8-2OliverCromwell

 Who is Oliver Cromwell and What is his Legacy? //Answer prepared by Katie M.// Oliver Cromwell lived a very exciting, hard, tough, nonstop life. He was born on April 25,1599 in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. In Oliver’s life he accomplished many things such as studying at Cambridge University and becoming an MP or Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628-1629. Though, in the 1630’s, Oliver became very religious and convinced himself that he had to carry out God’s purpose. In order to fulfill this he became a radical Puritan. The website, “In Search of Shakespeare,” believes that this is someone who strongly believes in getting rid of the Roman Catholic Church and that this would simplify worshiping and make it more regular is a Puritan. They thought all forms of pleasure were sinful and should be taken away. Shortly after that he was elected to represent Cambridge, and during his term many important things happened. Then, 2 years into his term a civil war broke out between King Charles I and parliament. Although Cromwell lacked military experience he still made a cavalry, called the ‘Ironsides’. This was an army that could easily move around and were trained to fight on horseback. Then within three years he became lieutenant-general! After getting such a majorrole, he convinced parliament to create an army. Cromwell knew that there was an alliance with the Scots and that they had won a second civil war, when they went in and invaded England after trying to be persuaded into church reform. This really started make Cromwell think of how important it was to bring the king to justice. Cromwell stopped the resistance with the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford in Ireland around 1649. Then, finally in 1650, he beat the supporters of Charles II at Dunbar and these wins ended the civil war. Although they won the civil war, Cromwell didn’t feel that there wasn’t much progress and he stopped working in long parliament and stopped his Puritan conventions, such as Barebones Parliament. With all of these jobs gone, he became a lord protector. This meant that he would reorganize the national church, establish Puritanism, readmitted Jews to Britain and presided over different amounts of religious tolerance. He did this to try and fulfill God’s purpose on his own. He was so dedicated he actually ended up ending a war between Portugal and Holland and allied France against Spain. Cromwell died on September 3, 1658 in London due to an unknown illness. He was buried at Wesminster Abbey and after Restoration, his body was dug up and hanged. To this day he is the most controversial figure in British history. __John Winthrop and Oliver Cromwell The Land of Promises __ by Marc Aranson says, “it is as if presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, the merciless William T. Sherman and the murderous John Wilkes Booth, were combined into one person.” The different sides of how you look at Cromwell depends on how you look at the sides of the English Civil War, his supporters love to show off his moments of greatness, that prove he was good. That he spoke for liberty of conscience and worthiness to anyone and everyone. But, those who despise him show how he was a cruel and atrocious person ever since he was a child. They also talk about all of the beautiful, historical places he burnt down during the Civil War. One of these buildings was the Globe Theatre, though a knew model is being made after it was discovered in the 20 th  century. So, as you can see, Cromwell really was either an awful, cruel person or a sweet, important figure in our history, it all depends on how you look at him.

Works Cited:  Aronson, Marc //John Winthrop and Oliver Cromwell The Land of Promises. //New  York: Clarion Books, 3004. Print.  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">"Oliver Cromwell." Web.14 Apr 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A45871040>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Professor Morrill. "Oliver Cromwell." Web.14 Apr 2009. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/cromwell_05.shtml>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">Professor Morrill. "Oliver Cromwell(1599-1658)." Web.14 Apr 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/cromwell_oliver.shtml>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">"Puritan." Web.14 Apr 2009. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;"><http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/glossary/glossary274.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">"The Old Glove Theatre History." Web.14 Apr 2009. <hhttp://www.william- <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif;">shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-globe-theatre.htm>.