Cromwell Flashcards
Who was Cromwell?
A puritan MP who was really religious and believed God supported all his actions.
He ended up leading the country as Lord Protector.
He is a vey divisive character.
Some of the positive thoughts on him:
Cromwell the fair
Praised for cutting out a lot of corruption in England.
It became far more difficult to buy your way out of trouble under the Commonwealth.
Cromwell the soldier
He created England’s first full- time permanent army.
The 30,000 soldiers in Cromwell’s army made England far stronger and safer from invasion.
Cromwell was both feared and respected by France and Spain.
Cromwell the popular Republican
To some he was the man of the people, a man who rose from being a lowly farmer, into being the man who saved a nation from a cruel and intolerant king.
Cromwell the Liberal
When Charles was in charge, a lot of things that he disgareed with were banned or censored. For the first time, under Cromwell’s rule, large numbers of women were able to have their work published and read.
Cromwell the Democrat
Many believed he modernised and improved the country.
Under Cromwell’s Commonwealth, parliament was given more power than it ever had in its history and the way it was elected was made much fairer.
Cromwell: the curse of Ireland
By 1640, over 25,000 Englishmen and Scots had gone to live in Ireland. The settlers were Protestants whilst the Irish remained Catholic.
When Charles was beheaded, the Irish still supported his son .
A rebellion began
Cromwell was asked by parliament to bring Ireland under English control and confiscate land from rebels.
August 1649 Drogheda
Cromwell took an army of 12,000 men with him to Drogheda.
Gave the royalists inside the town the opportunity to surrender.
On the third attempt, Cromwell led the attack.
No armed man or Catholic priest be left alive.
A church containing 300 of Drogheda’s defenders was set on fire. 3,500 people died in Drogheda. Many survivors were sold into slavery.
Just 150 of Cromwell’s men died.
Wexford
2000 defenders, priests and civilians were killed.
Over the next ten years, 1/3 of the Irish population were eitherr killed, died of starvation or sold into slavery.
Nearly all land in Ireland owned by Catholics was taken from them and given to English and Scottish Protestants.
Seventeenth century rules of war
A beseiged city that refuses an opportunity to surrender and is then taken by attack can expect no mercy.
