Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English politician and military leader who participated in overthrowing Charles I of England. Cromwell led the government as Lord Protector, refusing to be crowned king. He was a Puritan who believed that the government should be ruled by religious principles.¹ His death in 1658 was followed by the restoration of the monarchy in 1660.

Fast Facts

1. Born: April 25, 1599
2. Married, nine children²
3. Banned secular Christmas celebrations¹
4. Died: September 3, 1658
5. 1660: Posthumously decapitated
6. 1935: Cromwell's head identified³
7. 1960: Head buried at Cambridge University³

Cromwell and the Irish

Cromwell's troops slaughtered Irish civilians during the battles at Drogheda and Wexford.⁴ It is believed that he sanctioned the slaughter in return for Catholic actions against Protestants in 1641.⁵

Cromwell and the Jews

King Edward I had expelled the Jews from England in 1290. In 1656, Cromwell authorized Jews to live in England, to own land and to worship publicly. He is said to have permitted the readmission of Jews to England because he believed that the Second Coming could not take place until Jews populated all parts of the world.⁶

Quotes

"Not only strike while the iron is hot, but make it hot by striking."—Oliver Cromwell⁷

"...upon all of these Cromwell's record was a lasting bane. By an uncompleted process of terror, by an iniquitous land settlement, by the virtual proscription of the Catholic religion, by the bloody deeds already described, he cut new gulfs between the nations and the creeds. 'Hell or Connaught' were the terms he thrust upon the native inhabitants, and they for their part, across three hundred years, have used as their keenest expression of hatred 'The Curse of Cromwell on you.' ... Upon all of us there still lies 'the curse of Cromwell'".—Winston Churchill⁸

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