Lord Protector
This was the title Cromwell used when he assumed power after the third Civil war.
His contradictory character again confounds us when he first refuses the crown but later dissolves the rump parliament he fought so fiercely for.
His rule was brief (5 years). he was the most powerful person ever to rule England. he controlled the Army and the Navy and was feared and respected throughout Europe.
He United England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland under his 'commonwealth'.
He died in 1658. two years later King Charles II returned.
| Don't lose your head now!
Charles I was unpopular with the Puritans, even more so when he failed to suppress uprisings in Ireland and Scotland, caused mainly by his own arrogance. His son Charles II went on to rule. His second son James II was deposed and was the last of the Stuart Kings |
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Cromwell's body was dug up and his head placed on a spike. His Commonwealth fell apart.
Charles II went on to rule, and to sire 17 illegitimate children but no actual heir.
After his death his brother the catholic James II took the throne.
he beat off a rebellion by the oldest of Charles children the Duke of Monmouth but was finally deposed in the 'Glorious revolution' by King William.
James II was the last of the disastrous Stuart dynasty. The Stuarts did fight back for the next 60 years until the battle of Culloden finally sealed their fate.
Not everything from that era dissolved with Cromwell's death. the Stuarts were not able to rule with the divine authority they wished. their successors the Hanover's were forced to accept the rule of parliament over sovereign.
Even today the Queen is has no right of entry to the commons, strange ceremonies such as the knocking of Black Rod at the house of Commons at the opening of parliament date back to King Charles entry to parliament and the subsequent banning of the monarch from the chamber.
There is a statue of Cromwell outside the houses of parliament where a society dedicated to his memory hold a service on 3rd September each year, that being the anniversary of his death.
I have deliberately left out most dates as I feel that often interrupts the flow of the reader. I necessarily left a great many details out There is masses of reading material on Cromwell and his life. Allot of which can be found on the net.
I could not describe Cromwell as a good man, but his influence helped to make us what we are today, a strong democracy.
