Oliver Cromwell: Encyclopedia II - Oliver Cromwell - Political rule

Oliver Cromwell - Political rule

In the wake of the Army's 1648 recapture of the King, the monarchy was abolished; and between 1649 and 1653 the country became nominally a "republic", a rarity in Europe at that time. The republic was known as the Commonwealth of England. However, (at least in the eyes of his detractors), Cromwell ruled in practice as a military dictator.

Many of Cromwell's actions upon gaining power were decried by some commentators as "harsh, unwise, and tyrannical". He was often ruthless (though perhaps no more than was then expected) in putting down the mutinies which occurred within his own army towards the end of the war (which were sometimes prompted by Parliament's failure to pay the troops). Cromwell showed little sympathy for the Levellers, an 'egalitarian' movement which had contributed greatly to Parliament's cause. (The Leveller point of view had been strongly represented in the Putney Debates, held between the various factions of the Army in 1647, just prior to the King's escape. Cromwell and the Grandees were not prepared to countenance such a radical democracy, - and indeed many amongst the Levellers would have been surprised if the radical position of Colonel Rainsborough, which appears most in tune with modern democratic ideals, had succeeeded.) As events were to show, Cromwell could not engineer a stable oligarchic Parliamentary republic, either.

With the king gone (and with him their common cause), Cromwell's unanimous backing dissolved, and the various factions in Parliament became engaged in infighting. In a repeat of the actions the former king had taken that had led to civil war, Cromwell eventually dismissed the republican Rump Parliament in 1653, and instead took personal control; effectively, as military dictator. Cromwell's power was buttressed by his continuing popularity among the army, which he had built up during the civil wars.

Cromwell's foreign policy led him into the First Anglo-Dutch War in 1652, against the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, eventually won by Admiral Robert Blake in 1654.

Cromwell's absolute insistence upon religious freedom, for all except Roman Catholics, led to his encouraging Jews to return to England, 350 years after their "banishment" by Edward I.

In 1657, Cromwell was offered the crown by a re-constituted Parliament, presenting him with a dilemma, since he had been 'instrumental' in abolishing the monarchy. After six weeks of deliberation, he rejected the offer. Instead, he was ceremonially re-installed as "Lord Protector" (with greater powers than had previously been granted him under this title) at Westminster Hall, sitting upon King Edward's Chair which was specially moved from Westminster Abbey for the occasion. The event was practically a coronation, copying many features of the old coronation ceremony and utilising many of its symbols and regalia, and made him "king in all but name". But, most notably, the office of Lord Protector was still not to be hereditary, though Cromwell was now able to nominate his own successor. Cromwell's new rights and powers were laid out in the Humble Petition and Advice, a legislative instrument which replaced the 1653 Instrument of Government which had previously conferred on him the title of Lord Protector.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Political rule", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki