Pax Quæritur Bello...Peace is sought through War: motto of The English Commonwealth (during the English Interregnum) "Peace is sought through War", heard that somewhere before? :-) 16th December was the day that Oliver Cromwell was given outright power as Lord Protector and the Commonwealth, in existence since only 1649, became a Protectorate. A constitution, the first in the history of the world, granted executive power to the Lord Protector of the "Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland". Is the jury still out over Oliver Cromwell? All time Top 10 Briton or genocidal war criminal?
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Only Oliver...
Pax Quæritur Bello...Peace is sought through War: motto of The English Commonwealth (during the English Interregnum) "Peace is sought through War", heard that somewhere before? :-) 16th December was the day that Oliver Cromwell was given outright power as Lord Protector and the Commonwealth, in existence since only 1649, became a Protectorate. A constitution, the first in the history of the world, granted executive power to the Lord Protector of the "Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland". Is the jury still out over Oliver Cromwell? All time Top 10 Briton or genocidal war criminal?
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2 comments:
I have problems with Cromwell because of Drogheda and the sacking of Wexford. Cromwell justified his actions by claiming it was the work of God which to my mind puts in the same fanatical boat as Matthew Hopkins.
That said, and we must accept that Cromwell did not understand siege warfare, his political decisions during the Commonwealth period probably put him up there with William I, Edward III and Churchill as great constitutional figures of our history.
good comment Paul! You've cottoned on to what I was getting at...the great, or 'to be great', doesn't necessarily mean being good, or pure although it is important that they think they are - to do 'evil' things knowing they are evil you cannot be considered great. An interesting balance too when one of the dangers today in the world is religious fanaticism as a justification for 'crimes' - something our history is full of!
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