What Was Cromwell Dbq

providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust.’ But another reason is important to mention; indeed Cromwell was as we stated before an important military figure and the army which he described as ‘the militants as the core of those who were God’s people’ was his costly way to control people disagreeing with his government, so it was important for him to be in good terms with the head of the army, that is to say John Lambert, John Disbrowe and Charles Fleetwood. When Cromwell said he was ready to accept to be crowned King, they threatened to resign. He then had no other choice than to refuse the offer of the Parliament and he kept his title of Lord Protector. Instead, he took powers from the Council to be able to name his successor and declare …show more content…
Indeed, Cromwell believed strongly in providentialism, meaning that God guided his actions: ‘Our heavenly father hath raised me out of the dust to what I am.’ For instance, Cromwell firstly tried to prevent beheading Charles I but eventually saw it as the will of God. He started doubting the God was still on his side after the failure of his second parliament or of the expedition in Hispaniola. His total trust in providence was also reductive: it let no room for human will, as every event had a divine origin.
But contrasting with this mind fixed on the absence of choice, he was also a defender of ‘God’s people’ and of ‘the cause’. Religious unity was for him inevitable to allow the three kingdoms to finally be at peace: Cromwell said ‘whatever pretensions be to religion, if quiet, peacable, they may enjoy conscience and liberty to themselves, so long as they do not make religion a pretence for arms and blood.’ This is why he allowed Jews to come back to England in 1655 after 300 years of being banned, meeting harsh opposition from the council. The Roman Catholics were allowed to practice their religion. He saw himself as ‘a constable to part them, and keep them in peace’ , and indeed there was no major fights in-between religions or sects during the Protectorate, whose name takes a bright new …show more content…
The dynamism and ideas of Oliver Cromwell both ran dry when he realised the resistance he still faced in the Parliament and he had to dissolve it for the second time, feeling like God had deserted him. Sickness prevented him from saving the ruins of his Republic and by the end of the 1650s, all his work at the head of the Commonwealth had been wiped away. We will see which mistakes he made at the end of his rule, and then we will discuss his long-term