Why oliver cromwell was a villain

Was cruel and brutal with opponents still remembered today. Ruled as a military dictator. Restricted religious freedoms. Disorder as society fragmented into different groups. Entertainments such as theatre were closed for religious reasons.

Cromwell pushed home gains by leading military campaigns to establish English control over Ireland —50 and Scotland —51 , and to defeat Charles II and another Scottish-Royalist army at Dunbar and Worcester Monarchy was abolished along with the House of Lords, and a Commonwealth was established. But unfortunately the so-called Rump Parliament dithered, failing to press ahead with radical social and constitutional reform, all the while locked in mutual hatred with the Army. Cromwell, the only man strong enough to hold power and keep both sides in check, lost patience over lack of progress and forcibly dissolved Parliament in Later that year he proposed and received the office of Lord Protector — King in all but name.

He agreed to rule with and through a Council of State and meet regularly with Parliament. The first Protectorate Parliament was elected on a wider franchise than ever before and included MPs from Scotland and Ireland for the first time. However, amid continuing factional unrest, Cromwell began to act more like a dictator, ruling by decree.

While Cromwell wielded authority, Parliament and Army were kept in creative tension and peace was largely maintained. Taxes, including those levied specifically against ex-Royalists, helped to stabilise finances, pay for a standing Army and for reforms. The Navy was also enlarged. Jews were formally readmitted into the country for the first time since The strategy was deeply unpopular.

Charles II was restored to the throne in and the backlash against the republican hero began. His fame rests on the part he played in the 17 th C revolt against the monarchy and his attempts to turn Britain into a republic. He inspired the beginnings of a democratic society but his methods were often brutal and bloody.

This has led historians to interpret his character and motives in radically different ways. Oliver Cromwell was a villain as although he used religious reasons to explain his actions, he undermined his religion by leading a very luxurious life, even though the basic principles of Puritanism was to lead a modest, simple life. This means that any actions he had justified for religious reasons are false and he should be held responsible for all the unlawful acts he was a part of. Also, Cromwell undermined the entire reason of the civil war as he treated Parliament worse than the king had done, even though the revolt was to try and acquire Parliament more rights and a bigger say in how the country was run.

This is because in he ordered Colonel Pride and his soldiers to forcefully remove and expel a total of MPs. This is because he thought that they might vote against a trial of Charles when he wanted Charles to have a trial. The Rump Parliament voted for, unsurprisingly, Charles to be executed. He then had so much power just like the monarchy he had spilled so much blood to destroy that he just decided to disband the entirety of the Parliament and then reform a completely different Parliament called the Barebones Parliament which was also disbanded due to extremist views among MPs.

Yet another one of his ideas had gone wrong. An argument that he was a villain that was frequently used during and shortly after his rule but less today is that he opposed the king unlawfully as the king has the power of the divine right of kings. This law had been passed down for centuries and stated that the king was above all of his subjects and that he should only answer to God, as God was the only one that had more power than the king.

Another reason the trial was illegal was that Cromwell set up a special court for Charles, at Westminster Hall. Cromwell as the main figure of Parliament had chosen judges to try the king none of which, that he knew, supported the king. Only 85 turned up. This makes Cromwell a villain as he commenced an illegal trial and also dictated the verdict of the court by using fear as a tool to make sure that the death warrant was signed and that Charles was found guilty and executed.

It was a dictatorship and these restrictions were enforced by violence people being hung to made examples of them. He even killed his own men in cold blood, while they were sleeping. When he went to Ireland he massacred women and children with no weapons, which had surrendered. He slaughtered them inside a church and also killed the priests.

He then moved on to another Irish settlement, Wexford, who also suffered the pain and murder that Drogheda had endured. No-one was spared. Finally, when he ruled as lord protector it was a dictatorship and he had too much power and did not know how to deal with the power well. People at that period of time also felt that the country was badly managed and unstable during his rule as they decided that they wanted to restore the monarchy.

Secondly, the death of the king put an end to the civil war and was also a benefit as it has prevented a lot of bloodshed since there has not being a single civil war in England since the day that he died.

This might have also prevented more bloodshed due to the prevention of an invasion as the other countries feared our army. The shooting of Leveller ringleaders was justified as they were no more than mutineers that had betrayed their country. This action may have avoided an army revolt. We have to remember that theft was still punishable by death at this point in time and even in the modern day WWII deserters of the army were shot.

In light of this his actions seem quite lenient as he only shot their ringleaders only 3 men were killed. Because the Levellers were his army he may have prevented more deaths by stabilizing them as if another country saw that we were vulnerable they may have attempted to invade. At Drogheda it is possible that the church with women and children inside was set alight by mistake with a stray cannon ball or musket fire at the wooden timbers of the roof.

It was also done in retaliation as English Protestant had been murdered by Irish Catholics in Ulster. These actions also prevented further bloodshed of English settlers by setting an example to the Irish that attacks on the English would not be tolerated.

Although he disbanded Parliament, it was justified as parliament was running inefficiently as the MPs were just squabbling and decisions were taking too long.