Oliver Cromwell, 1599–1658 (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Oliver Cromwell, 1599–1658

Early life and background

Oliver Cromwell was born in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in 1599. He descended from minor gentry through his grandfather, who held a baronetcy. His upbringing occurred within a generally Puritan environment, which shaped his later religious convictions. After completing his education at Sidney Sussex college in Cambridge, he returned to Huntingdon following his father's death. However, a subsequent quarrel with the town corporation forced him to relocate to nearby St Ives, where he worked as a yeoman farmer.

Through an uncle, he inherited the position of Steward to the Cathedral of Ely. He resided in the town and lived in tolerable comfort there until 1640, when he became MP for Cambridge. This was a relatively prestigious position for a member of the minor gentry, and Cromwell was probably well known in the area. He had publicly defended the rights of fenland dwellers who were to be compensated for fen drainage schemes, which deprived them of customary sources of food and income. He also had an extensive family network that included cousins such as John Hampden.

Religious beliefs and character

Despite gaining a reputation as a religious radical, there is limited evidence that Cromwell deliberately sought to challenge established authority. He held a deep commitment to godly reformation and supported a national Church and State that would work together to support and enhance such reform. The depth of his convictions appears in his lifelong habit of 'waiting on the Lord' when confronted with difficult decisions.

What made him unusual among men of his background and education was his belief that each individual should be free to seek God through their own means, provided they avoided blasphemy toward others. He believed God revealed Himself through such individuals, regardless of their education or social rank. Consequently, he protected separatists and challenged those in authority who sought to enhance the search for truth, which he regarded as the main purpose of religion. In many respects he was unusually humane, considering the excesses and eccentricities of religious enthusiasts as misguided rather than wicked.

Political career and the approach of war

As an MP from 1640, Cromwell became closely associated with the opposition to Charles I, though he remained very much a backbencher. What brought him to prominence was the outbreak of war. He consistently excelled when action was required. In June 1642 he left London to secure Cambridge Castle for Parliament. He subsequently raised a cavalry regiment for the Eastern Association army and, according to the diarist Thomas May, played a major part in pressuring the gentry of the eastern counties to declare for Parliament.

His energy and commitment made him highly effective in commanding the cavalry under the Earl of Manchester. With no military experience before middle age, he proved astonishingly effective, mainly because of his character and common sense. His famous willingness to promote men based on merit and his preference for a 'plain russet-coated captain' over the pretensions of the gentry were grounded in practical considerations and a concern for what would work best.

Military leadership and the New Model Army

Much of Cromwell's success derived from the men that he recruited and the discipline that he instilled in them. While the idea that he created an army of saints has been shown to be oversimplistic, there is little doubt that he encouraged recruitment of men who shared his Puritan outlook. He used their religious commitment to develop a disciplined force both on and off the battlefield.

The New Model Army represented a professional, disciplined fighting force that operated under unified command rather than regional associations.

The turning point in Cromwell's political career came with the army mutiny of 1647, when he allied himself with the soldiers to influence the political settlement. Although Fairfax remained as Lord General until 1650, it was Cromwell who functioned as the army's political leader from 1647 onwards. Throughout 1647 he sought to create a compromise that would restore the King, protect Parliament and secure a measure of religious toleration. The Heads of the Proposals would have created a flexible settlement and even included some Leveller demands for social and legal reforms.

The failure of the Commonwealth

Cromwell's disappointment regarding the Parliament of Saints was considerable, but he was pragmatic enough to recognise failure and to realise that it arose from the same issue that had destroyed the Rump Parliament – the difficulty of balancing the desire for reform with the need for stability. Where the Rump had proceeded too slowly, the radicals of the nominated assembly had moved too fast.

He therefore turned to the alternative suggested by Lambert, an executive officer to rule with the help of parliaments. The Rump and Parliament of Saints had demonstrated the problems caused by a single central authority which chose to ignore other opinions. Cromwell and Lambert now sought to restore the principle of mixed government in the hope of achieving a blend of reform and stability.

The transition from Commonwealth to Protectorate marked a recognition that the revolutionary experiment in republican government had failed to deliver either effective reform or political stability.

Key dates: failure of the Commonwealth

The collapse of the Commonwealth and Cromwell's elevation to Lord Protector occurred through a series of events in 1652-1653:

Date	Event
1652	Council of Officers petitions for reform and Cromwell wrote to the Council of State in support of their case; bill for 'recruiting' rather than holding new elections considered
1653	Report of the Hales Commission on legal reform ignored by the Rump; bill for new elections considered, without any reform of the franchise
April 1653	Cromwell dissolves the Rump
July 1653	Nominated Assembly met and declared itself to be a Parliament; work begun on legal reform, but divisions appear over purges of JPs and plans for changes in the Church
12 December 1653	Moderates voted for dissolution of the Assembly and formally handed power to Cromwell
16 December 1653	Cromwell declared to be Lord Protector under the Instrument of Government

This sequence reveals Cromwell's growing frustration with parliamentary inaction and radical excess. The Council of Officers' petition in 1652 demonstrated the army's desire for meaningful reform. When the Rump ignored the Hales Commission's recommendations and considered elections without franchise reform, Cromwell acted decisively by dissolving it in April 1653. The Nominated Assembly's brief existence (July-December 1653) showed that radical reform without stability was equally problematic. The moderates' decision to hand power to Cromwell opened the way for the Protectorate, a constitutional experiment that attempted to blend reform with order through the Instrument of Government.