Cromwell: Hero or Villain

General Oliver Cromwell was a significantly important man in the English history. He was the head of the one and only republic England had. He freed the country from the monarchy when it made puritan and protestant churches look like they were catholic. The question is; HERO or VILLAIN?

One of the reasons Cromwell Is considered a hero is the fact that he abolished the monarchy in 1649. Many people of the time liked this because since many civilians were puritans or protestants that despised King Charles I because he bought gold and silver and many other ornate items into the church, making them look like they were catholic churches. Some puritans believed Charles was urged by his wife, Henrietta Maria of France, which was a very catholic country.

On the other hand, many people argue that Cromwell was indeed a villain, because although the King had made puritans beliefs insignificant, when Cromwell became Lord Protector, he made catholic beliefs insignificant. Under this law, nobody was allowed to have any enjoyment as puritans believed this was unnecessary and that by working hard and leading a peaceful life you would get sent to heaven on death.

Another reason Oliver Cromwell is considered a hero is because he won the civil war for the Parliamentarians. He stopped the king misusing the parliament because the King only called parliament to collect taxes for his war.

However other’s say that although he fought for the reason that the parliament was not called upon for eleven years and then misused, when he himself became Lord-Protector, he found he could not cooperate with the parliament and dissolved it. This means that Cromwell is a hypocrite because he criticised the King for misusing the parliament and then did exactly the same thing.

Many people say Cromwell was a villain because he betrayed the levellers. Levellers were soldiers in the New Model army that were yeomen and craftsmen. They fought for the parliament because they hoped that the victory of the parliamentarians would lead to big changes in society. They wanted a society that in which men over 21 except servants and beggars could vote. But they were left disappointed, annoyed and angry when Cromwell and his parliament dismissed this idea. Cromwell thought that levellers would put the power of the country gentlemen like himself at risk. When they revolted he put them down by force. This also caused more opposition for Cromwell and his republic.

Cromwell was a villain because he cruelly massacred hundreds of Catholics at Drogheda. Cromwell did not think that the Irish were human beings with rights. He treated them contrarily to other enemies, for example the Scots. 

Many people say that these reasons can be justified because thousands of Catholics were needlessly massacred in ulster by Irish Catholics.

He killed all of the villagers including women and children with no mercy because of the Ulster killings in which the Irish Catholics killed many Protestants. But this does not justify Oliver Cromwell because that happened around ten year before the Drogheda killings.

Oliver also disobeyed the rules of war, because he gave no ‘quarter’ (giving quarter means to spare the enemy).

Cromwell said that he massacred the villagers at Drogheda because then it would prevent further bloodshed in other villages. That is wrong because it is immoral to massacre innocent people for that reason.

Cromwell is considered a hero by many historians because he refused the crown. All he wanted to do was get the country back to normal from the war. He wanted everything to be under control and he ruled the country well. However other people say he had more power and authority than any monarch but just without the crown.

In conclusion I think that Cromwell is a villain because he was a hypocrite. He executed King Charles for reasons that he does himself, he misused the parliament, he strips people from the right to have their own beliefs and religions and final he was even worse because he banned the citizens from having fun. He also massacre many innocent people for the wrong* reason.

     

There aren’t any right reasons for massacre people.