Oliver Cromwell's Life

Oliver Cromwell was born on April 25, 1599 to Robert Cromwell and Elizabeth Steward, and died in 1658. He grew up in Huntingdon, and his family was very prominent. While his immediate family was not well off, extended parts of his family were very wealthy. He was registered at Sydney Sussex College in 1616, and left in 1617 after his father passed away. He had to return home to take care of his family and help his mother. On August 22, 1620 he was married to Elizabeth Bourchier, who was the daughter of a retired fur trader, with a substantial amount of land in Essex and ties to influential families there. While Cromwell had influential family members, he did not have any extraordinary type of education or even any military training. So, what was it about Oliver Cromwell that put him in the position to serve as Lord Protector for England, Scotland, and Ireland? Three of the factors that I believe are most pertinent are his religious conversion and subsequent beliefs, his family ties and wealth, and finally, his dedication to serve and lead the people of England.

Cromwell lived in revolutionary times, “the seventeenth is the decisive century in English history, the epoch in which the Middle Ages ended.” Between 1640-1660, the most prominent figure is Oliver Cromwell. The system of feudal government had been disintegrating, and the church was losing its power as well. Cromwell helped to establish a government that was ruled by representative assembly. King Charles I, the king who Cromwell would eventually dethrone and execute, tried to use this form of representative government to his own benefit. He would call Parliament to order only when he needed to raise tax money to support his endeavors. “By arbitrary arres...

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