Did Oliver Cromwell Achieve his Objectives Essay Example

Did Oliver Cromwell Achieve his Objectives Essay Example Did Oliver Cromwell Achieve his Objectives Essay Did Oliver Cromwell Achieve his Objectives Essay To begin answering this question, one must first identify what Cromwells objectives actually were. The three main aspects that really concerned Cromwell were political, social and religious. Oliver was a very undecided man and often his aims were unclear. He is one of the most controversial figures in history and head of Britains only republican government to date. There is little doubt that his religion was most important to Cromwell, and that his aims in this area spilled over into his other policies. Almost everything he did was mingled with the idea of providence or the will of God as he saw it; he often used God to cloak his true ambitions.Cromwells main objectives were indisputably the healing and settlement and Godly reformation of the country. The problem that arises is that they are incompatible and almost contradict each other; this incompatibility and contradiction goes as deep as his own personality. The most important factor in Cromwells life was God. Cromwell was origin ally from the lower gentry and a social conservative at heart, but a radical zealot at the same time. This most unusual radical conservatism (or in the words of Blair Wordon ideological schizophrenia) was the cause of most of the failures he suffered; he could never satisfy both sides effectively.It is possible that this was genuine schizophrenia, as before he found God he was diagnosed with melancholy [depression] by a physician. He also had a peculiar character for a ruler and was well known for his often bad etiquette and practical jokes. After the religious awakening that apparently cured him of his depression, from the early 1630s onwards he was a devout protestant. He became zealous fanatically religious and from then on anything that happened was, in Cromwells eyes, a direct result of Gods will.He was a soldier and every battle was a religious event; his army was the instrument of God. This idea of providence plays a major part in most of his active decisions. In his strif e for both a settlement and a Godly reformation he experimented with a number of different parliaments and constitutions. Notably, Cromwell was fairly tolerant of different religious sects. This was unlike any former head of state in England indeed, there had been many killed during the reign of the Tudors in the name of religion, and the national religion changed many times. Cromwell was far more liberal and allowed many Protestant sects such as Baptists and Presbyterians. However, Catholics were most definitely not welcome and Cromwell went as far as to denounce Papists (and Cavaliers) as uns of this can be seen in both the Rump and Barebones parliaments.The Rump, in Cromwells zealous opinion, had become estranged from God; in the dissolving speech he called the MPs drunkards and whoremasters and men who were scandalous to the profession of the gospel. The Barebones however, was too radical for Cromwells conservative side; they threatened to sweep hierarchical social order away i n a torrent of reforms. While Cromwell might not have been able to get on well with parliaments, MPs in general liked him no better. Two things they hated were religious liberty and the army (mainly because of the armys huge influence in government), and Cromwell was strongly associated with both.It took Cromwell weeks to decide not to accept the crown. His eventual decline of the offer was ultimately down to his strong will to do Gods bidding. By providence God had shown that the capital punishment of Charles I was right, and the army had fought a most unpleasant civil war for parliament and a change in the constitution. He knew that the army would have been likely to rise up against him if he accepted, as this is just what they had fought to remove. However, Cromwell was not at all happy with the execution; his conservative side longed for a peaceful settlement with the king.What probably took him so long to decline was that he knew the crown could have provided the settlement the country needed. It is clear that the majority of the population were in a way lost without a divine king to rule them, and this can be seen with the benefit or retrospect as the crown was back only two years after Cromwells death. However there is in addition a less spiritual reason; if Cromwell had accepted he would have had reduced powers to carry out the reforms he wanted; his powers as Lord Protector were far greater than the kings. Perhaps he was also contemplating whether or not the crown was one of his objectives. He had risen through the ranks from a lowly country squire to overlord and was then in a position to become king. It was surely his zealous side that prevented him, even if his it would have been the ultimate goal for his conservative side.The Major-Generals experiment of 1655-56 was quite a drastic step to take, but the embarrassing defeat of the Western Design made it necessary by providence. Just as victories showed Cromwell that God was on his side, such a defe at must mean he had lost Gods support. The Major-Generals were possibly the closest Cromwell actually came to creating the godly nation he sought for. This objective was never fully achieved, but there was at the very least a reformation of manners to turn people to do the will of God which he achieved for a while. The Major-Generals were authoritarian regional figures, in control of every aspect of life. Firstly security was the objective as there had been some Royalist uprisings, but they were also there to see Cromwells reformation of manners to fruition.They went on a purge of all things un-Godly such as brothels, blasphemy and adultery down to drinking and swearing, which was met by the general population with apathy at best. There were only a small few zealots who shared Cromwells passion for Godliness, and this is really why Cromwell achieved none of his main objectives: Apart from his declared enemies, there was the majority of the country who were far more interested in s ettlement than reformation, or just not interested at all. After only a year as if Cromwells want for healing and settlement had gained control over his will for reformation again. Nevertheless, for as long as he actually pursued the reformation of manners it was effective, and Cromwells England became a marvellous protestant role model for the rest of the world.One area in which Cromwell did appear successful was foreign policy. Spains Catholicism was unforgivable and England remained at war with them, however peace was made with the Protestant Dutch. Despite the failure of the Western Design and the expense of this war there were many great victories over Spain, notably in the Mediterranean under Admiral Blake and Jamaica was brought under English rule. Closer to home the republic slowly gained control over Scotland and Ireland making Britain a reality; Cromwell himself leading his army In Ireland for example. Nearly all of Cromwells actions regarding foreign policy promoted Engla nd as a major Protestant power with a competent army this was one major objective that was actually achieved.Certain incidents such as the slaughter of civilians at Drogheda were all part and partial of crushing Irish and Royalist risings; Cromwells justification is that killing these people, will tend to prevent the effusion of blood for the future. At the time the alliance made with France against Spain was an effective policy, although some historians think that Cromwell should have noticed France overtaking Spain in power. If he had allied with Spain and fought France then both Catholic nations would be weakened, but Englands long nurtured hatred of Spain far outweighed this. I believe that it would have been impossible at the time to predict Englands later conflict with the French.There are many other areas of success under the Lord Protector and Commonwealth. The country was not only internationally respectable, but also domestically very secure. Amongst some of the law refor m was a decree passed so that all legal proceedings were to be conducted in the English language, not Latin. To bring the whole country more in line with his religious aspirations he sent reliable clergy to Wales and Scotland as part of the Acts for the Propagation of the Gospel. A modern and impressive navy was also constructed, and most of the old rivalries disappeared. Indeed, people like Thomas Mainwaring in particular held banquets at which old civil war adversaries dined together. An obvious example of Cromwells own personal achievement was his military prowess. He rose through the ranks to become head of the best army England had known, and it was this position that enabled him to take on the role of Lord Protector after the regicide.Cromwells main objective of Godly reformation was essentially a failure that resulted in the restoration of the monarchy a mere two years after his death. The reasons for this failure are twofold: The apathy or unwillingness of the population tow ards becoming Gods nation and Cromwell himself. He could not manage to create one stable government in all his time as Lord Protector. And although he failed in his main task in the long run, it was a noble attempt that set a precedent in world politics. The progress made to settle and heal the country made their mark too. Cromwells zeal had got him to the number one spot in the country, but once there he was did not appear to be able to make good his ideals. Cromwells early life and upbringing as an English gentleman held him back from any tangible radical reformation and the ideas of settlement and reformation were in continuous conflict in his mind.