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The Cromwellian Genocide of Irish Catholics

Religious Life and Reforms under Oliver Cromwell

"Necessity hath no law"

Cromwell tolerated all Christian denominations in his land, including Judaism, except for Catholics

Ever since the first rebellion, Ireland had been controlled by the Irish Catholic Confederation

The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, led by Oliver Cromwell, occurred in 1649-1653, when Oliver Cromwell led the English Parliament against the Irish

There was a lie circulating around that the Irish had killed up to 200,000 English settlers. Cromwell used this as justification of his conquests of the Irish. However, there is no documentation of any of this being true.

He thought he was doing the ¨righteous justice of god¨ by killing this irish catholic

In 1652, Oliver Cromwell had defeated the Irish and brought an end to the eleven years war that had been going on in Ireland. He then established a set of Penal laws against the Roman Catholics

Luck of the Irish

Life Under Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell started off as a remarkably kind leader, even drafting a new constitution based on commonwealth, similar to a modern republican government

Cromwell later tore up his own constitution, and sought out to rule as a sole dictator

Passed a series of very strict laws, banning things like theater, dance, sports, dancing, and even many holidays including Christmas

He wanted to "improve" society, in a way that is eerily similar to the genocide experienced in Germany under Adolf Hitler during World War II.

He viewed that by eliminating what he viewed as "heathens" in society, he would be doing the world a favor by acting as "God's Executioner"

Oliver Cromwell

"Necessity hath no law"

Life Under Oliver Cromwell Pt. II

Oliver Cromwell was extremely religious, and was a strong protestant

He viewed the Catholics in his society as the heathens, and thought that by ridding of them he would be doing a right under God

When he began to close Catholic churches, the large Catholic community in Ireland rebelled against him

He easily defeated this rebellion, and gave the land in Ireland to his English soldiers

He continued to kill thousands of Irish both because of their religion, and to ensure no further rebellions

More Religious Reforms Under Cromwell

He also led England to be a military power, creating his New Model Army

Since he was the only ruler in his monarch, Cromwell used much of the money from taxes on funding his new model army

He had his army trained, and by the time the Irish rebelled they didn't have a chance

He spent tons on funding his constant war against Catholics, even though many people were struggling with hunger in the streets of England (causing a large dislike of Cromwell throughout much of southern and central England)

Many historians accuse Cromwell of:

-Slaughtering civilians as well as soldiers

-Transporting Irish Catholics as slaves to the West Indies

-Giving Catholic lands to Protestant settlers and exiling the Irish poor to land in Connacht west of Ireland

During only nine months in Ireland Cromwell:

Captured the city of Drogheda in September of 1649

His troops massacred nearly 3,500 people, including 2,700 Royalist settlers, all men in the town, as well as some priests

At the siege of Wexford in October 1649, Irish soldiers and approximately 1,500 civilians were killed

Interesting Facts:

Cromwell had to seek help for depression from a doctor in London

He is thought to have contracted malaria on a campaign in Ireland, he also had kidney/urinary stones which eventually killed him

Eventually his head was cut off outside Westminster Hall and stuck on a pole until rescued by a well wisher nearly 20 years later

He had nine kids, two of whom died during his lifetime

Cromwell underwent his conversion to Protestantism possibly due to a mental breakdown, which changed his life and indirectly led to the death of thousands of Irish

Cromwell was the most Absolute Monarch

There were many absolute monarchs throughout Europe during this time period, however the English monarchy under Oliver Cromwell deserves the title of the most absolute of these monarchs. First, in order to define who deserves the title of the most absolute monarch, it must be understood what a monarch is. A monarch is a form of government in which one sole person controls all aspects of government, and ultimately, all of life’s aspects that occur from a socioeconomic standpoint within that nation. Among these aspects of life, most important in terms of the power of the monarch are how the leader controlled in particular the nobility, the the peasantry, the military, the religion, and taxes/ government spending.

SOURCES

Thomas Mccauley: from History of England, Volume I (London: D. Appleton and Co., 1880), pp. 90-95.

Macauley, Thomas. "Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/macauley-cromwell.asp>.

"English Civil War: Battle of Worcester." About.com Military History. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. <http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/EnglishCivilWar/p/English-Civil-War-Battle-Of-Worcester.htm>.

Life in England under Oliver Cromwell. History Learning Site, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <www.historylearningsite.co.uk

"Search the History Learning Site." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/>.

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