Richard Cromwell
Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland
In office 3 September 1658 – 25 May 1659
Preceded by	Oliver Cromwell
Succeeded by	Charles II (as King)
Born	4 October 1626(1626-10-04) Huntingdon
Died	12 July 1712 (aged 85) Cheshunt
Nationality	English
Spouse	Dorothy Maijor
Religion	Independent

Richard Cromwell (4 October 1626 – 12 July 1712) was the third son of Oliver Cromwell, and the second Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, for little over eight months, from 3 September 1658 until 25 May 1659. Lord Protector is a particular British title for Heads of State with two meanings (and full styles at different periods of history England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Huntingdon is a town in the county of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia, England. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1712 ( MDCCXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap For the Australian village of the same name see Cheshunt Victoria Cheshunt (pronounced) is a town in the Broxbourne district of England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland In English Church history, Independents advocated local congregational control of religious and church matters without any wider geographical hierarchy Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1712 ( MDCCXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Lord Protector is a particular British title for Heads of State with two meanings (and full styles at different periods of history England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. Richard Cromwell's enemies derisively referred to him as Tumbledown Dick or Queen Dick, referencing his seeming inability to act in a decisive manner. ^[1]

Early years and family (1626-1653)

Richard was born in Huntingdon on 4 October 1626, the son of Oliver Cromwell and his wife Elizabeth. Events 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas Little is known of his childhood. Early biographers claim that he attended Felsted School in Essex. Felsted School is a public school situated in the beautiful village of Felsted, England. Essex is a county in the East of England. The County town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common There is no record of him attending university. In May 1647, he became a member of Lincoln’s Inn. The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which Barristers of England and Wales belong and where It is possible that he served as a captain in Thomas Fairfax’s lifeguard during the late 1640s, but the evidence is inconclusive. Thomas Fairfax 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612 &ndash 12 November 1671 was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. In 1649 Richard married Dorothy Maijor, daughter of Richard Maijor, a member of the Hampshire gentry. Wildlife Hampshire has wildlife typical of the island of Great Britain He and his wife then moved to Maijor’s estate at Hursley. Hursley is a village in Hampshire, England with a population of around 800 in 2005. During the 1650s they had nine children, five of whom did not survive to adulthood. Richard was named a JP for Hampshire and sat on various county committees. A Justice of the Peace ( JP) is a Puisne Judicial officer appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace During this period Richard seems to have been a source of concern for his father, who wrote to Richard Maijor saying “I would have him mind and understand business, read a little history, study the mathematics and cosmography: these are good, with subordination to the things of God. Better than idleness, or mere outward worldly contents. These fit for public services, for which a man is born”.

Move into political life (1653-1658)

In 1653, Richard was passed over from being a member of the Barebones Parliament (his younger brother Henry was a member). Barebone's Parliament, also known as the Nominated Assembly and the Parliament of Saints, came into being on 4 July 1653 and was the last attempt of the English Henry Cromwell ( 20 January, 1628 &ndash 23 March, 1674) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier When his father was made Lord Protector in the same year, he was also not given any public role; however, he was elected to both the first and second Protectorate parliaments. The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Under the Protectorate’s constitution, Oliver Cromwell was required to nominate a successor, and from 1657 he involved Richard much more heavily in the politics of the regime. He was present at the second installation of his father as Lord Protector in June, having played no part in the first installation. In July he was appointed Chancellor of Oxford University, and in December was made a member of the Council of State. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the The English Council of State, later also know as the Protector's Privy Council, was first appointed by the Rump Parliament on 14 February 1649

Lord Protector (1658-1659)

Oliver Cromwell died on 3 September 1658, and Richard was informed on the same day that he was to succeed him. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Some controversy surrounds the succession. A letter by John Thurloe suggests that Oliver nominated his son verbally on 30 August, but other theories claim either that he nominated no successor, or that he put forward Charles Fleetwood, his son-in-law. John Thurloe (June 1616 - 21 February 1668) was a secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Events 1363 - Beginning date of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the forces of two Chinese rebel leaders— Chen Youliang and Charles Fleetwood (died 4 October 1692) English Parliamentary soldier and politician third son of Sir Miles Fleetwood of

Richard was faced by two immediate problems. The first was the army, which questioned his position as commander given his lack of military experience. The second was the financial position of the regime, with a debt estimated at £2 million. As a result Richard Cromwell's Privy Council decided to call a parliament in order to redress these financial problems on 29 November 1658 (a decision which was formally confirmed on 3 December 1658). Under the terms of the Humble Petition and Advice, this Parliament was called using the traditional franchise (thus moving away from the system under the Instrument of Government whereby representation of 'rotten boroughs' was cut in favour of county seats). The Humble Petition and Advice was the second and last codified Constitution of England. This meant that the government was less able to control elections and therefore unable to manage the parliament effectively. As a result, when this Third Protectorate Parliament first sat on 27 January 1659 it was dominated by moderate 'Presbyterians', crypto-royalists and a small number of vociferous Commonwealthsmen (or Republicans). The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas The 'Other House' of Parliament - a body which had been set up under the Humble Petition and Advice to act as a balance on the Commons - was also revived. The Other House (also referred to as the Upper House or House of Peers) established by Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Humble Petition It was this second parliamentary chamber and its resemblance to the 'House of Lords' (which had been abolished in 1649) that dominated this Parliamentary session. Republican malcontents gave filibustering speeches about the inadequacy of the membership of this upper chamber (especially its military contingent) and also questioned whether it was indicative of the backsliding of the Protectorate regime in general and its divergence from the 'Good Old Cause' for which parliamentarians had originally engaged in Civil War. Reviving this 'House of Lords' in all but name, they argued, was but a short step to returning to the Ancient Constitution of King, Lords, and Commons.

At the same time, the officers of the army became increasingly wary about the government's commitment to the military cause. The fact that Richard Cromwell lacked military credentials grated with men who had fought on the battlefields of the English Civil War to secure their nation's liberties. Moreover, the new Parliament seemed to show a lack of respect for the army which many military men found quite alarming. In particular, there were fears that Parliament would make military cuts to reduce costs, and by April 1659 the army’s general council of officers had met to demand higher taxation to fund the regime’s costs. Their grievances were expressed in a petition to Richard Cromwell on 6 April 1659 which he forwarded to the Parliament two days later. Yet Parliament did not act on the army's suggestions; instead they shelved this petition and increased the suspicion of the military by bringing articles of impeachment against William Boteler on 12 April 1659, who was alleged to have mistreated a royalist prisoner while acting as a Major General under Oliver Cromwell in 1655. This was followed by two resolutions in the Commons on 18 April 1659 which stated that no more meetings of army officers should take place without the express permission of both the Lord Protector and Parliament, and that all officers should swear an oath that they would not subvert the sitting of Parliament by force. These direct affronts to military prestige were too much for the army grandees to bear and set in motion the final split between the civilian-dominated Parliament and the army which would culminate in the dissolution of Parliament and Richard Cromwell's ultimate fall from power. When Richard refused a demand by the army to dissolve Parliament, troops were assembled at St James’s. Richard eventually gave in to their demands and on 22 April, Parliament was dissolved and the Rump Parliament recalled on 7 May 1659. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. The Rump Parliament was the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride on December 6 1648 had purged Long Parliament of those In the subsequent month Richard did not resist and refused an offer of armed assistance from the French ambassador, although it is possible he was being kept under house arrest by the army. On 25 May, after the Rump agreed to pay his debts and provide a pension, Richard delivered a formal letter resigning the position of Lord Protector. Events 1085 - Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo Spain back from the Moors. He continued to live in Whitehall Palace until July, when he was forced by the Rump to return to Hursley. The Palace of Whitehall was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698 when all except Inigo Jones 's 1622 Royalists rejoiced at Richard's fall and many satirical attacks surfaced in which he was given the unflattering nicknames 'Tumble Down Dick' and 'Queen Dick'.

Later years (1659-1712)

During the politicals difficulties of the winter of 1659, there were rumours that Richard was to be recalled as Protector, but these came to nothing. In July 1660 Richard left for France, never to see his wife again. While there he went by a variety of pseudonyms, including “John Clarke”. He later travelled around Europe, visiting various European courts. During this period of voluntary exile he wrote many letters to his family back in England; these letters are now held by Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies at the County Record Office in Huntingdon. Cambridgeshire Archives and Local Studies Service (CALS is a UK local government institution which collects and preserves Archives, other historical documents and printed material

In 1680 or 1681 he returned to England and lodged with the merchant Thomas Pengelly in Finchley in Middlesex, living off the income from his estate in Hursley. Finchley is a place in the London Borough of Barnet, London, England. Middlesex is one of the 39 historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. He died on 12 July 1712. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 1712 ( MDCCXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap Despite his very short reign, Richard Cromwell is, in terms of age, the longest lived ruler or former ruler of England or any of its successor states (currently the United Kingdom). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

The nursery rhyme "Hickory Dickory Dock", in which the mouse runs down when the clock strikes one, is said to allude to Cromwell's one-year reign. A nursery rhyme is a traditional Song or Poem taught to young children originally in the nursery. Hickory Dickory Dock is a children's Nursery rhyme, also sometimes called Hickety Dickety Dock Hickory Dickory DockThe mouse ran up the

Notes

References

• Gaunt, Peter (2004). "Richard Cromwell". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885  
• Hutton, Ronald (1985). Professor Ronald Hutton (born 1954 is a professor of History at the University of Bristol, author and occasional commentator on British Television The Restoration: A Political and Religious History of England and Wales, 1658-1667. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-822698-5.  

External links

• BBC Bio of Richard Cromwell
• BBC Bio of Oliver Cromwell
• Britannia.com "Monarchs" Page on Richard Cromwell