This list misses the actual reason various historians have sought to rehabilitate Cromwell or at least paint him as a complex figure: he was a symbol of middle class rebellion against arbitrary monarchical power and the emergence of Parliament as the centre of British politics, having risen from relatively humble origins to play a leading role in the military defeat of and political decision to execute a monarch seen as exceeding his powers over Parliament.
Of course the great irony is that he then arbitrarily dismissed Parliament himself (though the record doesn't suggest this was his actual goal) and was so unpopular in power that the restoration of the previous king's son to the throne on his death was inevitable. He certainly wasn't the poster boy for the development of British democracy, but he influenced its development massively - positively and negatively.
There is a decent chance that Parliament would have overthrown and executed Charles I without his military skill or enthusiasm for regicide (just like similar massacres in Ireland would likely have taken place without his -disputed- involvement and apologia) as he wasn't even a significant figure at the beginning of the conflict, but those whose name and public statements becomes most known always get the credit and the blame.
"Pushing for religious toleration" in this case would be sort like talking about the Taliban as religiously tolerant because they pushed for toleration of Wahhabism.
(And the choice of comparison here is not carelessly chosen: like the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan for idolatry by the Taliban, Cromwell presided over the destruction of numerous medieval monuments/artwork for the same reason.)
Those who want to learn more about Cromwell's "push for religious toleration" might want to start by picking up God's Executioner by Micheal O Siochru. I won't spoil it. ahem
I don't see why this is in the positive column; English political dysfunctionality was so bad that thirty years after Cromwell's death, the English establishment invited the Dutch to invade, welcomed them, and had them fight the Irish (again). William of Orange is still celebrated by anti-Catholic groups.
That's neat. Cromwell's legacy is his treatment of the Irish the rest of his legacy can be safely disregarded.
"Estimates of the drop in the Irish population resulting from the Parliamentarian campaign range from 15 to 83 percent.[11] The Parliamentarians also transported about 50,000 people as indentured labourers.[2]"
We don't go but, "oh Hitler painted pictures too".
Edit: Swap "painted pictures" for "built roads", or "helped progress rocket technology", my point is unchanged and in fact strengthened.
Thing to be mindful of with Cromwell, is that to some he’s a hero and to others he was a monster. A dichotomy heretofore yet unresolved after centuries.
He was a hero to his fellow monsters. Maybe he was inevitable, as some situations just breed monstrosities. That doesn't make his deeds less atrocious.
I would hate for people to be looking at Hitler in 100 years going:
"Well he did these horrible things to Jews, but he did revitalize the German economy and the repercussions of his actions led to the european union and european peace eventually. And the 20th century was such a violent time, standards were different, they had two huge global wars. You had Stalin, Mao, countless african warlords, people were used to cruel dictatorships"
There are already people today who look at Hitler as a hero. We don't look kindly on these people.
I was suffering from super bad bipolar episodes and a general mental health crisis recently when I came across a documentary about Cromwell. It was so inspiring to see someone struggle with the same problems and overcome them, accomplish such great things, and do it all before it was even recognized as a legitimate illness. I really came back from the brink thanks to that coincidence.
He should have died for many other things, but eventually they came up with treason and......heresy. So much for implementing religious tolerance.
As soon the tides have turned, catholicism was the new trend and predictably, he would be guilty of heresy by catholic definition.
Of course all the religious banners and labels always have been an excuse for power and money grabs.
Cromwell has a place in history right next to people like pol pot, Himmler and other such figures.
>” the anonymous editor peppered the text with political, personal, and sexual slander aimed at tarnishing the Cromwell legacy.”
Stopped reading at this point. If the author doesn’t understand that the Cromwell legacy is already tarnished due to war crimes I doubt there’s going to be much reason to continue.
[+] [-] dash2|5 years ago|reply
* Lobbying to allow Jews back into England (officially, there probably were unofficial Jewish residents already).
* Pushing for religious toleration.
* A big expansion in primary education, which was later reversed under Charles II.
* The development of science by the Invisible College around Samuel Hartlib, later to become the Royal Society.
* Fighting the Dutch and Spanish.
[+] [-] notahacker|5 years ago|reply
Of course the great irony is that he then arbitrarily dismissed Parliament himself (though the record doesn't suggest this was his actual goal) and was so unpopular in power that the restoration of the previous king's son to the throne on his death was inevitable. He certainly wasn't the poster boy for the development of British democracy, but he influenced its development massively - positively and negatively.
There is a decent chance that Parliament would have overthrown and executed Charles I without his military skill or enthusiasm for regicide (just like similar massacres in Ireland would likely have taken place without his -disputed- involvement and apologia) as he wasn't even a significant figure at the beginning of the conflict, but those whose name and public statements becomes most known always get the credit and the blame.
[+] [-] _emacsomancer_|5 years ago|reply
(And the choice of comparison here is not carelessly chosen: like the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan for idolatry by the Taliban, Cromwell presided over the destruction of numerous medieval monuments/artwork for the same reason.)
[+] [-] justin66|5 years ago|reply
Those who want to learn more about Cromwell's "push for religious toleration" might want to start by picking up God's Executioner by Micheal O Siochru. I won't spoil it. ahem
[+] [-] pjc50|5 years ago|reply
Er, no, rather the opposite.
> Fighting the Dutch
I don't see why this is in the positive column; English political dysfunctionality was so bad that thirty years after Cromwell's death, the English establishment invited the Dutch to invade, welcomed them, and had them fight the Irish (again). William of Orange is still celebrated by anti-Catholic groups.
[+] [-] ianbutler|5 years ago|reply
"Estimates of the drop in the Irish population resulting from the Parliamentarian campaign range from 15 to 83 percent.[11] The Parliamentarians also transported about 50,000 people as indentured labourers.[2]"
We don't go but, "oh Hitler painted pictures too".
Edit: Swap "painted pictures" for "built roads", or "helped progress rocket technology", my point is unchanged and in fact strengthened.
[+] [-] rusk|5 years ago|reply
Also:
* Hitler fixed the roads
* Communist Russia got the first Satellite into space
[+] [-] pbnjay|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] 11thEarlOfMar|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rusk|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] classified|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Macha|5 years ago|reply
"Well he did these horrible things to Jews, but he did revitalize the German economy and the repercussions of his actions led to the european union and european peace eventually. And the 20th century was such a violent time, standards were different, they had two huge global wars. You had Stalin, Mao, countless african warlords, people were used to cruel dictatorships"
There are already people today who look at Hitler as a hero. We don't look kindly on these people.
[+] [-] wrongdonf|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DenisM|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] BaseS4|5 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] yawaworht1978|5 years ago|reply
Of course all the religious banners and labels always have been an excuse for power and money grabs.
Cromwell has a place in history right next to people like pol pot, Himmler and other such figures.
[+] [-] fiftyacorn|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] seanieb|5 years ago|reply
Stopped reading at this point. If the author doesn’t understand that the Cromwell legacy is already tarnished due to war crimes I doubt there’s going to be much reason to continue.
[+] [-] andi999|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arka2147483647|5 years ago|reply
You have to remenber that things we take as granted nowdays, may have been divisive at the time.