cover of episode Oliver Cromwell Part 1: The Rise of Ironsides

Oliver Cromwell Part 1: The Rise of Ironsides

2024/4/16
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Real Dictators

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This chapter explores Oliver Cromwell's early life, his family background, and his transformation from a gentleman farmer to a politically active Puritan.

Shownotes Transcript

Say “Oliver Cromwell” today and certain things come to mind. He won the English Civil War and prompted the execution of Charles I. He purged the realm with such zeal that he even cancelled Christmas. In Ireland, where Cromwell’s troops besieged its towns with a notorious barbarity, his name is still used as a curse. “The greatest prince that ever ruled England”, as one historian called him? Or, as Winston Churchill would counter, a tyrant and a despot?

A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson.

Many thanks to Peter Gaunt, Clare Jackson, Anna Keay, John Morrill, Nicholas O’Shaughnessy, Micheál Ó Siochrú.

This is Part 1 of 4.

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