(National Portrait Gallery, London)
Oliver
Cromwell was born on April 25th, 1599 in the village of Huntingdon,
Huntingdonshire, England (Morrill et al.). Cromwell was heavily relied upon by
his family, especially after the unanticipated death of his father while he was
eighteen (Morrill et al.). Due to this tragedy, Cromwell decided to take
initiative regarding his familial affairs and tended to his mourning mother and
sisters, sacrificing his education and career pursuits until later in his life
(Morrill et al.). Cromwell was forced to cultivate a farm in St. Ives,
Cambridgeshire, England to earn a living wage, however, he eventually was able
to improve his standing and gain notoriety by the English Parliaments (Morrill
et al.).
Cromwell was extremely outspoken against the rule of
England’s King Charles I, partially because of his “treason” due to having
eloped with the catholic Henrietta Maria of France (Morrill et al.). Following
the Short Parliament, Cromwell’s victory leading to his key position in the
Long Parliament in 1640 is the first action taken in regards to his plot to
overthrow King Charles I (Morrill et al.). Subsequent to this, Cromwell also
commences his active participation in the English military, where he leads
troops throughout three separate civil wars against King Charles I, spanning
between 1642- 1651 (Morrill et al.). Shortly thereafter, the Long Parliament
was scrutinized by Cromwell, causing what was known as the “Pride’s Purge” in
1648 (Morrill et al.). This purge eradicated any members of the Parliament who
were deemed unfit. The rest of the Long Parliament was known thereafter as the
“Rump Parliament” (Morrill et al.)
As Cromwell continued to ascend through England’s former
legislative system, he was eventually granted the opportunity to travel with
his troops to Scotland and Ireland, where he would essentially conquer both
countries and become the “Lord Protector” of all three nations (Morrill et
al.). Cromwell allegedly committed numerous atrocities while pillaging
present-day Britain, some so severe (such as the tragedies caused in Drogheda
and Wexford), that he was infamously considered to be “one of the most hated in
Irish history” (Plant).
Seventeenth Century author and poet John Milton, however,
was an acquaintance of Cromwell and highly regarded him and his actions. Milton
once composed a sonnet to Cromwell, referring to him as “our chief of men”
(Milton ln. 1). Yet, although
Cromwell piqued the interest of many for a variety of reasons for decades, he
eventually grew ill from malarial fever and died on September 3rd, 1658
(Plant). Approximately two and a half years following his death, Cromwell’s
remains, along with the remains of two others, were exhumed by vindictive
members of the former Long Parliament and publicly hanged and decapitated
(Plant). Following this decapitation, Cromwell’s head was pierced through a
stake and left to rot above the Westminster Hall for almost thirty years, when
it eventually fell (Plant). Subsequent to this, Cromwell’s head was stolen, put
on display, and eventually found again and returned to his former alma mater,
the college of Sidney, Sussex, Cambridge, where it’s exact location remains a
mystery (Plant).
Sources:
Milton, John. “Sonnets:
16.” Samson Agonistes: Introduction, www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/sonnets/sonnet_16/text.shtml.
Morrill, John S., and
Maurice Ashley. “Oliver Cromwell.” Encyclopædia
Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 Sept. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Oliver-Cromwell#ref22095.
Plant, David. “Oliver
Cromwell, 1599-1658.” The Navigation Act,
1651, 2001, bcw-project.org/biography/oliver-cromwell.
The World Encyclopedia. Oxford University
Press, 2004.
Image
Source:
https://olivercromwell.net/cromwells-head/
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