Oliver Cromwell: The Man Who Killed a King
Summary
TLDRThe video script narrates the complex life and legacy of Oliver Cromwell, an English Puritan and military leader who rose from humble beginnings to become a significant figure in British history. Cromwell is best known for his role in the English Civil War and the execution of King Charles I. Despite his controversial actions, including war crimes and the establishment of a military dictatorship, he is also recognized for his advocacy of religious freedom and his impact on the development of parliamentary democracy. The script explores Cromwell's personal transformation, his military prowess, and the political turmoil that characterized his era. It concludes with the ultimate dissolution of his Protectorate and the restoration of the monarchy, highlighting the cyclical nature of power and the complexities of historical interpretation.
Takeaways
- 👑 Oliver Cromwell was a key figure in the English Civil War, known for signing Charles I's death warrant and becoming the Lord Protector of England.
- 🏰 Born into modest circumstances, Cromwell rose from a farmer to a leading Puritan and advocate for religious freedom, despite his military and political ambitions.
- 🛡️ Cromwell's military prowess was instrumental in the Parliamentary victory during the English Civil Wars, where he led his cavalry to decisive victories at battles like Marston Moor and Naseby.
- 🔍 His personal transformation from a humble farmer to a military leader was marked by a spiritual awakening that aligned him with the Puritan movement.
- ⚔️ The script details the political unrest and conflicts that arose during the reigns of James I and Charles I, which set the stage for the English Civil War.
- 🏛️ Cromwell's actions in dissolving Parliaments and his eventual rise to power echo the very behaviors he opposed in the monarchy, highlighting the complexities of his character.
- 🇮🇪 Cromwell's campaign in Ireland was marked by brutality, with the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford leaving a dark stain on his legacy.
- 📜 Despite his military successes, Cromwell struggled with governance, as evidenced by the multiple dissolutions of Parliament and the failed Protectorate system.
- 👥 Cromwell's rule was not without support, but his actions and the perceived betrayal of his principles led to a loss of allies and a tarnished reputation.
- 👑 The Protectorate's end and the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II rendered much of Cromwell's efforts seemingly in vain, as the old system was reestablished.
- 🏛️ Cromwell's legacy is a mix of military genius and political failure, with his actions contributing to the development of modern democratic ideals, despite the setbacks and reversals that occurred after his death.
Q & A
Who was Oliver Cromwell and why is he significant in history?
-Oliver Cromwell was an English Puritan who rose to become a military dictator and is most famous for signing the death warrant that led to the execution of Charles I in 1649. His actions challenged the concept of the Divine Right of Kings and he played a central role in England's civil war.
What was the political climate like in England during the reign of Charles I?
-The political climate during Charles I's reign was tense, marked by religious conflicts and disagreements over taxation. Charles I's support for a form of Anglicism that appeared close to Catholicism and his insistence on raising taxes without parliamentary consent led to a growing Puritan movement against his rule.
How did Oliver Cromwell's personal experiences influence his political and religious beliefs?
-Cromwell's personal experiences, particularly his severe spiritual illness and subsequent conversion to Puritanism, had a profound impact on his political and religious beliefs. He emerged as a staunch defender of the Puritan faith and an advocate for religious freedom.
What were the key events that led to the outbreak of the English Civil War?
-The key events leading to the English Civil War included Charles I's attempts to raise taxes without parliamentary approval, his dissolution of parliaments that opposed him, and his conflict with the Puritan movement. The war began in 1642 when Charles I raised an army and the Parliament responded by raising their own forces.
How did Cromwell's military career begin and what were his early achievements?
-Cromwell's military career began during the English Civil War when he successfully defended Cambridge against a royalist attack. He later raised a mounted army, which proved to be highly effective, and became known for his leadership at the Battle of Edgehill and the Battle of Marston Moor.
What was the outcome of the English Civil War and how did it affect Cromwell's status?
-The English Civil War ended with the defeat of the royalist forces and the capture of Charles I. This victory elevated Cromwell's status, and he became a prominent figure in the new government, eventually leading to his rise as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
What were the consequences of Cromwell's actions in Ireland?
-Cromwell's actions in Ireland, particularly the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford, were brutal and resulted in significant civilian and military casualties. These events are still remembered for their cruelty and are considered atrocities.
How did Cromwell's rule as Lord Protector impact the governance of England?
-Cromwell's rule as Lord Protector introduced a new constitution, the Instrument of Government, which split power between Cromwell, a council of state, and a new Parliament. However, his rule was also marked by the dissolution of Parliaments that opposed him and the establishment of a military dictatorship, which was unpopular and short-lived.
What was the fate of Cromwell's political achievements after his death?
-After Cromwell's death, his son Richard briefly succeeded him, but the Protectorate effectively ended with the restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660. Cromwell's political achievements, including the changes made during the Interregnum, were largely reversed.
How is Cromwell's legacy viewed in the context of the broader history of revolutions?
-Cromwell's legacy is complex. While he committed atrocities and his personal ambition led to a failed revolution, he was also a great general and leader who challenged the concept of the Divine Right of Kings. His actions contributed to the development of ideas that later influenced the founding fathers of the United States.
What was the significance of the execution of Charles I in the context of the Divine Right of Kings?
-The execution of Charles I was a significant event because it challenged the idea of the Divine Right of Kings, which held that monarchs were chosen by God to rule and could not be removed from power. Cromwell's role in this event symbolized a shift in the balance of power and the potential for political change.
Outlines
🏰 Rise of a Military Dictator: Oliver Cromwell
This paragraph introduces Oliver Cromwell, an English Puritan who rose from humble beginnings to become a military dictator. He is best known for signing the death warrant of King Charles I, leading to the king's execution in 1649. Cromwell's actions challenged the Divine Right of Kings and set the stage for significant political upheavals. Born into a well-connected Protestant family, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening that led him to become a staunch defender of Puritanism. His early life was marked by political stability, but the reign of Charles I and the king's controversial policies on religion and taxation ignited the growing Puritan movement, of which Cromwell became a leading figure.
🛡️ The Path to Civil War: Cromwell's Military Career
This section delves into Cromwell's transformation from a farmer to a military leader during the English Civil War. Initially lacking combat experience, Cromwell's strategic acumen and organizational skills quickly became apparent. He played a pivotal role in securing East Anglia for the Parliamentarians and was instrumental in the formation of a highly effective cavalry force. Cromwell's leadership at the Battle of Marston Moor and other key engagements earned him the nickname 'Ironside' and recognition as a formidable military commander. His military successes were crucial in the eventual defeat of the Royalist forces and the capture of King Charles I.
⚔️ The English Civil Wars and Cromwell's Ascendancy
The narrative continues with the tumultuous period of the English Civil Wars, highlighting Cromwell's significant contributions. After the first war, he attempted to broker peace with Charles I, advocating for a new constitution to prevent the king's abuses of power. However, Charles's intransigence led to the second civil war, during which Cromwell quelled the Royalist uprising and defeated the Scottish forces supporting the king. The discovery of Charles's involvement with the Scots resulted in his trial and execution. Cromwell then faced the third civil war, where he once again demonstrated his military prowess by defeating the Scots at the Battle of Worcester, effectively ending the civil wars in Britain.
🤴 The Lord Protector and His Rule
This paragraph explores Cromwell's rise to power as the Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Initially reluctant to assume absolute power, he eventually accepted the title and established a new constitution, the Instrument of Government. This document aimed to create a balance of power between Cromwell, a council of state, and a new Parliament. However, the new Parliament's resistance to his authority and his own actions, such as dissolving it and establishing a military dictatorship, drew comparisons to the monarchy he had helped overthrow. Despite these setbacks, Cromwell's rule saw some progressive measures, including the guarantee of representation for Scotland and Ireland.
👥 The Aftermath and Legacy of Cromwell's Rule
The final paragraph discusses the aftermath of Cromwell's death and the rapid unraveling of his achievements. His son Richard's brief and ineffective rule as Lord Protector led to the restoration of the monarchy with Charles II. Cromwell's body was posthumously disinterred and subjected to a symbolic execution, reflecting the rejection of his rule. Despite the reversal of his political legacy, Cromwell's role as a military leader and his contribution to the defeat of a tyrannical king had lasting implications, influencing future liberal revolutions. His complex legacy as both a despot and a figure who challenged absolute monarchy is acknowledged.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Oliver Cromwell
💡Divine Right of Kings
💡Puritan Movement
💡English Civil War
💡Charles I
💡Regicide
💡Long Parliament
💡Lord Protector
💡Rump Parliament
💡Instrument of Government
💡Restoration
Highlights
Oliver Cromwell, an English Puritan turned military dictator, is most famous for signing the death warrant leading to Charles I's execution.
Cromwell rose from humble beginnings as a farmer to challenge the Divine Right of Kings.
His family had ties to nobility and the Protestant Reformation, influencing his strict Protestant outlook.
Cromwell experienced a profound spiritual conversion that led him to become a defender of the Puritan faith.
Charles I's reign was marked by conflict with Parliament over taxes and religious reforms, leading to the English Civil War.
Cromwell's military career began with no experience, but he quickly became a key figure in the Parliamentary forces.
He recognized the need for a strong cavalry and successfully raised a formidable force.
Cromwell's leadership at the Battle of Marston Moor was pivotal in securing a victory for the Parliamentarians.
Despite being an MP, Cromwell was allowed to continue serving in the military due to his military prowess.
Cromwell's cavalry played a decisive role in the Battle of Naseby, effectively ending the first English Civil War.
After the war, Cromwell attempted to negotiate with Charles I for a new constitutional settlement.
Cromwell's response to the second English Civil War was swift, leading to a decisive victory against Scottish forces.
Charles I was executed, and Cromwell did not immediately seize power, leaving the Rump Parliament in control.
Cromwell was eventually made Lord Protector, establishing a new constitution with a balance of power.
His rule saw periods of military dictatorship and attempts to dissolve and reconvene Parliament.
Cromwell's actions in Ireland during the rebellion were marked by atrocities and cruelty.
Despite his efforts, Cromwell's legacy was largely dismantled after his death, with the restoration of Charles II.
Cromwell's body was posthumously disinterred and executed, symbolizing the rejection of his rule.
Though controversial, Cromwell's actions laid the groundwork for future liberal revolutions.
Transcripts
he's the man who killed a king Oliver
Cromwell the English Puritan turns
military dictator is today most famous
for signing the death warrant that led
to Charles the First's bloody execution
in 1649 over a hundred years before the
American and French Revolutions shook
the globe this small time British farmer
from the British sticks proved with
steel that the Divine Right of Kings was
not so holy after all what possessed a
guy who worked in agriculture to drop
his tools one day and go and commit
regicide the story is even more
fascinating than you probably think from
his humble background Cromwell would
rise to become a leading Puritan and
tireless advocate of religious freedom
even as he committed war crimes on the
battlefields violence and pursued
personal empowerment with a terrifying
zeal an idol for some an ogre to others
this is the true story of the man who
spearheaded England's civil war
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like many great men of history Oliver
Cromwell was born into surprisingly
modest circumstances
well modest for the landed classes of
Britain who in the dying days of the
sixteenth century we're the only ones
who really mattered the second of 10
children young Oliver was the product of
a Protestant family that had done well
out of the Reformation seven decades
earlier
rising from brewers to owners of a
smaller state he could trace a family
link back to Henry the eighth's advisor
Thomas Cromwell and his nearby
grandfather frequently entertained James
the First's royal hunting party young
Oliver may not have been rich but he was
certainly well-connected
he was also growing up in the shadow of
Britain's most notorious terrorist
attack in 1605 vengeful Catholic said
gunpowder beneath the House of Lords
intending to blow up the King
the plots discovery fired off a wave of
anti-catholic fervor across England
something that may well have helped form
young Oliver's strict Protestant outlook
terrorism beside though the reign of
James the first was mostly stable and
Oliver lived a mostly stable life he
attended school spent a year at
Cambridge University no need to be
forced to return to the family's east
anglia estate after his father died in
1620 he married Elizabeth bosha
and as that really should have been that
however in 1625 something happens that
would act as a catalyst for all the
bloodshed that was about to follow on
March the 27th James the first died his
son Charles the first inherited the
throne it was the start of a long march
towards catastrophe Charles the first
was by most accounts shy and rather
sweet fellow in private in public he was
everything the growing Puritan movement
in England feared his wife was a
Catholic he supported a form of
Anglicism that appeared dangerously
close to Catholicism oh and he was super
keen on raising taxes to send his friend
Lord bucking and gallivanting off to
fight Foreign Wars that England did not
stand a chance of winning when the new
king convened his first Parliament in
1625 it became known as the useless
Parliament because its members refused
to vote through those new taxes that
Charles wanted annoys Charles dissolved
the parliaments after just 12 days one
yet later he tried again only for the
MPS two also refused
raise taxes that would be wasted on
Buckinghams boneheaded buccaneering
so once again Charles dissolved
parliament and by the way get ready to
hear that sentence a lot while London
was indulging in high politics back in
East Anglia Oliver Cromwell was in the
grip of a severe spiritual illness
plagued for years by serious depression
he finally slipped into a funk one night
that became a fever and that nearly
became death when he finally recovered
he was a changed man
Cromwell would later describe his
experiences emerging from darkness into
light the light of Puritanism from then
on he would be a staunch defender of the
Puritan faith the road to Damascus style
conversion may explain what happened
next in 1628 Charles the first decided
once again to try raising taxes and
calls yet another Parliament's this time
cromwell decided to join using those
connections that we talked about earlier
he managed to literally get himself a
front row seat to the most explosive
Parliament in decades by 1628 Charles
had resorted to extracting money from
his subjects at sore point known as
forced loans they were as unpopular as
daylight robbery tends to be and became
even more so when buckingham used the
money not just for disastrous adventures
in Spain but also to launch an
identically disastrous war with France
that Charles had resorted to locking up
MPs who refused to pay only added fuel
to the dumbster fire that was now the
new Parliament as a young Cromwell
looked on Charles refused to accept the
new Parliament's assertion of their
rights to refuse unwarranted taxation
Parliament blamed Buckingham for
influencing the king only for a young
army officer to then assassinate Lord
Burnett Charles blamed MPs for the death
of his friends and you guessed it he
dissolved parliament he did this in
something of a fit of pique and that
piqued by the way lasted for eleven
years no Parliament would sit from March
of 1629 to April of 1644 became known as
the years of personal rule for Cromwell
personal rule was tough Sean of his
parliamentary standing he wound up
losing contact with his old network
selling his property and taking on a
small farming came
to survive by 1636 Cromwell was a broke
unimportant nobody with zero prospects
even considered emigrating to America
and joining him with the pilgrims
thankfully the 1630s closed with dew
bits of good luck for Cromwell first in
1636 is fabulously wealthy childless
uncle died and left Oliver everything
second in 1639 Charles the first did
something spectacularly stupid he tried
to force his religious beliefs on
Scotland at that time Scotland had been
in union with England Wales for less
than 40 years Scots still worshipped
Presbyterian star with none of the fancy
stuff so beloved of Charles when Charles
tried to ram his religious reforms
through the Scots they went nuts known
as the bishops was the following battle
saw Scotland invade and occupying
northern England Charles sued for peace
and the Scots said essentially sure on
two conditions one no more of this fancy
religious bollocks and to pay us all of
our war expenses so completely broke
with an occupying army in the nation's
north Charles was forced to grit his
teeth and summon and other Parliament's
this attempt would go even worse than
all of his others the parliaments of
1640 got off to a farcical start known
as the short Parliament this time it
lasted only three weeks before oh yes
Charles dissolved parliament but he was
still broke so he called for yet another
parliament just six months later and
finally we reached the end of our run of
Charles dissolving things because the
second Parliament of 1640 is known
fittingly as the Long Parliament
although the Long Parliament wasn't a
straight revival of the 1628 Parliament
it did feature some familiar faces among
them was Oliver Cromwell now influential
Puritan with new connections Cromwell
became MP for Cambridge during the
eleven years of personal rule had lost
his shyness in the first week of the
Long Parliament he made an impassioned
speech attacking the Kings imprisonments
of Freeborn John in the seconds he
launched a ferocious broadside of
Charles's attempts to force his brand of
Christianity upon his people while the
speeches were partly
you know Churchill they were passionate
enough that Cromwell began to get
noticed while an act putting some of
Charles's taxes on a legal footing kept
the Kings somewhat happy Parliament also
passed bills accusing his advisers of
treason and making it illegal for
Charles to dissolve Parliament without
their consent oh and they also attacked
his Catholic wife because that's just
how things entirely went down in 17th
century Britain by 1641 things had
completely deteriorated a civil war had
erupted in Ireland royalist coup had
been crushed in Scotland then Parliament
went and presented Charles with
something called the grand remonstrance
this was basically a top-10 list with a
title the reasons we hate you you stupid
tyrants never a man to take criticism
well Charles became convinced that this
was all a Puritan plot against him on
January the 4th 16 of 42 Charles led a
group of soldiers into the House of
Commons to arrest five prominent MPs a
move unprecedented in English history
but the MPs they weren't there they'd
been tipped off and fled embarrassed
convinced the world was against him
Charles left for London on January the
10th when he arrived in his traditional
Haven of Oxford he began raising an army
in March Parliament voted to raise their
own by now everyone had a fairly good
idea of where this was heading in August
1642 the first English Civil War finally
began pitching royalist forces against
Parliament's army it would ultimately
lead to some 200,000 deaths
unfortunately for most but not all for
Oliver Cromwell this would be the moment
when he stepped out of the shadows into
the blinding light of history from the
get-go Cromwell was at the heart of the
war even though he was just a farmer
with no fighting experience one of the
very first engagements of the conflicts
came when he's successfully garrisoned
Cambridge against a royalist attack but
it would be at the Battle of Edgehill in
October where Cromwell really became a
soldier the battle was a stalemate but
Cromwell was able to witness firsthand
the effectiveness of the Royalists horse
mounted troops convinced the
parliamentarians needed cavalry to win
the war he headed back to East Anglia to
raise a mounted army it's almost
impossible to overstate how effective
Cromwell's horsemen would become by mid
60
forty-three they'd secured East Anglia
for Parliament in 1644 they wiped the
floor with Charles's own mounted troops
at the Battle of Marston Moor Cromwell
was such a natural leader of men that he
was soon promoted to left-handed general
and given the nickname iron sight his
men were professional disciplines and
loyal qualities sorely lacking in the
rest of the parliamentary army in fact
it was Cromwell's obvious military skill
that stops him from exiting the story at
this point
fed up with xrs de Kratz leading their
army Parliament passed a motion in 1645
to kick every MP and Lord out of the
military as MP Cromwell should have been
among them the Parliament passed a
second law allowing him to continue
serving under a new leader Thomas
Fairfax they knew the winning the war
rested on Cromwell's cavalry in 1645
cromwell's horseman played the decisive
role at the Battle of Naseby here they
effectively wiped out the royalist army
Charles held firm for another year but
in 1646 Cromwell took his stronghold of
Oxford Charles fled into the night
disguised as a servants he travelled
north and threw himself on the mercy of
his old enemies the Scots unsurprisingly
the Scots traded into England and with
that the first English Civil War was
over
[Music]
remarkably for a regicide or dictator
Cromwell responded to Charles's capture
by trying to force Parliament to cut a
deal with him Cromwell sincerely
believed that the only way forward was
to restore Charles the first to the
throne only with a new constitution in
place to stop him running around and
raising taxes and dissolving
Parliament's the hero of the
parliamentary cause even droid a
rebellion against Parliament that year
using his influence to force out 11
Presbyterian MPs that he considered ante
Ami if Charles the first had been just a
little bit less of a stubborn ass it
would have all ended right here sadly
being an ass was what Charles was all
about despite losing the war he refused
to accept any deal with Parliament
instead he got a secret deal with the
Scots to make the whole of Britain
Presbyterian if they're just invade and
restore him to the throne and the Scots
they agreed and so we come to the
embarrassment that is the second English
Civil War embarrassing because of its
farcical lack of coordination Royalist
uprising is paralysed Wales in southern
England in 1648 but the Scots didn't
invade until Cromwell and Fairfax had
already subdued them in August Cromwell
Road North met the Scottish army and
annihilated it so much for that
however there were two important
outcomes from this second dust-up the
first was that the army forcibly purged
Parliament of MPs who didn't support
Cromwell and Fairfax this severely
reduced long Parliament became known as
the rump the second was that Charles's
role in the Scottish invasion was
inevitably discovered with Cromwell's
blessing the rump dragged Charles before
it and held a mock trial Charles he was
sentenced to death only 59 MPs including
Cromwell dared to put their names on the
execution order on January the 30th 1649
Charles was publicly executed in London
his head lopped off and held aloft for
the crowds to see unpopular as he was
it's thought only a hundred or so men in
the whole of England wanted to see him
dead it's just a shame for Charles that
one of those men happened to be Oliver
Cromwell yet powerful as Cromwell was at
this stage he didn't just transition
straight to ruler of Britain after
Charles died it was the rump that now
held supremacy and Cromwell
was pretty fine with that they supported
his army and besides history still had
one major task for him in 1650 Cromwell
was sent to end the Irish war the Irish
rebellion had been bubbling away in the
background the entire time England was
in chaos
now that the chaos was seemingly over it
was only natural that England would want
its wayward province back sadly to
achieve the same Cromwell did some truly
terrible things
cromwell's massacres at Droid ER and
Wexford are still remembered for their
cruelty both involve Cromwell besieging
a town then offering no quarter to
soldiers or civilians thousands and
thousands died while some historians
have suggested the scale of suffering
was exaggerated those little arguments
that both sieges constituted atrocities
still they did end the Irish rebellion
and Cromwell returned to England in 1650
just in time to land himself in the mess
of the third English civil war that year
Charles's son shall ii reopened his
father's pact with the Scots and was
proclaimed king of Scotland Parliament
demanded that Scots be crushed but
Thomas Fairfax refused to attack first
so Cromwell was made commander in chief
and he was sent north in September of
1650 one he finally defeated the Scots
at the Battle of Worcester and this
marks the end of the civil wars in
Britain so what does a general he was
won three civil wars and crushed a
rebellion do in peacetime well luckily
for Cromwell a different sort of war was
now brewing in Westminster the rump was
going mad with power through 1652 to
1653 it passed no useful legislation
except to make itself immortal the
ranters come into being as a stopgap a
temporary measure until the wars were
over and new elections could be calls
and now they were voting to end
elections permanently by April 1653
Cromwell had had enough in a delicious
historic irony he sent troops into
Westminster echoing Charles's own breach
of Parliament 11 years earlier a
gunpoint he told the rump you have sat
too long for any good you have been
doing lately in the name of God go there
on GaN Cromwell gave Parliament one last
shot in July 16 53 he convened a new
National Assembly popularly known as
bare-bones Parliament's it's 140
four members were hand-picked for their
saintliness Cromwell expected them to
rule his new Puritan Britain as in
license men instead they voted to
dissolve themselves and hand all the
power over to Oliver Cromwell Cromwell
is often portrayed as a power-hungry
tyrant but all evidence indicates that
he really did try and refuse absolute
power in the end though he capitulated
the 15th century title of Lord Protector
was revived for his reign and a new
constitution was drawn up known as the
instrument of government it's split
power between Cromwell a 15 man council
of state and a new Parliament of 400
elected representatives from England
Scotland Wales and Ireland's this was
actually kind of progressive never
before had Scotland or Ireland been
guaranteed their own mb's and seats or
beards they only got 30 H not that this
mild progressive then stops the
parliamentary wheels from soon falling
off though elections to the first
Protectorate Parliament were held freely
resulting in a swath of Presbyterian
ante on e free thinking and Royalists
MPs being returned oh and also some of
the members from the rump came back
not exactly the biggest Cromwell fans
Cromwell had hoped that the new
Parliament would pass necessary
legislation to move England's offer war
footing but instead they set about
reducing Cromwell's powers when they
tried to reduce the army t allows it in
January 1655 Cromwell dissolve
Parliament the new dissolution came as
word was leaking out about Cromwell
secret 1654 deal with Catholic France to
ally against Spain once again English
taxes were being used to finance
boneheaded adventuring by an overbearing
monarchy dissolved Parliament's like it
was going out of fashion the irony was
lost here on absolutely no-one and many
of Cromwell's allies began to turn
against him still he wasn't broadly
unpopular just yet as a guy called pan
Roddick discovered in March of 1655 sure
that Cromwell's rule was about to
collapse pan Roddick organised a
Royalist uprising intended to put
charles ii on the throne he gathered men
and set off across england rallying
locals to his cause only for local soup
shut their doors to him Panna cottas men
simply ran for their lives pen radix
dismal
it was crushed before I'd ever began pen
robux uprising may have been amateur
hour but it gave Cromwell the excuse he
needed to scrap the new constitution and
set up a military dictatorship England
and Wales were split into 12 district
seats under the control of a despotic
major-general hugely unpopular the
system lasted barely a year before
Cromwell was forced to scrap it and a
revived Parliament in September of 1656
only the second Protectorate Parliament
wasn't freely elected purged of
Cromwell's enemies stuffed with toady's
it finally voted in February of 1657 to
make Cromwell King oh yes he was really
made King the very thing that Cromwell
had fought so hard to rid Britain off to
be absolutely fair though Britain's
entire system of government relied on a
king or queen to give royal assent and
wave things through so having won was
something of an urgent legal matter
besides Cromwell was already a king in
all but name he was totally referred to
as his highness he lived in Charles the
first sold palace and was handing out
knighthoods to all of his friends so
yeah that's what a king does on June the
26th 16:57 protector of Britain decided
to make it official Cromwell was crowned
in a lavish ceremony that was almost in
every respect a coronation the only
difference was that he kept the Lord
Protector title instead of becoming king
if you're struggling to see the
difference here well so were many of
Cromwell's old comrades in fact they
were struggling to see the difference
between the Protectorate and the years
of Charles's personal rule King Oliver
was levying taxes to fight pointless
Wars and dissolving Parliament at the
drop of a crown
oh yes and we're not done yet because he
totally did it again in February 1658
the second Protectorate Parliament voted
to grow a backbone and readmit MPs
excluded by Cromwell and so that was it
for the second Protectorate Parliament
the last few months of Cromwell's life
saw him withdraw from public affairs his
daughter Elizabeth died of cancer in
early 1658 and it seemed something in
Cromwell some vital spark just vanished
he stopped receiving people or even
really ruling perhaps he realized what
had become and was disgusted by it
perhaps not on September the 3rd 1658
the man who was almost king Oliver
passed away that night a terrific storm
wracked England houses were torn apart
and scattered by the winds ships sank
beneath the rolling waves it was said
that the storm was Satan come to take
the Lord Protector soul although the
Protectorate would survive another year
under Cromwell son Richard it
effectively died with Cromwell Richard
would last less than a year before being
deposed and replaced with the revived
rump the rump would in turn barely
reconvened before an army general known
as George Monck marched on London and
ordered the rump to readmit its excluded
members the Long Parliament was then
revived just long enough to vote for its
own dissolution the new convention
Parliament that followed in 1660
immediately voted to restore charles ii
to the throne so the English interregnum
ended charles ii was on the throne with
the only new limitations on his powers
being those proposed by the long
Parliament's back in 1640 everything
that happens in the intervening two
decades the three english civil wars the
Irish rebellion the Protectorate the or
became effectively pointless Cromwell
had raised an army and killed a king but
within two years of his death his
achievements that all turned to dust On
January the 30th 1661
Cromwell's body was disinterred 12 years
to the day of Charles the first
execution alongside the corpses of two
other prominent parliamentarians it was
symbolically hyung-tae burned gallows
before being beheaded as late as 1685
you could still see the former Lord
protect his head on a spike outside
Westminster was all the bloodshed for
nothing without a doubt Cromwell did
some terrible things during his long
career he committed atrocities in
Ireland and his personal ambition turned
what could have been the world's first
liberal revolution into a gigantic flop
it would fall to American and French
revolutionaries over a century later to
complete what the English had started
but Cromwell was also a truly great
general their leader of men who could
stand shoulder-to-shoulder with
Washington or Bolivar without Cromwell
you have no parliamentarian victory in
the English Civil Wars without
Parliament's victory none of the ideas
that would later influence the founding
fathers gained any traction
Cromwell he was an ogre a despot a fool
and a failure he was also the man who
killed a tyrant king and in doing so
assured in our modern world
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[Music]
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