“The most high and sacred order of kings is that of the divine right, being the ordinance of God himself, founded in the prime laws of nature, and clearly established by expressed texts both of old and new testaments,” states Maurice Ashley. Prior too the English Civil England was nation that inherited too the belief that such monarchies were absolute in their power and authority. However during the seventeenth century England found itself engrossed in a war in which absolutists and parliamentarians so strongly opposed each other, that it took the death of King Charles I to put an end to England’s Civil War.Historical studies of this time have focused very strongly on the events and actions surrounding one man, that being Oliver Cromwell. Born in Huntingdon on April 25th 1599 and died as Lord Protector in 1658 Cromwell’s, ambitions, motives and actions have been the subject of scholarly investigation and intense study and debate. One of the biggest questions surrounding the life of Oliver Cromwell is whether the regime, which he governed over was a cruel and harsh dictatorship which suppressed individual freedoms or, as this paper will attempt to prove, an era that produced a stronger and more democratic England? This essay shall judge the success or failure of this regime by examining the political changes that Cromwell was responsible for. When examining Cromwell’s political impact on English history its important to begin with the event which set this political career in motion, that being the execution of Charles I. At start of the seventeenth century James I handed the reigns of the commonwealth to his only male heir Charles. According too Peter Young Charles I was a firm believer in the divine right of kings and during his reign rarely asked for help, believing his decisions as those ordained by god. It was this attitude, which lead to the inevitable conflict between the mon...
