Oliver Cromwell and The English Civil War

By Jan Nápravník

Historical background

• Number of population was increasing

• London reached 500 000 inhabitants

• Times of prosperity (in spite of Thirty Years´ War in continental Europe)

• Reign of Stuarts

James I. • James I. of England (James

VI. of Scotland)• 1566-1625,ruled since

1603• Peaceful policy• Persecution of extreme

Catholics and Puritans

• -1605 Gunpowder Plot (Guy Fawkes)

• -The Mayflower voyage 1620

Charles I.• Son of James I. (1600-1649)• Ruled since 1625 • He wanted to unite England,

Scotland and Ireland much stronger (it was his fathers´ dream),but in fact he was keen on gaining control of the country

• 1629 dissolved the Parliament• Came ´Eleven Years' Tyranny

´• 1639 - Bishops War in

Scotland. He was forced by shortage of funds to call Parliament in 1640

• This one lasted only 3 weeks- Short Parliament

• Since November-Long Parliament

Charles I.

• The ´Long Parliament´ started immediately with reduction of Kings´ power

• Dissatisfaction with the King,Charles moved to Oxford

• 1642 broke the Civil War out

Oliver Cromwell

• Cromwell was born in Huntington on 25 April 1599.

• 1620 married Elizabeth Bourchier

• Cromwell became the Member of Parliament for Huntingdon in 1628

• In 1630 Cromwell converted to Puritans and his following life and actions had a radical edge springing from his strong religious faith

• 1642 came The First Civil War

The First Civil War• Armed conflict between

Parliamentarians and Royalists started in the autumn of 1642

• For the King: Catholics, most of the Nobles and gentry, about half of all Members of Parliament, the poorer areas of the North and West. The supporters of the King were called Cavaliers because many of them fought on horseback.

• For Parliament: Puritans, the more militant Members of Parliament, merchants, the richer areas of the South and East. Oliver Cromwell was named its commander. Parliamentarians were nicknamed 'roundheads' because they cut their hair very short.

• Cavalier

• Roundhead

Here you can see several battlefields between 1642 and 1645.

Armies• Both armies were quite weak and

counted no more than 20 000 soldiers

• At first the Royalists were more successful, because of inexperience of Cromwells´ army,but he started with hard training and built the ´New Model Army´. More than half of his soldiers were volunteers persuaded they fought for God.

• ´Ironsides´ - armoured cavalry • Royalists were continually loosing

control• The biggest battle – at Marston

Moore near York (1644) – about 45 000 soldiers, Parlamentarians won

• Decisive victory of Parlamentarians at Naseby (1645)

The Second Civil War• A series of Royalist uprisings

throughout England and a Scottish invasion occurred in the summer of 1648. The uprisings in England were put down easily by forces loyal to Parliament, but when in 1648 unpaid parliamentarian troops in Wales changed sides, it brought serious problem for Cromwell. But he kept his reputation and won in Battle of Preston.

• The Pike – one of the most common used weapons – cheap and easy to make

The Third Civil War

• Unfortunatelly, Cromwell had to still solve war problems. It led to to new coflicts - in Ireland againts Catholics ( Cromwells´ army was said to had been very cruel there),in Scotland, which was shocked with Charles´ execution and supported his son Charles II., and also in England. Finally,Cromwell won and the Charles´escape to France ended the civil wars(1651).

• Massacre of Drogheda in September 1649 ( Catholics vs. Puritans)

The execution of Charles I.

• Despite the majority of Parlamentarians wanted to re-elect the King, Independents decided to execute him. He was sentenced to death and beheaded in 1649.

• Charles didn´t show any fear during the execution and died with nobleness.

• Some people dipped their handkerchiefs in his blood

The Protectorate (1653-1658)

• The Republic was declared in 1649 after the Kings´ execution

• But the situation was going wrong and independents started misusing their power

• Cromwell was fed up with them and in 1653 he dissolved the Parliament

• He named himself The Lord Protector and ruled till his death in 1658

Cromwells´ death

• Cromwell suffered from malaria and from ´stone´, a common term for urinary infections.

• He died at Whitehall on 3 September 1658.

• 1661 posthumous execution of his body

Cromwells´ statue in Westminster Palace

• His Deathmask• Cromwell on the

coin

Letter of Oliver Cromwell

Sources:

• www.historyonthenet.com• www.olivercromwell.org• www.wikipedia.org

Thanks for your patience