalists and their accomplices in parliament are beginning to raise their heads.
Parliament is trying to disband the army. The Levellers, led by Lilburne, who publishes denunciatory pamphlets, are strongly opposed. There is unrest in the army - the soldiers refuse to march to Ireland. Presbyterians create a Committee of Safety in London. In early June Cornet Joyce captures the king at Holmby Castle and takes him to the army headquarters. The recovering Cromwell arrives at headquarters. A General Army Council is created. On August 1, the Independent Constitution, the “Chapter Proposals,” is published. On August 6, an army led by Cromwell and Fairfax enters London.
September: Cromwell begins negotiations with the king. The Levellers denounce him as a traitor. October 28 - November 11 An enlarged meeting of the army council is convened in Putney to discuss the Leveller constitution - the “People's Agreement”. On November 11, the king flees from Hampton Court to the Isle of Wight. November 15 Cromwell reprisals the Levellers in Ware, executing soldier Richard Arnold. December the king enters into an alliance with the Scots to fight the independents.
1648 - On January 3, the House of Commons stops negotiations with Charles. March: Second civil war begins. On April 29, a meeting takes place in Windsor, where a decision is made to bring Charles I to trial as an enemy of the nation. On May 3, Cromwell leaves London for Wales. July: Siege of Pembroke. After its capture, on August 17-19, the “ironsides” defeated the royalists at Preston. September October: The Ironsides fight Scottish royalists in the north, and the Independents capture Edinburgh in early October. A truce was concluded with Argyll. Having gone south, the “roundheads” besiege and take Pontefract.
1649 - January 20 begins the trial of Charles I. January 30 - execution of Charles I. February 6 Parliament issues a bill to abolish the House of Lords. In February, Lilburn published a pamphlet, "England's New Chains Exposed." In March - the pamphlet “Fox Hunting...” and the pamphlet “The Second Part of Exposing England’s New Chains.” Parliament, considering this pamphlet seditious, throws the Leveller leaders into the Tower. Performance begins in early spring "true levelers" - diggers. At the end of April, a rebellion breaks out in Whalley's dragoon regiment. 26 April: Fifteen soldiers from Whalley's regiment were court-martialed. Eleven of them were found guilty, six were sentenced to death. Cromwell insisted that five of those convicted be pardoned. 23-year-old Robert Lockyer was destined to die... April 27 - execution of Robert Lockyer. In early May, the Leveller uprising in Burford was suppressed. On May 19, a republic is officially proclaimed in England.. On August 15, the “ironsides” land in Ireland. September 11 - assault and massacre in Drogheda... (for which Cromwell is still, 360 years later, fiercely hated in Ireland). Wexford captured on 11 October.
1650 April-May: Cromwell with his “ironsides” besieges Clonmel and receives a number of crushing blows. On May 26, Cromwell's troops leave Ireland. June 8 - heads north and invades Scotland with an army in July. September 3 - defeat of the Scots by Cromwell at Denbar.
1651 February-May: While in Edinburgh, Cromwell becomes seriously ill. Beginning of August - the capture of Perth, then pursuing the Scottish royalist army on September 3 at the Battle of Worcester inflicts complete defeat on them.
October 9: Parliament issues the "Navigation Act" to deprive the Dutch of their trade monopoly on the seas. In December, Cromwell and Whitelock delve into the question of the “structure of the nation.”
1652 April: First Anglo-Dutch War begins. In August the Irish Settlement Act appears. There is renewed unrest in the army: in August, army officers demand reforms. In November, with Whitelock, Cromwell again examined the constitutional question.
1653 - On April 19, Cromwell holds a meeting in Whitehall, on April 20 he disperses the Long Parliament and the Council of State.
July 4—beginning of meetings of the Small Parliament. August: Lilburne's trial, ending with his acquittal. On December 12, the Small Parliament dissolves itself. December 16 Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England. A new constitution is adopted - “Instrument of Governance”.
1654 - April: England makes peace with Holland and signs a trade treaty with Sweden. On September 3, the first protectorate parliament opens. In September, Oliver Cromwell's mother, Elizabeth Cromwell (Steward), dies. December: An expedition is sent to the West Indies, marking the beginning of England's colonial expansion.
1655 - January 22 Cromwell dissolves parliament. In April, the English fleet tried to take Hispaniola, but was unsuccessful. May 17 - The British capture Jamaica. On August 9, Cromwell divided England and Wales into 11 military administrative districts led by major generals. November 3 England concludes an expanded treaty with France. War with Spain begins.
1656 - On September 17, the second parliament of the protectorate will begin its work. On November 27, a bill was adopted confirming the 1646 ordinance on the abolition of the guardianship chamber.
1657 - February: A “Humble Petition and Advice” is introduced into Parliament - Cromwell is offered the title of king. On March 23, an agreement was signed with France on joint military actions against the Spanish Netherlands. On May 8, Cromwell, under pressure from officers, renounces the royal title. On May 25, Parliament adopts the “Humble Petition and Advice.” On June 26, the solemn approval of the new constitution and the enthronement of Cromwell take place - his second proclamation as Lord Protector. Cromwell draws up the lists of the House of Lords.
1658 - February 4 Cromwell dissolves parliament. On June 4, the Battle of Dunkirk takes place, where the Spaniards are defeated. Dunkirk goes to England. On August 6, Cromwell's daughter, Elizabeth Claypole, dies.
1659 The year passes in the seething and ferment of all circles of English society. In August, a royalist rebellion broke out, suppressed by General John Lambert, an ally of Cromwell. In November, Lambert disperses parliament, but does not find support from the generals. In this situation, General George Monck staged a coup in February 1660, threw Lambert into the Tower and began negotiating with Prince Charles to restore the monarchy.
1661 - On January 30, on the day of the execution of Charles I, the bodies of Cromwell, Ayrton and Bradshaw were dug out of their graves and subjected to mockery: first the corpses were hanged, then their heads were cut off, they were impaled on 6-meter stakes and displayed in front of Westminster Abbey. The bodies were chopped into small pieces and drowned in sewage. Thus England marked the beginning of a new stage in its history.
Oliver Cromwell(English Oliver Cromwell; April 25 (May 5), 1599, Huntingdon - September 3 (13), 1658, London) - English statesman and commander, leader of the Independents, leader of the English Revolution, in 1643-1650 - lieutenant general of the parliamentary army , in 1650-1653 - Lord General, in 1653-1658 - Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Origin
Born into the family of a poor Puritan landowner in Huntingdon, the center of the county of the same name. Cromwell's distant ancestors enriched themselves during the reign of King Henry VIII (1509-1547), profiting from the confiscations of monastic and church lands.
Cromwell's great-great-grandmother Catherine was the elder sister of Thomas Cromwell, chief advisor to King Henry VIII from 1532-1540.
He received his primary education at the parish school of Huntingdon, and in 1616-1617 he studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, which was distinguished by its strong Puritan spirit.
After Cromwell dropped out of law school at the university, he had to marry the daughter of a local landowner. After the wedding, he began to lead the typical life of a simple squire-landowner on his estate and engage in economic affairs: selling wool and bread, brewing, and producing cheese. Subsequently, arrogant royalists would remember Cromwell’s “ignoble” occupation and reward him with the contemptuous nickname “Brewer.”
Cromwell was a zealous Protestant, the leader of the round-headed Puritans. The catch phrase was Cromwell’s words addressed to the soldiers while crossing the river: “Trust in God, but keep your gunpowder dry.”
Military career. Political activity
At the outbreak of the English Civil War, Cromwell led a force of sixty horsemen as captain. This unit would later evolve into the famous Ironside Cavalry, which in turn would form the basis of his New Model Army.
Cromwell's leadership talent was revealed in a series of battles, especially the Battle of Marston Moor (1644), as a result of which the entire north of England found itself in the power of Parliament. His troops invariably defeated the king's supporters. In addition, Cromwell managed to achieve democratization of the army: according to the “Bill of Self-Denial”, all members of Parliament resigned their command. Peers lost their traditional right to command the armed forces, and a 22,000-strong “New Model Army” was created, based on democratic elements. Its commander-in-chief was General Thomas Fairfax, while the commander of the cavalry was Oliver Cromwell himself. The striking force of the army was his yeoman cavalry, whose discipline was based on voluntary submission.
It was Cromwell's army that defeated Charles I at the decisive battle of Naseby on June 14, 1645. As leader of the parliamentary Puritan coalition (also known as the "Roundheads" because of their close-cropped hair) and commander of the New Model Army, Cromwell defeated King Charles I, ending the monarch's claim to absolute power.
Cromwell in power
Having received certain powers, Cromwell abolished the upper house of parliament and appointed a council of his Protestant comrades-in-arms. Under the new leader, the following decrees were issued: a ban on duels in the army, the legal status of civil (without a wedding ceremony) marriages, and the transfer of all royal property to the state treasury. Cromwell himself received the title of generalissimo. However, having taken power into his own hands (having received the new title of Lord Protector), he began to establish a truly “iron” order, effectively establishing a personal dictatorship (Cromwell’s protectorate).
Cromwell brutally suppressed uprisings in Ireland and Scotland. Thus, on September 3, 1650, at the Battle of Dunbar, a Scottish army almost twice the size of the British was defeated. Exactly one year later, on September 3, 1651, the English under the walls of Worcester under the command of Oliver Cromwell won a final victory over the Scots. He divided the country into twelve military governorates, headed by major generals who were personally accountable to him. Introduced the protection of main roads. Established a tax collection system. He collected money, and considerable money, for all the transformations from the defeated supporters of the king. During his reign, Cromwell made peace with Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Portugal and continued the war with England's longtime enemy, Spain.
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