Cromwell, Villian or Hero.

360 Words2 Pages
Villain The reason I believe that Cromwell was a villain is because he closed parliament, which was the reason he executed Charles 1st. He also executed the king, Charles, and innocent women and children. The last reason is because he got rid of many popular holidays and venues. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell decided to close parliament. Although this does not prove that Cromwell was a villain, it does prove he was a hypocrite as closing parliament was one of the main reasons that Charles 1st was executed. Oliver closed parliament because he couldn’t achieve an effective working relationship with successive parliament. Cromwell was one of the people on the jury which tried Charles 1st after the second Civil war. This jury sentenced Charles 1st to death, which makes Cromwell indirectly guilty of regicide (the murder of a monarch). Some people could also argue that this is also homicide which, although it is true, is not quite as serious because Cromwell had already killed many in battle and sentenced other people as part of a parliament. During his invasion of Ireland in 1649-1650, Cromwell and his soldiers ruthlessly slaughtered innocent civilians, total of 3500 people were massacred. When Cromwell banned people from celebrating their Christian faith, such as on Christmas, singing carols, have some drinks and a good feast, were considered ungodly. The people who were considered ungodly were open to persecution from their contemporaries. This was enough to stop most people, except the very brave from celebrating. Oliver was a puritan, which meant that he believed no good came from anything except good work and prayer. Christmas and other holidays were known to create laughter, and singing, dancing, and other activities that were neither good work nor prayer so they were banned. So, Oliver Cromwell was a villain because he was a power-hungry hypocrite.
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