Oliver Cromwell

Nasty and yet helpful. This is a truely unique reply.

>dude just like fight then again instead of raping the wives
Wow so complicated

T. Rupert of the Rhine (whose failure to stop it lost Charles the war)

>Calvinists
Why are Calvinists so based Veeky Forums?

>Random guy

Then you completely fail to understand who Cromwell was. While his advancement was fortuitous, he was hardly random by the end of the civil war.

>Be fairly middle class yeomen farmer and devout Purtian
>Be angry that King is imposing crypto-catholicism and promoting idolatry
>Be triggered that King has gotten rid of Parliament and is emulating Absolutism
>Fight war for Parliament to restore Godly society
>Kill the King and the Irish
>Get rid of Parliament
>Basically make yourself King
>Impose military dictatorship
>Die
>Idiot son inherits position and ruins it all in couple months
>Bring back King's son

It's fucking hilarious

>Calvinists
They were puritans which is a completely different ideology

To be a proper historian you need to be full of piss and vinegar so you can take it all, and not squeam when you read what was done to the Jews, Catholics and Armenians.
The Stuart Age, England 1603-1714 by Barry Coward is the indepth study on Stuart history
Angela Anderson Stuart Britain is the overview book for a quick skim
Revolutions in early modern Europe is a proper school textbook so less informational as it wants you to pass the history exam not know history.
Certainly reccomend Barry Coward as he died whilst working on the 4th edition, but judging from your grammar Angela Anderson is more your thing.
But also try to find copies of David Starkey 'Monarchy' on the Stuart era, as he is hands down the best historian for documentaries

That term "puritan" was their political ideology (to purify the church), but their Reformed theology was Calvanist and of Zwingli

>I just cant understand how some random guy removed the monarchy and became dictator.

It's called a civil war.

Yes Americans, England did have its own civil war back in the 1600s.

He didn't just "remove the monarchy and become dictator"
Charles was deeply unpopular because of his 11 year personal rule and his terrible financial policies, which alienated the Parliament and the more radical protestants. His failure in the Bishops' wars also showed him as a pretty bad military leader and his subsequent inability to come to an agreement with Parliament showed his lack of ability in negotiating. His unpopular and ineffective advisors were also held on even after Parliament tried to remove them, leading to the trial and execution of William Laud in 1641. When the Irish rebellion broke out in 1641, Parliament didn't want to give him control over the army, so he personally went to the House of Commons to arrest five members of Parliament. Parliament took up leadership and war broke out after Charles fled to Oxford, and this war lasted until 1646 with the defeat and capture of Charles. Charles once again refused to work with Parliament and escaped to Scotland to start the Second English Civil War, which he lost and was eventually executed for. At this point Cromwell was just a successful military commander, but after Pride's Purge Fairfax (the #1 in command) began to distance himself from Parliament and Cromwell (somewhat reluctantly) stepped in

tl;dr a series of crises and Charles' unpopular and ineffective leadership left a vacuum during the 1640's that Cromwell filled

Yes which is why Cromwell's delegation to the united provinces went down so well

>terrible fiscal policies
If the bishops war hadn't broken out then the civil war would have kept cold. Although I agree 'distraint of knighthood' was a bogus charge, you have to admit he ran a clean house during personal rule

Cromwell becoming top dog was his maneurvings and being both officer and MP, which made Cromwell unique, but also the main talking point between the two, especially due to the amount of puritan sergeants in the NMA, which pride demonstrated, and later Cromwell, would take over parliament

*Self denial ordinance was what stopped being an MP and officer for all but Cromwell, who voted yes on the matter not knowing he would be given an exception

>Fights to prevent tyranny of the King and the dissolution of the government

>installs himself as a dictator

he wasn't particularly dictatorial outside of of ireland

What is rule of the majorly generals
What is letting pride take his men in
What is forcibly dissolving Parliament

The forward youth that would appear,
Must now forsake his Muses dear,
Nor in the shadows sing
His numbers languishing.
’Tis time to leave the books in dust,
And oil the unused armour’s rust,
Removing from the wall
The corslet of the hall.
So restless Cromwell could not cease
In the inglorious arts of peace,
But through adventurous war
Urgèd his active star:
And like the three-fork’d lightning, first
Breaking the clouds where it was nurst,
Did thorough his own Side
His fiery way divide:
For ’tis all one to courage high,
The emulous, or enemy;
And with such, to enclose
Is more than to oppose;
Then burning through the air he went,
And palaces and temples rent;
And Cæsar’s head at last
Did through his laurels blast.
’Tis madness to resist or blame
The face of angry heaven’s flame;
And if we would speak true,
Much to the Man is due
Who, from his private gardens, where
He lived reservèd and austere,
(As if his highest plot
To plant the bergamot),
Could by industrious valour climb
To ruin the great work of time,
And cast the Kingdoms old
Into another mould;
Though Justice against Fate complain,
And plead the ancient Rights in vain—
But those do hold or break
As men are strong or weak;
Nature, that hateth emptiness,
Allows of penetration less,
And therefore must make room
Where greater spirits come.
What field of all the civil war
Where his were not the deepest scar?
And Hampton shows what part
He had of wiser art,
Where, twining subtle fears with hope,
He wove a net of such a scope
That Charles himself might chase
To Carisbrook’s narrow case,
That thence the Royal actor borne
The tragic scaffold might adorn:
While round the armèd bands
Did clap their bloody hands.
He nothing common did or mean
Upon that memorable scene,
But with his keener eye
The axe’s edge did try;
Nor call’d the Gods, with vulgar spite,
To vindicate his helpless right;
But bow’d his comely head
Down, as upon a bed.

This was that memorable hour
Which first assured the forcèd power:
So when they did design
The Capitol’s first line,
A Bleeding Head, where they begun,
Did fright the architects to run;
And yet in that the State
Foresaw its happy fate!
And now the Irish are ashamed
To see themselves in one year tamed:
So much one man can do
That does both act and know.
They can affirm his praises best,
And have, though overcome, confest
How good he is, how just
And fit for highest trust.
Nor yet grown stiffer with command,
But still in the Republic’s hand—
How fit he is to sway
That can so well obey!
He to the Commons’ feet presents
A Kingdom for his first year’s rents,
And (what he may) forbears
His fame, to make it theirs:
And has his sword and spoils ungirt
To lay them at the Public’s skirt;
So when the falcon high
Falls heavy from the sky,
She, having kill’d, no more doth search
But on the next green bough to perch,
Where, when he first does lure
The falconer has her sure.
— What may not then our Isle presume
While victory his crest does plume?
What may not others fear
If thus he crowns each year?
As Cæsar he, ere long, to Gaul,
To Italy an Hannibal,
And to all States not free
Shall climacteric be.
The Pict no shelter now shall find
Within his parti-colour’d mind,
But from this valour sad
Shrink underneath the plaid—
Happy, if in the tufted brake
The English hunter him mistake,
Nor lay his hounds in near
The Caledonian deer.
But Thou, the War’s and Fortune’s son,
March indefatigably on;
And for the last effect
Still keep the sword erect:
Besides the force it has to fright
The spirits of the shady night,
The same arts that did gain
A power, must it maintain.

>If the bishops war hadn't broken out
didn't that literally break out because charles was being autistic by trying to impose laudianism on presbyterian scotland. it goes to show that he wasn't nearly as good as his father james I in handling scottish affairs (not least because james spent most of his early life as king of scotland and mastering its complicated politics whereas charles i don't think visited scotland once in his life)

He visited when he was 30 or so
Also James 'let me fuck you and ill knight you' I was a pragmatist, whilst Charles saw it as ideological
>God has chosen me to king so my religious policies are the law
And it was more the English book of common prayer than laudianism itself, although that was the end goal.
Just wondering what nationality are you

american

Scottish American, Irish American?
And what religion

none of those....but does it matter?

Yes because Americans are
>1/16 Iroquois
>plastic paddy
Or
>plastic kilt with generic tartan from Wikipedia

>let me tell you about your country

>let me tell you an informed opinion based upon the thousands of burgers I have interracted with on the original child porn sharing gaming board

>rule of the generals
Overblown, only lasted like a year
>pride's purge
Not cronwell's idea
>dissolving parliament
Every parliament after pride's purge was astoundingly retarded

He's referring to the fact that at the commencement of the war Cromwell wasn't a leading figure but somehow by the end of it he was ruler of the nation. This is made more incredible by the incredibly stagnant nature of the class and hierarchy system in England.

>stagnant English system
You fucking mong, England is the one country that showed monarchy can stay pure whilst democracy stagnates and corrupts. Look who Laud and Shaftesbury's parents were. Look at James court. Even then fuckijg amazing social mobility.

Why did I even bother filling out the captcha you're probably an Amerifat who thinks the American dream is the only way when that has proper social stagnation

>major generals is overblown
So we'll just ignore he seriously took the step to dissolve Parliament through force and then put his buddies who he married his sisters to. This doesn't say anything about his ideology at all does it.
>not Cromwell's idea
But he was surely in a position to stop it, his consultation with Pride on taking the crown surely shows they trusted each other to private word, especially as Pride tells Cromwell he will be killed by musket fire if the throne is occupied once more.
>parliament was retarded
It question the model of government which the army had thrust upon parliament. It refusing to hold new elections can be seen as a preservation of pre civil war anti Charles but not anti monarchy MPs, who thanks to Pride's purge (eliminating many of Cromwell's opponents) were few in number. The anarchy of post execution also turned previous executioners into reactionaries

Did Cromwell ever really want to become dictator?

To me it seems like he tripped and fell into the position.

He didn't but after prayer he saw him as a biblical figure, taken from the plow to kill kings. Forgot his name but will come back later

He had called parliament four times and they consistently showed themselves to be utterly incapable of leadership. Cromwell wasn't trying to take all the power, he just realized the country would absolutely collapse if he didn't.

>England is the one country that showed monarchy can stay pure
England is the one country that showed how you can castrate a monarchy to make it serve a nation-state ideal.

Real Kingdoms have the state built ON the dynasty, not the dynasty subject to the state or some national ideal.

>incapable of leadership
What does this mean
I'm talking Georgian Britain not Victorian Britain

it means that they almost unilaterally failed to pass any bills

>I'm talking Georgian Britain not Victorian Britain
Ignore my shit, i couldnt follow the discussion.

Because they were changing the mandate of government before it was fully implemented
YOU MONG

Instrument of government
Sorry paradox is addictive

do you know anything about the protectorate parliaments?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Protectorate_Parliament
this was after the Instrument of Government was passed you mong

...

Reminder that life under Charles was better than the Interregnum

reminder that charles' terrible leadership directly caused the interregnum

Divine right of Kings, Charles could only be judged by God

...

Any contemporary books on Cromwell or the events related to him?

Yes I studied Stuart history for two years
Do you have any qualifications in this?
Personal rule was also one of the comfiest periods to live in

Cromwell's letters
Literally copies of letters he sent to friends

>Butthurt paddies crying in the comments

You must be pretty stupid to make such basic mistakes then
Regardless, the first parliament failed to pass any of the bills suggested and was dissolved. The second parliament was called and ended the rule of the military and Cromwell didn't dissolve them then. They even offered him a crown, which he passed over

I never understood why I felt sympathetic towards the Irish when I was sober and sympathetic towards the English while drunk.
Maybe my inner imperialist rears it's head while I'm drunk?

Lad you're doing Edexcel A Level History too? How you finding it kidda?