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 •Born Huntingdon - 25th April 1616 •Enters Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge

1628 •MP for Huntingdon 1640 •MP for Cambridge 1642 •Raises troops for Parliament 1643 •Colonel in the Eastern Association 1644 •Lieutenant-General of the

Eastern Association Army•Battle of Marston Moor - 2nd July•Battle of Newbury - 27th October

1645 •Lieutenant-General of the New Model Army •Battle of Naseby - 14th June

1647 •Supports Parliamentary army in clashes with Parliament

1648 •Crushes royalist rising in South Wales •Battle of Preston - 18th August

1649 •Supports trial and execution of the King - January •Commands army sent to crush Ireland - August

1650 •Commands army sent to crush Scotland - July

1650 •Battle of Dunbar - 3rd September 1651 •Battle of Worcester - 3rd September

1653 •Dissolves Parliament - 20th April •Becomes Lord Protector - 16th December

1654 •Meets first Protectorate Parliament - September

1655 •System of the Major- Generals established- October

1656 •Meets second Protectorate Parliament - September

1657 •Rejects Parliament's offer of the crown and remains Lord Protector, March - June

1658 •Dies at Whitehall - 3rd September 1661 •Exhumed and posthumously 'executed'

- 30th January

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?