[salman10023]

Me again sir,

I come to you for help yet again sir, I'm studying oliver cromwell and there are a number of things I need to know:

1. How he came to power being lord protector (needs to be very detailed)
2. some of the things he changed (second most important thing)
3. How was he a hypocrite. (needs to be very very very very very detailed and this is the most important)
4. And lastly I need a good conclusion.

I'm in quite a bit of trouble sir because the teacher was away that lesson and the cover teacher didn't have a clue what he was supposed to be teaching and then the class decided this was an oppurtunity to mess about. And you see sir without any knowledge of what we are supposed to be doing we were set an eassay home work which must be 4 pages long and it's going to be deciding our levels . I'm usually a rather good student when it comes to history (level 7c) however in these circumstances I am not so confident.

Thank heavens I found this site and thank you most sir,

[MrJohnDClare]

Welcome back!

salman10023, on Oct 20 2009, 08:36 PM, said:

1. How he came to power being lord protector (needs to be very detailed)
2. some of the things he changed (second most important thing)

For both of these, I would start by looking at the HistoryLearning timeline, to become familiar with the facts, and then by reading the Historylearning webpage on life in Cromwell's England for a good, sound, basic foundation to your research.
Then just google
"Oliver Cromwell"
and follow the links to expand your knowledge.

Quote

3. How was he a hypocrite. (needs to be very very very very very detailed and this is the most important)

I think what your teacher was getting at here is that Cromwell CLAIMED to be a good Christian and to be fighting for freedom - but in fact he was very violent (especially in Ireland) and restrictive.
You can find out more about this if you do a forum search for
+Cromwell +villain
and follow those links - especially this thread.

Quote

4. And lastly I need a good conclusion.

Why not finish by starting with that wonderful word 'THEREFORE' and saying what YOU think about Cromwell as a human being. (Be careful what you say on this forum, however, because I am a HYOOOOGE Cromwell fan!!!

[salman10023]

MrJohnDClare, on Oct 20 2009, 11:16 PM, said:

Welcome back!

salman10023, on Oct 20 2009, 08:36 PM, said:

1. How he came to power being lord protector (needs to be very detailed)
2. some of the things he changed (second most important thing)

For both of these, I would start by looking at the HistoryLearning timeline, to become familiar with the facts, and then by reading the Historylearning webpage on life in Cromwell's England for a good, sound, basic foundation to your research.
Then just google
"Oliver Cromwell"
and follow the links to expand your knowledge.

Quote

3. How was he a hypocrite. (needs to be very very very very very detailed and this is the most important)

I think what your teacher was getting at here is that Cromwell CLAIMED to be a good Christian and to be fighting for freedom - but in fact he was very violent (especially in Ireland) and restrictive.
You can find out more about this if you do a forum search for
+Cromwell +villain
and follow those links - especially this thread.

Quote

4. And lastly I need a good conclusion.

Why not finish by starting with that wonderful word 'THEREFORE' and saying what YOU think about Cromwell as a human being. (Be careful what you say on this forum, however, because I am a HYOOOOGE Cromwell fan!!!

Haha Thank you ever so much sir,

I too am an admirer for his military abilities as he was a sucessful leader, However I do not think he was a hero because he was a hypocrite I have come to that conclusion as I was told by my teacher that in his daughter's wedding he got drunk and danced wildly which he himself banned.

--------------------------------------



SALMAN

[MrJohnDClare]

Hypocrite?
Not really.

I would like to know the source of the story about Cromwell at his wedding comes from. It is much quoted, but where did it first come from - how reliable a source is it? Was it recorded by an enemy or a friend?


But even if it IS true, the Puritans did not ban dancing - although they frowned upon public dances - they thought (correctly) that they led to sexual activity.
But private dancing was allowed, and the story is that Cromwell did dance to dawn (and play silly practical jokes) at a grand ball he put on for his daughter's wedding.

The Puritans did not hate fun and jokes - they liked a good laugh as well as the next man; but they wanted people's behaviour to be pure and godly.

[salman10023]

MrJohnDClare, on Oct 30 2009, 11:45 PM, said:

Hypocrite?
Not really.

I would like to know the source of the story about Cromwell at his wedding comes from. It is much quoted, but where did it first come from - how reliable a source is it? Was it recorded by an enemy or a friend?


But even if it IS true, the Puritans did not ban dancing - although they frowned upon public dances - they thought (correctly) that they led to sexual activity.
But private dancing was allowed, and the story is that Cromwell did dance to dawn (and play silly practical jokes) at a grand ball he put on for his daughter's wedding.

The Puritans did not hate fun and jokes - they liked a good laugh as well as the next man; but they wanted people's behaviour to be pure and godly.

wow that cleared a lot of the things up more clearly thank you sir,

but i also heard there is another rumer about Cromwell or his army nailed a Catholic baby to a door to show his power what do you think abbout this sir.

[MrJohnDClare]

I've never heard of this one myself, but that doesn't mean that it's not true.

Atrocities like this occurred on both sides when the English and Irish armies clashed.

On the other hand, both sides accused each other of atrocities like this - it is typical of the kind of stereotypical accusations which were made ... so it's just as likely to be a fabrication.

One thing I would find VERY hard to believe is that Cromwell himself did it; it just wouldn't fit the man.

[Mr. D. Bryant]

MrJohnDClare, on Nov 14 2009, 09:23 PM, said:

One thing I would find VERY hard to believe is that Cromwell himself did it; it just wouldn't fit the man.

Now, I'm not quite such a big fan of Oliver Cromwell as Mr. Clare, but I agree with him on this. It is true that Cromwell's arny did some very terrible things in Ireland; for more information on Wexford and Drogheda see this thread. However, as Mr. Clare explains there, they were not doing anything which broke the 'rules of war' as they existed at the time. Sometimes it is very easy to judge the past by our own time and its standards.

I have not found any evidence for the 'baby and the church door' story. However, it sounds like the kind of rumour that was circulated and believed by both sides at the time. Most English people believed that many tens of thousands of Protestants were massacred during the Catholic uprising, whereas the true number was much smaller. But that didn't matter: the fact they believed these stories, together with racism against Irish people and religious hatred against Catholics, helps explain why the English campaign against the Irish was so bitter.

[starlight38]

salman10023, on Oct 20 2009, 07:36 PM, said:

Me again sir,
I come to you for help yet again sir, I'm studying oliver cromwell and there are a number of things I need to know:
1. How he came to power being lord protector (needs to be very detailed)
2. some of the things he changed (second most important thing)
3. How was he a hypocrite. (needs to be very very very very very detailed and this is the most important)
4. And lastly I need a good conclusion.
Thank heavens I found this site and thank you most sir,

Yes, my teacher also needs to know how he was a hypocrite i know 1 thing.....

When he reigned under Puritan rules he made very sctrict laws :
No christmas celebration- a fasting day to remeber that Jesus was born
Cancelled Football
Made them wear plain dark clothes
ect
BUT!
He did not follow these rules himself, the people described him a hypocriticall.
Hope this helped

[08ratsmae]

i am not sure whether he was or not and i have to write a essay about it.

[Mr. D. Bryant]

08ratsmae, on Jan 21 2010, 05:40 PM, said:

I am not sure whether he was or not and I have to write a essay about it.

I have moved your post because, as you can see, we have looked at this subject recently. Remember it is almost always worth doing a forum search before posting, as often this will save you lots of time.