Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Oliver Cromwell

By Charles Landseer – Wikimedia

Top 10 Remarkable Facts about Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English general and statesman who led the Parliament of England against King Charles during the English Civil War. He also ruled the British Isles as the Lord Protector between 1653 and 1658.

Cromwell was born in 1599 at Huntingdon. His father was Richard Cromwell who came from a rich family in the district, while his mother was the daughter of Sir William Steward.   

Cromwell was loved and hated in equal measure depending on which side you are on regarding men in British History. The creation of the new parliamentary government in England.

While his involvement in the English Civil War was a big success, his time as a leader in Ireland was not pleasant at all. Some consider him to be a liberator while others see Cromwell as a tyrant.

He was also a religious man, he derived this from his schoolmaster Dr Beard. Cromwell did some remarkable work during his time, here are the top 10 facts.  

1. Cromwell was one of the ‘founding fathers’ of England

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He helped England become a republic and led the nation as a Commonwealth of England. Before this, England was governed by common law and custom.

Cromwell reformed parliament and came up with a written constitution. This changed the entire frame of government.

His involvement in parliament could not go unnoticed, he was always present during military campaigns. He was outspoken on pushing for reforms of the church by abolishing the seat of the bishop.

Cromwell also led parliament in throwing out the King, forced annual sessions of parliament. He also demanded that home defence be appointed by parliament.   

He became the Lord Protector of the new Republic of England.

2. Cromwell was a military commander

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Cromwell was born ready to be a military commander. Through his leadership, he helped the Puritans win the Civil War. It was during his time as a military commander that Cromwell became popular.

What is even more interesting was that he had no prior military training. He got promoted after leading a single troop of the entire army calvary. Most of his leadership style was by instincts.

Cromwell promoted his juniors based on their character and not social status as it was done. He took his role seriously and was always strategic.

His entire career was completely dependent on the use of military power and control.

3. He was of the Puritan faith

Cromwell believed that his military prowess was spiritually inspired. Whenever he went for a military campaign and won, he took that to be the works of God.

He was able to instil a deep sense of principles in his troops. He considered himself a Puritan prophet, he used Bible messages for daily life events.

As a commander, Cromwell presented himself as the people liberator. He intended to have the people live for God and not the monarch.

While he had a strong Puritan faith, Cromwell believed that having bishops and popes living within the church intolerable. He always wanted to have a church that proclaimed and preached the gospel with no funfair.

4. Cromwell came from a large and wealthy family

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The Cromwell family, on his father’s side, had been a wealthy family for generations. They were part of those that owned large acres of land in the region. He was related to King Henry VIII.

His family acquired great wealth since they were the beneficiaries of Thomas’ administration of the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Cromwell lived well but not as the upper-class families did. His education was decent too.

5. He was not afraid to speak his mind

As an outspoken member of parliament, Cromwell was not afraid to speak his mind. He was vocal and highly visible during his time in parliament.

He was against the church having branches and wanted the abolition of bishops. Cromwell was also prominent in the campaign to force the king into calling annual sessions of Parliament.

This, according to Cromwell, would allow Parliament to appoint officers for the home defence. During the Civil War, Cromwell was one of the members of parliament sent to recruit troops for the defence of the realm.

Together with his troop, they were able to prevent the Cambridge colleges from heading to the King’s headquarters to support his war efforts.

6. Cromwell dismissed the parliament

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He was the only one who ruled during England’s only Republic. He was an effective leader from 1651 to 1653. In 1653, Cromwell dismissed the parliament by armed force.

In its place, he nominated an assembly known as the Barebones Parliament. He later became the Lord Protector of England. Cromwell served in this role for five years and refused to be ordained as the King.  

During his reign, he wrote the constitution and passed fair laws as well as efficiently running the government. Cromwell abolished the death penalty for many crimes.

7. Cromwell greatly influenced democracy

His actions greatly influenced the development of democracy in England.  this extended further even after his death.  Historians believe that his actions were monumental in the history of England.

After England won the Civil War, the English Parliament ensured that the monarch did not have absolute power over the government.  The military took over after Cromwell died and held onto his leadership principles and policies.

Cromwell was termed a dictator since he had a difficult relationship with the parliament.  Since the parliament could no longer make the permanent English Republic,  it enabled the country to last as long as it did. 

All this is thanks to Cromwell. 

8. England earned respect from Cromwell’s leadership

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He made England strong and well respected abroad.  As the Lord Protector, Cromwell ensured that taxes and revenue were spent diligently by the government. 

Cromwell was able to also lead the Navy, which was well respected by other nations. It was during his reign that Britain became a leading power in history.

He was able to create an alliance with France when they were facing Spain.  Both the Army and the Navy were sent abroad to promote England’s foreign policy. 

they won over the Spanish in the Battle of the Dunes and were able to occupy Dunkirk.  Cromwell also negotiated for peace between Sweden and Denmark, this remarkable record lasted for over 240 years. 

9. He allowed freedom of worship

During his term as the Lord Protector,  England did not tolerate religious matters.  He was of the Puritan belief and therefore largely disagreed with everyone else.

He mostly did not agree with the Scots and Presbyterian allies who wanted to do away with the Anglicans and Evangelists.  Cromwell wanted to have his government guarantee the people civil rights and freedom of worship.

There was great opposition regarding his tolerance to religious matters.  The Roman Catholics were allowed to openly practise their faith, the Jews were also invited back into England after about 3 centuries. 

10. A collection of his battle medals is preserved in a museum

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Since he was a great leader,  the museum of London has most of his collections in an exhibition. The exhibition has his battle medals and book collection.

They also have a detailed history of the schools he attended, his clothing as well as other personal effects.  A visit to the London Museum will give you a glimpse of who Cromwell was.