Oliver Cromwell

Lore & Background

Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon on 25 April 1599 to Robert Cromwell and his second wife Elizabeth. He studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, leaving in June 1617 without a degree after his father's death. He married Elizabeth Bourchier on 22 August 1620, a marriage that brought him into contact with influential Puritan gentry and London merchants. The couple had nine children, though two died in infancy and two others died young.

Cromwell was elected MP for Huntingdon in 1628, but much of his life before 1640 was marked by financial and personal failure. He became a religious Independent in the 1630s, believing his successes were the result of divine providence. In 1640, he served as MP for Cambridge in the Short and Long Parliaments. When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, he joined the Parliamentarian army and quickly demonstrated military prowess. In 1645, he was appointed commander of the New Model Army cavalry under Thomas Fairfax.

After the execution of Charles I and the exile of his son Charles II, military victories in Ireland and Scotland established the Commonwealth and Cromwell's dominance. He was named Lord Protector in December 1653, a position he held until his death. After his death in 1658, his son Richard succeeded him but proved weak, leading to the 1660 Stuart Restoration. Cromwell's body was removed from Westminster Abbey and hanged at Tyburn on 30 January 1661 as a posthumous execution; his head was displayed on Westminster Hall until at least 1684, then passed through private collections before being reburied in 1960.

Reader's Guide

Oliver Cromwell's historical reputation is continually debated. He is a controversial figure due to his use of military force to acquire and retain political power, his role in the execution of Charles I, and the brutality of his 1649 conquest of Ireland. Winston Churchill described Cromwell as a military dictator, while others view him as a hero of liberty. His legacy is marked by the establishment of the Commonwealth of England and his rule as Lord Protector, a period that ended with the Stuart Restoration. First proposed in 1856, his statue outside the Houses of Parliament was not erected until 1895, with most funds privately supplied by Prime Minister Archibald Primrose. Cromwell's life reflects the tensions of his era: religious conviction, military ambition, and the struggle for political authority. His posthumous execution and the display of his head underscore the deep divisions he caused, which persist in historical assessments.

Did You Know?

• Cromwell's body was hanged at Tyburn on 30 January 1661 as a posthumous execution, and his head was displayed on Westminster Hall until at least 1684.
• He attempted to emigrate to what became the Connecticut Colony in 1634 but was prevented by the government.
• Cromwell's great-great-grandfather was Morgan ap William, a brewer from Glamorgan, Wales, who married Katherine Cromwell, sister of Thomas Cromwell.
• His statue outside the Houses of Parliament was first proposed in 1856 but not erected until 1895.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"If the remonstrance had been rejected I would have sold all I had the next morning and never have seen England more, and I know there are many other modest men of the same resolution." — Oliver Cromwell "I had rather have a plain, russet-coated Captain, that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that you call a Gentleman and is nothing else." — Oliver Cromwell "A few honest men are better than numbers." — Oliver Cromwell "The State, in choosing men to serve it, takes no notice of their opinions; if they be willing faithfully to serve it – that satisfies. I advised you formerly to bear with men of different minds from yourself." — Oliver Cromwell