Originally posted by WrathfulDwarf
This is what puzzles me....why would Cromwell be found guilty of Treason and yet they make a statue of him outside the Palace of Westminster? I feel that he wasn't a traitor. Maybe to the royals but not the British Parlimant.
He did betray the English Parliament, he sacked it when it didn't opperate the way he felt it should...
in some ways he was useful, in others he was a total looney.
the abolishment of the crown was usaeful, because it eliminated the hereditory aspect of the crown, and thus you get a better ruler of the kingdom through democrocy, or a military coup, because that way u were garenteed a strong ruler.
the bad side was he was a tyrant. and a traiter
Originally posted by DigiMark007
Anyone? No?...Bueller? ...Bueller?
...
I guess this forum is still too young to get that easily sidetracked.
😎
And yes, Cromwell was a true dictator.
Don't forget he also banned anything that was fun - Christmas, singing. He was VERY Puritanical.
As for the statue of him outside Parliament - well, don't forget that Parliament is, as an institution, anti-monarchial. Indeed, the last monarch allowed to set foot inside the House of Commons was - Charles I. The Restoration wasn't just a 'back to the old days' job. England was now a 'Constitutional' Monarchy, and while this was never necessarily written down, series of acts from the 'Glorious Revolution' (when William of Orange was invited by Parliament to take the throne from James II) right up to the reign of Queen Victoria and the Bedchamber crisis (where the true power of the monarch was effectively taken away) eventually ebbed the monarch's power away.
Cromwell's place in history should be seen as something that, while failing in itself, nevertheless was the turning point in the history of England.
Another result of his rule was something he could never have forseen. Cromwell had created the new model army - one of, if not, THE first professional standing army in the world. When Charles II came to power, he put his efforts into building up the Royal Navy, in direct contrast to the army. British naval tradition was thus born (never mind Francis Drake - he was nothing but a Pirate) which enabled the British Empire to develop which changed the face of the world.
Phew!
*takes breath*
Originally posted by Grand_Moff_Gav
Erm...not a dictator?Cromwell fought a civil war to champion democracy. Then when the parliament he made didn't do what he wanted he used the army to force it into executing Charles, then when the parliament was bbusy fillings it's own pokets Cromwell decided this isnt't what he wanted and decided he'd do a better job using his army. He was a monarch without the blood or crown, and a Dictator.
he had plenty of blood
Re: Re: Oliver Cromwell: Lord Protector or Tyranical Ruler?
Originally posted by Janus Marius
Oh yeah... Cromwell was a dictator. He went from being a man for the common people and the faith to being a dictator who made just as big a mess as he attempted to prevent. Thankfully, he didn't last long.
a man of the people??
he quashed the levellers demands
Originally posted by Ushgarak
Cromwell is considered a vile war criminal for some of his acts in Ireland. It is a very bitter area.He led the revolution that led to effective democratic rule in England. But as to what he was like as a person? Just look at this personal legacy- it didn't last one generation before his system was destroyed and the Monarchy restored.
Parliament were sheep that knew no better than hereditary rite, so they reneged on their principles and tried to formulate another
hereditary power structure.
Thankfully the son (Richard) was pish
so CHarley II was brought back by Parliament to assassinate a lot of them in revenge of his father.
slap it up them 😈