Henry Cromwell (Cromwell the Great)

Henry Cromwell (20 January 1628 – 1696) was the fourth son of Oliver Cromwell and Elizabeth Bourchier, and an important figure in the Parliamentarian regime in Ireland and 2do Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland on the death of his father.

Early life
He was born at Huntingdon and educated at Felsted School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He served under his father during the latter part of the English Civil War. His active life, however, was mainly spent in Ireland, whither he took some troops to assist Oliver early in 1650, and he was one of the Irish representative; in the Little, or Nominated, Parliament of 1653. In 1653 Henry married Elizabeth (died 1687), daughter of Sir Francis Russell, 2nd Baronet, who went on to bear him five sons and two daughters.

Ireland
In 1654 he was again in Ireland, and after making certain recommendations to his father, now lord protector, with regard to the government of that country, he became major-general of the forces in Ireland and a member of the Irish council of state, taking up his new duties in July 1655. Nominally Henry was subordinate to the lord-deputy, Charles Fleetwood, but Fleetwood's departure for England in September 1655 left him for all practical purposes the ruler of Ireland. He moderated the lord-deputy's policy of deporting the Irish, and unlike him he paid some attention to the interests of the English settlers. Moreover, again unlike Fleetwood, he appears to have held the scales evenly between the different Protestant sects, and his undoubted popularity in Ireland is attested by Clarendon.

In November 1657 Henry himself was made lord-deputy; but before this time he had refused a gift of property worth £1500 a year, basing his refusal on the grounds of the poverty of the country, a poverty which was not the least of his troubles. In 1657 he advised his father not to accept the office of king, although in 1654 he had supported a motion to this effect; and after the dissolution of Cromwell's second parliament in February 1658 he showed his anxiety that the protector should act in a moderate and constitutional manner.

The Sucession
Under the terms of the Humble Petition and Advice, the written constitution adopted in May 1657, Oliver Cromwell was empowered to name his successor as Lord Protector. There was no requirement to name his eldest son, but Oliver began to promote Richard's interests to a far greater extent than previously.

However several of the Grandees, including Charles Fleetwood and John Disbrowe, and soldiers of the New Model Army were adverse at this choice of a person of no previous military command and lukewarm attitude towards religion. A more likely choice for many would have been his other son, Henry, proven soldier and politician in the Irish campaign. Although the idea of changing the succession was alarming similar to making a coup against Oliver Cromwell, only other institution that backed the Protectorate was the Army that was more frightened of a royal restoration and return of Popery then the Lord Protector's wrath. Meetings went between Henry and officers. In the end Henry agreed only if he convinced his father on changing the succession. If the Lord Protector agreed he would guaranteed the state of the Commonwealth but with some reforms to make it more permanent. In parallel secret plans were envisioned if Richard failed in convincing his father that on the death of the Protector the Army would install a Safety Committee to secure the government.

On May 1658 Richard returns to London and talks with his father on the future of the Commonwealth, mainly the settlement of the constitution and reconciliation the Puritan sects in a cohesive national church, At first unsuccessful, however a longer reunion with his brother Oliver its fruitful in convincing him of the need of the loyalty of the Army and dangers of a royal restoration. Later that month both brothers convince their father of changing the succession. After the victory of the Battle of the Dunes (4 June 1658) the Lord Protector officially proclaims Henry as his successor.

Lord Protector
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