Lord Protector at Last

Good morrow, my readers! I am VERY happy today, as I was appointed the title of Lord Protector, which is the title that is reserved for the executive power holder in the new Instrument of Government! This is amazing; because that means that I have the most power in England right now. I have finally achieved my goal of being the highest title holder in England. But it is getting a little hard to rule England, so I have decided to split it up into eleven regions. That way, instead of governing all of it, I can easily get the latest news on my country by the leaders I will appoint to look over a certain area. But while I have the power of the executive branch, the legislative branch was given to a new parliament. But they proved to be unworthy of the title and inefficient as well, so they were dissolved again. I also ran into the financial problem of funding my army, so to fix this I might create a tax. I think I will levy a 10 percent tax on on my former royalists. I’m certain they can afford to pay it. Yet I still think with that, I might not be able to maintain a constitutional basis. Well, I guess if I can’t convince my people to follow my orders, I’ll have to force them using military power to rule my Independents. Well, Europe certainly has had many surprising twists in the past few years. Hopefully there will be more to write about later. Until that time, may everyone enjoy this blog.

A New and Improved Government for England

Hello to all my readers. The rump parliament finally got too difficult to handle, with their innovative ideas. So I did what I thought was best for the state and dispersed the rump parliament. I don’t think god would’ve wanted that kind of government for England. And yes, I do believe that he wouldn’t, as I am an Independent or a radical puritan as many call us. They all dispersed last month in April of 1653. So I can now say that I have successfully defeated both the king and the parliament. It feels good to be able to say that. Anyways, since it was the rump parliament that changed England from a monarchy to a commonwealth, I am still unsure if I should keep the commonwealth or if I should change it. I guess I’ll just let the army carry out their plan to create the Instrument of Government. The way they’re writing it is quite different than I imagined it to be written. People say it is going to catch on later. On other matters, it looks as if Amsterdam is one of the flourishing centers right now. They increased the land they originally had, created storerooms for their merchants and artisans, and now even have an amazing bank there. That is what Amsterdam is famous for at the time. Its bank is revolutionizing the way people thought financially. I was very impressed when I heard of it. I’ll write again once England gets a new and efficient government.

Poland: A state no more?

OH. MY. GOODNESS. I just received the most appalling news about Poland. Apparently, under the rule of Sigismund III, all Poland had was hopes and ambitions for making Poland a larger empire. They only dreamed of adding Russia, Sweden, and Finland. But it appears that Sigismund III, overcome by his ambitions, went the other way. Poland recently became a weak and decentralized state. Sigismund III lost of all of his monarchical power. Poor bloke! Instead, Sigismund III was replaced by the Polish Sejm, a new sort of two chamber assembly power in which landowners were completely dominant. But the Sejm never disintegrated the position of king; they released the information that the next monarch in line only had to agree to share power with them. But at the end, this new form of power also failed and had even more disastrous results than the first predicament of King Sigismund III. They totally destroyed whatever monarchical power was left and made Poland a helpless state. In fact, Poland is no longer a state. Recent news puts Poland as now a confederation of many different semi independent estates of landed nobles. Oh what a tragic ending for such a powerful state. And to possibly make matters worse for them, foreign powers are closing in on them to see if they may conquer this mass of estates. Poland is really in for a rough ride for the upcoming wars. So that is the latest news on what’s “hot” in Europe right now. So ill talk to my fellow bloggers once again when something else pops up.

R.I.P. Charles I and the Levellers

Hello there, my fellow readers. Many of my suspicions were true and others not so much. Parliament was able to put together my army. And I convinced them to name it the New Model Army. And when I heard that the king fled to Scotland, I was extremely angry with him and was much more determined to kill him than ever. I was so angry that I chased him down in Scotland, and was captured. He was proclaimed guilty by the House of Commons, or the current parliament, as I purged the Presbyterians in the parliament. They sentenced him to death by the severing of his head. He was executed a few days ago on January 30, 1649. I gained much popularity from the rest of my soldiers that day. But I soon realized that while I was away at Scotland a group called the levellers, radically minded people, were causing disarray in England. They mocked me and my power, telling me I couldn’t stop them. They were in for quite a surprise when I crushed every single one of them. And while this was happening, the Rump parliament started to think of their own ideas to change the government “for the better” without my consent. I still don’t know if they can be trusted anymore or not.  Well, things are looking both up and down, as I defeated the levellers, but also might be losing the rump parliament. I’ll write again when Europe reveals another one of its secrets. Until then, may all be well.

Welcome to Oliver Cromwell's Blog

Good morrow fellow bloggers.  I am Sir Oliver Cromwell, English War General. I decided to make this blog page because of the many tensions occurring in England, or even in Europe as a whole, and this blog is solely meant for informing my people of current events happening in England. And currently, I drew myself into quite a sticky situation. A civil war has started in England, and the Parliament, to whom I obey, have chosen me as one of the leaders of their “to be amazing” army. I am still wondering whether they will make a battle worthy army for me to lead. If not, I plan to still win this war. Since I’m already in this mess, why not clean it up. My current backup plan, if parliament fails to get me an army, is to create one myself. I don’t think it will be too hard, as the people of England have obeyed parliament all this time, so what could be stopping them from continuing? But as of now, I am hoping that parliament can take care of that for me. Oh! I never explained the entire reason this war broke out. Well, Charles I, our current king, decided to mock the parliament and claim that due to his new theory, divine right, god has chosen him to rule. Parliament was immediately angered at this and challenged the king. But the king refused to accept that parliament had total control. So parliament asked me and a few other generals to help them out and “deal” with the king. The king, after hearing this, fled to Scotland. And now he thinks some amazing force is coming for him, but parliament hasn’t even started on it yet. So as of now, I think I’ll start rallying up troops for the army I’ll create. I’ll call it the “New Model Army.”
But my latest accomplishment is purging the parliament of its Presbyterian members.  It is now only composed of the house of the Commons, or the Rump Parliament as some people call it. Another rumor that I hear is that the Rump parliament plans on ridding of any monarchy left in this state. I don’t know if this rumor is true or not, but if it is, the outcome is still unknown. Alright then. That is the latest news for now. I’ll post another piece once something exciting happens, or once I achieve in creating my army that parliament was supposed to give me. Until then, this is the end of Oliver Cromwell’s first blog post.