Cromwell, Oliver

Cromwell, Oliver (1599–1658), Lord Protector. Having been elected MP for Cambridge in 1640, he strongly supported the religious and political views of the Puritan party, which he combined with the fervent spirituality of the Independents. When the Civil War broke out (1642), it appeared to him, as to Charles I, as a religious struggle. He built up a magnificently trained army, which defeated the royal forces. He urged the need to execute the King and was among those who signed Charles I's death warrant. He then ruthlessly put down rebellion in Ireland and defeated the Scots. In 1653 he dismissed the Long Parliament and was installed as ‘Lord Protector’. He ruled England by a series of constitutional experiments, none really successful. Bishops, deans, and cathedral chapters were removed from the C of E and use of the BCP discontinued; parishes survived under a mixed ministry of ordained and unordained ministers. His government, which rested on military force, fell apart at his death. He regarded himself as the instrument of a Divine providence, but his character has been variously assessed.