September 3 - Death of Oliver Cromwell

Let�s start with something really cheerful, for a change:

On September 3 ,301 AD, San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world's oldest republic still in existence, was founded by Saint Marinus.
Buon compleanno, San Marino!


Before we get to more serious matters:

On September 3, 1658, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England died of malaria. He had been the head of the republican Commonwealth of England between since 1649.

Oliver Cromwell was born in 1599, the son of a minor aristocrat, although his mother was well connected to some of England�s most influential families. Not much is known about his first forty years, which he spent as a glorified farmer on his estates in Cambridge shire. In 1640, he was elected as member of the parliament that after eleven years of absence had been recalled by Charles I to sanction the funds that the Catholic King urgently needed to stamp out one of the numerous Scottish rebellions that popped up every other year.
But instead of just agreeing to the royal requests, the parliament with a majority of puritans amongst its midst, took the opportunity to once again demand a tighter control of the rather autocratic government of Charles I, something that the King wasn�t willing to accept. Relations between Parliament and Charles quickly deteriorated and in 1642, the inevitable happened. What had started as a constitutional crisis ended in a full blown Civil War, that saw the royalist armies, the �Cavaliers�, confronted by the Parliamentarian troops, the �Roundheads�, so called after their distinguished haircut.



Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England

Oliver Cromwell had until then played a minor part in the proceedings, but at the outbreak of the War, his big moment had come.
Under his inspired leadership, the ram-shackle Parliamentarian cavalry was transformed into the elite unit of the rebellious troops. Cromwell�s �Ironsides�, fanatically puritanical and parliamentarian, formed the nucleus of the �New Model Army�, the re-organised parliament�s force, that defeated the Cavaliers in the two battles of Marston Moor (1644) and Naseby(1645), which decided the outcome of the Civil War. With the help of the �Ironsides� Cromwell eliminated the moderate Presbyterian factions of Parliament and enforced the trial and subsequent execution of Charles I in 1649.



The execution of Charles I


After the foundation of the republican �Commonwealth of England� that replaced the monarchy, Cromwell, as the leader of its reigning council, became the de facto ruler of England, a position that in 1653 was confirmed with his appointment as �Lord Protector� of England.
Oliver Cromwell�s rule had two very different sides. In foreign politics, he proved himself a capable military ruler. In two wars against The Netherlands and Spain, England regained domination as the world�s leading naval power; royalist Catholic rebellions in Ireland and Scotland were put down, resulting in a brutal oppression, especially of the Irish population.
At home, he wasn�t quite as successful. He was not able to reconcile the deep religious and political division that had torn the country apart during the Civil War. Cromwell saw himself as a divine tool, as the chosen one to implement God�s will onto the English people, who in turn were not exactly pleased with his fundamentalist Christian policies that attempted to regulate all aspects of daily life after Puritanical principles.
Other religions, the Anglican and Catholic Churches, were rigorously persecuted, not at least for political reasons as they continued to support the Royalist cause.
Oliver Cromwell�s rule became increasingly dictatorial in his last years and when he died on September 3, 1658, the English people had already enough of the republican experiment. Cromwell�s successor, his own son Richard abdicated after a thouroughly unremarkable reign of eight month, and in 1660 the son of the decapitated King was installed on the throne as Charles II.
Despite of all the obvious flaws of Cromwell�s reign, it nevertheless had a number of dramativc effects on England. Firstly, it further accelerated England�s rise to the dominating world power of the 18th and 19th centuries and cemented English rule in the British Isles, and secondly it contributed decisively to the emancipation of the middle class, the economic power house of early industrial era, as a political force without the Kingdom couldn�t be ruled anymore.
Oliver Cromwell was buried in Westminster Abbey, but dug up again in 1661, and subjected to a �post-humous execution�, his corpse was hanged, drawn and quartered.


What else happened on this day?


1260 - A the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine, The Mamluks, let by Baibars, beat the Mongols, commanded by General Kitbuqa, marking their first decisive defeat and the point of maximum expansion of the Mongol Empire.

1752 The Gregorian Adjustment to the calendar was put into effect in Great Britain and the American colonies followed. At this point in time 11 days needed to be accounted for and Sept. 2 was selected to be followed by Sept. 14. People rioted thinking the government stole 11 days of their lives.

1783 Britian finally recognises the United States of America by signing the Treaty of Paris which officially ends the American War of Independence.

1995 Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Hill Norton, backs claims that the British Government is covering up evidence of a UFO sighting in the south of England in 1990.


Full list:

Wikipedia

1686-Army of Christian League let by Karl, prince of Lotharingia, a great military leader conquered Buda, the earlier capital city of Hungary, the 'key of Turkey' from Ottoman Turks. 80000 Christian soldier fought in the storm. The Turkish commander, Abdurrahman died after a heroical fight. Buda became ruins but after the storm until winter Transdanubia and the Great Plane were concered, too.

My biggest problem with Cromwell is he was a total hypocrite, the english civil war was one of the most savage civil wars your likely to find in history.

 When he was made "lord protector" he became king in all but name, he even sat on the kings throne. He was offered the crown and took weeks to decide and he turned it down, his officers threatened to resign if he accepted the crown, its pretty clear you dont take 6 weeks to decide whether or not you want the crown if you have no urge to rule as king.

 His rule was tyrannical and merciless, nobody else in english history do I hate more than him.

 Damn puritan