Oliver Cromwell. The Kingslayer.

 Oliver Cromwell

The second of ten children, Oliver Cromwell was born in 1599, in a Protestant family which descended from Thomas Cromwell, the chief-minister of King Henry VIII. Even though his family was not particularly rich, it had many connections. As a result, young Cromwell received a high standard education. In 1620, he married Elizabeth Bourchier. 

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)

Elizabeth Cromwell, Oliver's wife

In 1625, King James I of England passed away. King Charles I, James' first son, inherited the crown. While the reign of James was quite peaceful and prosperous, Charles' reign would prove to be very different. Despite being a Protestant, he married Henrietta Maria, the daughter of King Henry IV of France who was a Catholic. This marriage drew many criticism in England. Furthermore, Charles asked the Parliament for more taxes to finance his military campaigns against France, but the Parliament rejected. 

Charles I of England (1625-1649)

In 1628, Cromwell became Member of the Parliament in an another attempt of Charles I to raise taxes. Once again, he failed, so he decided to rule without any interference from the Parliament. The period between 1629 to 1640 would become known as ''The Years Personal Rule''. However, the Bishops War started in Scotland in 1640 and Charles was forced to summon another Parliament. It is worth mentioning that since 1603, England, Scotland and Wales had been in a personal union of crowns with Charles being their king. So, once again the King asked for money and once again he got nothing. 

Charles attempting to arrest the MPs who were against him

As for Cromwell, he was again a MP. His speeches during parliamentary sessions were full of criticism towards the King's policies. In January 1642, Charles entered the Parliament with his troops to arrest the MPs who were against him. Unfortunately, the MPs had already fled and so did the King. In March, both the King and the Parliament started to raise their own armies. The English Civil War had begun. Cromwell sided with the Parliament and took part in the Battle of Edgehill, in October 1642. Despite having no battle experience, Oliver proved to be a very capable soldier and military commander. In 1643, he secured East Anglia for Parliament. In 1644, he defeated the cavalry of Charles I at the Battle of Marston Moor.

The Battle of Marston Moor, 1644

After this battle, he was promoted lieutenant-general and he earned the nickname ''Ironside''. In 1645, Cromwell and his cavalry played the decisive role at the Battle of Naseby. Here, the royalist army was entirely wiped out. A year later, Charles I was caught by the Scots and given to the English. The First English Civil War was over. At first, Parliament tried to cut the deal with the King, but Charles stubbornly refused. Moreover, he made a secret arrangement with the Scots to invade England and restore him to the throne. This triggered the Second English Civil War. However, the Scots were no match for Cromwell and his army and the war ended rapidly. In the end, Charles was put on a mock trial. He was found guilty and executed on January 30th, 1649. 

The execution of King Charles I

Only 59 MPs dared to put their names on the execution order. Cromwell was one of them. In 1650, Oliver Cromwell was sent to put an end to the rebellion in Ireland. To achieve his mission, Cromwell ordered massacres of the Irish population. The atrocities of that campaign are still remembered even today. Eventually, in 1651 he defeated the Scots once again after they supported Charles' son, the future King Charles II of England. 

Meanwhile in London, the Parliament became so corrupt and its only concern was to be sure that it would never be dissolved again. Cromwell had had enough, and in delicious historic irony he sent troops to Westminster, in April 1653. Parliament was dissolved and replaced with an assembly composed of only 140 members. However, they dissolved themselves and handed all the power to Cromwell. So, a man with humble origins became the ruler of England. The Instrument of Government, the new constitution was drawn up, and he declared himself ''Lord Protector of the Commonwealth''. There were many historians who accused Cromwell of being a ruthless tyrant, but this may not be the case. After all, the new constitution split the government across 3 elements:

1. Executive power was held by the Lord Protector. However, the post was elective
2. Parliament had the legislative power
3. A Council of State would provide advice to the Lord Protector 

In 1655, Cromwell dissolved Parliament. The dissolution came as word was leaking out abot Lord Protector's secret alliance with France against Spain. Of course, taxes were raised to finance the war effort. The same year, a Royalist rebellion was defeated.

Colonel John Penruddock; he lead the 1655 uprising against Cromwell but he was defeated and executed for treason

After he cleaned Parliament of all his enemies, in 1657 the same institution proclaimed him King of England. He refused the crown but he earned the nickname ''King Oliver''. In 1658, Oliver Cromwell passed away. In 1660, Charles II, son of Charles I, was restored to the throne.