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Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 - 3 September 1658) was a military and political leader (from the so-called Roundhead faction) best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland. He was one of the commanders of the New Model Army which defeated the royalists in the English Civil War. After the execution of King Charles I in 1649, Cromwell dominated the short-lived Commonwealth of England, conquered Ireland and Scotland, and ruled as Lord Protector from 1653. During his Protectorate, Cromwell's forces suppressed uprisings in Ireland and Scotland with a harshness that some historians consider genocidal. He remained in office until his death in 1658, apparently from septicaemia.
Following the restoration of a new king in 1660, Cromwell's cadaver (or one purporting to be his), which had lain for two years in Westminster Abbey, was subjected to the bizarre ritual of "posthumous execution" in 1661, being disinterred and publicly hanged before being thrown into a pit, with the head removed and displayed on a pike outside the abbey until 1685. The skull was sold as a souvenir, changing hands many times until the newest owner gave it a new tomb in Cambridge in 1960.
Cromwell has always been a controversial figure among historians. There are many different schools of thought as to whether his rule of England was benevolent or tyrannical.
Oliver Cromwell in The Two Georges[]
As he committed regicide when he ordered the execution of Charles I, Oliver Cromwell was a hero to the Sons of Liberty, the separatist organization that sought the independence of the North American Union from the British Empire in the 1990s. The more violent "Sons" cropped their hair short calling it the "Roundhead" look, a nod to Cromwell's followers.[1]
See Also[]
- References to Historical Figures in Turtledove's Work for more minor references of Cromwell in Turtledove's work.
- Oliver Cromwell at the Eric Flint Wiki
References[]
- ↑ The Two Georges, pg. 86 PB, 66 HC.
| Political offices (OTL) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Arthur Mainwaring |
Member of Parliament for Huntingdon 1628-1629 |
Succeeded by A period of vacancy, then Robert Barnard, April-November 1640 |
| Preceded by Last was Thomas Purchase, 1628-1629 |
Member of Parliament for Cambridge 1640-1653 |
Succeeded by Next was Richard Timbs, 1654-1660 |
| Preceded by Council of State |
Lord Protector (Head of State) of England, Scotland and Ireland 16 December 1653-3 September 1658 |
Succeeded by Richard Cromwell |
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