Oliver Cromwell. What you english people think about him?

Question

Was he a king? was he a betrayor of the crown? He was the only reason England became the most powerful nation in the world until the First World War? I'm asking because in that time there was no king and England had a great development. If there was another Lord Protector like him, England would become more powerful than it is?

I know that the monarchy was restored whe he died, but the period he was the Lord Protector made a whole diference to the England or didn't?

Answer 1

I think the view of Cromwell is generally positive - he broke the overwhelming power of the Crown so that, when the monarchy was restored, it was not nearly so powerful as it had been. Cutting off Charles I head is considered a little excessive but he certainly isn't hated on the mainland (although rightly loathed in Ireland).

I don't think he can claim credit for the early industrial revolution or the colonial impulse to Empire, which kept England on top. But in his more narrow field of reducing the power of the monarch - he did a good job.

There's a famous comic history of England called, "1066 and All That" in which the Cromwell and his Roundheads are called "Right but Repulsive" and that's probably about right.

The Royalists (by the way) are called "Wrong but Wromantic" which fits too.

Answer 2

Do you mean that from the period of the English civil war (1642-51) till the first world war(1914-1918) there was no king in England? In actual fact, the monachy was restored, all be it with far less power, in 1660, with King Charles the second, less than ten years after his dad had his head lopped off. So evidently the idea of England without a king wasnt terribly popular.
England as an empire didnt really develop much at all on the world stage until 'The Restoration' of the Monarchy. Until then, they were busy re jigging the internal culture, closing down theatres, stopping people having fun, that sort of thing. Sort of like the taliban of their day.
Cromwell never really wanted to be Lord Protector, he sort of had the job forced on him by circumstances.
The closest you would get these days would be a president, American style.
I cant really see how Britain could become more powerful while it lives so much in the shadow of America.

-And Im sorry, but Caicos Turkey's answer is a blatant cut and paste, most probably from the ubiquitous Wikipedia...

Answer 3

He was the life and soul of the New Model Army party, fun, fun, fun all the way. What a great guy for a bonfire party!!!! he was the one who invented the little black number and his father was a butcher.
Her did alot of vandalism eg he knocked down Caephilly castle and Raglan castle.
He was a small man big problems the epitome of the protestant patriarch.
Listen to The Pogues song Young Ned of the Hill sums up how many felt/feel about Oliver Cromwell.

Answer 4

Simon Schama described him and his New Model Army as the 'Taliban on Horseback' banning Christmas and dancing. At the time it was more like England was more like a Junta than a kingdom. Although many attribute the country we have today to him along with one or two of the monarchs.

Answer 5

By hook or by crook- a saying atributed to him. Love or loathe him he seen England through the dark times of civil war.
Universally hated in Ireland for being a bit of a bas**rd and rightly so. By all accounts was a humourless chap and a bit heavy on his religeon.
I think there's a statue to him in Huntingdon Cambridgeshire

Answer 6

He was a damn bastard, a self righteous murderer and invader, thanks for helping me make a connection between him and one G W bush.

and the period he was lord protector did not make a big difference in English power per se, but it probably helped make the brits easier with the idea of getting rid of an unwanted monarch, and facilitate the ousting of James VII and the replacement of the legitimate Stuart dynasty with those usurping hanoverians whose descendants are still disgracing the throne.

Answer 7

Most of the English folks I met dislike Cromwell intensly

Answer 8

Oliver Cromwell made his name as a radical Parliamentarian when he was elected to represent Cambridge City, first in the Short Parliament (April 1640) then in the Long Parliament (August 1640 through April 1660). From the outset the Long Parliament proved a hard taskmaster, refusing to authorize any funding until Charles I - who was seriously bankrupt and beholden to the Scots for the sum of £850 per day - was brought to book. Charles was stripped of his power as Parliament took control of fiscal policy and placed the army and navy under their supervision. When war broke out in 1642, Cromwell came into his own, proving himself a natural soldier.

Born in Huntingdon in 1599 to a relatively poor squirearchal family, Cromwell found religious zeal as a Puritan while studying at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. His faith influenced his appearance: he was conservative in his clothing and austere in composure; his commanding voice and fervour proved a trademark in parliament. But it was in the conduct of war that he excelled. Following Charles' failed attempt to arrest five MPs - among them Cromwell's relative John Pym - civil war ensued. Cromwell acted after losing the battle at Edge Hill to a superior Royalist cavalry. By adding 60 horses to the Roundhead cause, the Battle of Marston Moor (1644) became a Roundhead victory. After this event, Cromwell earned his nickname 'Ironsides'. The final Cavalier defeat came at Naseby in 1645 and Cromwell had a major part to play in the negotiations that followed. He was, however, accused by all sides of conspiracy and by 1648 civil war erupted once again when the Long Parliament was reduced to the Rump Parliament and Cromwell's army forcibly removed 110 MPs from the House.

Cromwell's stature was confirmed at Preston (August 1648) when the New Model Army triumphed under his command. Thus his controversial career began. After the execution of Charles in 1649, he ordered the subjugation of Ireland, massacring civilians at Drogheda and Wexford, and the remaining population was constrained by the Act of Settlement in 1653. Scotland was invaded and the nobility forced to submit. Cromwell muzzled the press and defeated Leveller rebels.

The Rump Parliament was defeated in another dissolution of Parliament in April 1653, and an oligarchy established with the creation of the Barebones Parliament (also known as the Nominated Parliament), which proved a failure. In response Cromwell further asserted his power and established the Instrument of Government, awarding himself the office of Lord Protector supported by a single-chamber parliament. At the same time, his expensive army and failed trade wars with the Dutch proved expensive. Despite himself Cromwell had re-established the monarchy in all but name and returned England to the unhappy days of Charles I's reign. Even so, his benevolent despotism was acceptable to a weary nation and went uncontested. Cromwell's death in September 1658 was the only close to this particular chapter and even though his son Richard was named as successor, Cromwell's Commonwealth did not succeed and monarchy was restored by 1660.

Oliver Cromwell was undoubtedly sincere, devout and conscientious. He also appears to have been lacking in personal ambition and achieved his position by talent rather than by jostling for power. It would be hard to find a comparable leader nowadays.

Answer 9

A.rse! Let Marty McFly travel back and wipe him out at birth! Bring back a proper Monarchy, bring back the Empire!

Answer 10

Good principles, carried them out badly