What were Oliver Cromwell’s
motivations?
Based on your previous work, create a timeline of the life of Oliver Cromwell.
You will need to include events from the Civil War, the Commonwealth and
the Protectorate.
1599
1616
•Born Huntingdon - 25th April
•Enters Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge
1628
1640
1642
1643
1644
1650
•MP for Huntingdon
•MP for Cambridge
•Raises troops for Parliament
•Colonel in the Eastern Association
•Lieutenant-General of the
Eastern Association Army
•Battle of Marston Moor - 2nd July
•Battle of Newbury - 27th October
•Lieutenant-General of the New Model Army
•Battle of Naseby - 14th June
•Supports Parliamentary army in clashes
with Parliament
•Crushes royalist rising in South Wales
•Battle of Preston - 18th August
•Supports trial and execution of the King
- January
•Commands army sent to crush Ireland - August
•Commands army sent to crush Scotland - July
1650
1651
•Battle of Dunbar - 3rd September
•Battle of Worcester - 3rd September
1653
•Dissolves Parliament - 20th April
•Becomes Lord Protector - 16th December
•Meets first Protectorate Parliament
- September
•System of the Major- Generals established
- October
•Meets second Protectorate Parliament
- September
•Rejects Parliament's offer of the crown and
remains Lord Protector, March - June
•Dies at Whitehall - 3rd September
•Exhumed and posthumously 'executed'
- 30th January
1645
1647
1648
1649
1654
1655
1656
1657
1658
1661
What do these
events suggest
about Cromwell’s
motivations?
Do you think he was
driven by
contemporary
circumstances or his
own personal beliefs?
Have a look at the letters and portraits. As you study each one, you need to
do the following:
a) Add it to your timeline of Cromwell’s life (in a different colour).
b) What does it tell us about Cromwell’s motivations? Try to add a quote or
a description to support your point.
Having looked at the portraits and letters of Cromwell, what do they tell us
about his motivations?
Colour-code your timeline
to show the different
motivations e.g. religion,
reliance on the army,
personal interest
Consider the following questions ready for discussion:
a) Do the motivations highlighted in the portraits and letters correspond
with the events of Cromwell’s life?
b) Do Cromwell’s motivations change over time?
c) To what extent was Cromwell driven by contemporary events rather than
his own personal beliefs?
Write a paragraph
to answer the last
question
What other sources of evidence could we use to
discover the motivations behind Cromwell’s actions?
Make sure you explain why you would consult each particular source.
Next steps:
Your next step should be to visit the
Cromwell Museum and Archives. Can you
find any more evidence of Cromwell’s
motivations?