Oliver Cromwell Hero Or Villain Essay

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Oliver Cromwell: Hero or Villain?

Oliver Cromwell was a Puritan and the Lord Protector of England. He was born on April 25, 1599 and he was a member of the Parliament from 1628-29 & 1640-42. He was offered the title of a King but he refused and remained Lord Protector till his death. However, he had as much power as a King would. Till today people still argue about whether he was a hero or a villain. He is blamed for mistreating the Irish but those deeds may be over looked due to all the things he has done for England. While he is a villain, one needs to investigate and weigh his actions to make an assessment.

Oliver Cromwell has done good things which portray him as a hero. One of the first things was that the poor and women were better treated. He managed to avoid wars which saved England a lot of money. He became friends with France. This was beneficial to England because at the time, France was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. It indirectly helped England by protecting them. He also liberated the Jamaicans from Spanish
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During that period of time, there were a group of people, the levelers, who supported and wanted democracy and equality. His military approach led him to killing the levelers. While King Charles was not the best of the kings and was known for not listening to his people, Cromwell killed him. Due to his obsession with people leading a puritan life, thins of entertainment and enjoyment were banned. Such as Christmas, drinking, bear and bull baiting. Christmas was a day of fasting. Soldiers were put on duty to see if anyone had meat cooking in their oven and if so they immediately removed it. While he was tolerant to other religions, he was not tolerant towards Catholics. He was especially hostile towards the Irish because they were Catholic. Land was taken away from them and given to Englishmen. Gaelic schools were closed down and women and children were