Catching up on some English History...

So I'm pretty good on American History, I even have an American Studies degree.  Mike thinks it's random when I spurt off a random event in American history when the bill comes up $17.76.. I just know what was going on in our little country at the time.  However, English history is a whole different ball game. I'm ashamed not to know what our original parent country was all about but I'm trying to make up for lost time.  And put it together with French and German history is starting to make my head spin. There is so much stuff that happened here and so little time to figure it all out.  (But check out this sign! Open 24 hours? Not really...)

Any way, in our little town of Ely there is a house. A famous house because a man by the name of Oliver Cromwell lived in it. He was a Puritan and basically the local tax collector for the Cathedral that's parked here. (I'm standing inside the kitchen)  We've seen the set up similar to this one in houses in Annapolis.  However the house was originally from the 13th century with upgrades of course. This one is special though because of Cromwell himself!

That's Cromwell to the right of Mike.  Any way, In the beginning of the tour they ask you... Is Cromwell a hero or a villain?  We were thinking how the heck should we know... what did he do?  And why should we judge someone who lived in the 1600's. That was forever ago!

So this is the story... Cromwell moved to Ely with his family because his Uncle passed and left him some property.  He became the tax collector and was pretty well respected. At the point when he moved to Ely, King Charles I had dissolved Parliament and was working to run England as an absolute monarch (1629). This is what made a ton of people move to America.  And then an English Civil war started between Parliament and King Charles I in 1642.. (I had no idea there was a civil war)  Anyway, Cromwell joined Parliaments side in a push for religious tolerance (I think) and after a bunch of bloody battles Parliament won. King Charles I was beheaded for treason on January 30, 1649.

So what do you do when the monarch is over?  Well Parliament needed some kind of leader so they asked Cromwell to step up. He didn't want to become a King but instead he took the title of Lord Protector of England.  Cromwell ruled over England from 1649 till his death in 1658.  The thing is that he didn't set up a successor or a plan for how to continue without a monarchy.  He also has a very controversial record while he was running the country.  Apparently genocide in Ireland, abolished Christmas, pushed for spiritual and moral reform, allowed the Jews back into England and dissolved Parliament (there are a bunch more too).  So at the end of the tour they ask you do you think he was a hero or villain?  Well I guess that depends on what you believe in. In my opinion, I think power like any power probably got to him and negative decisions may have been made. It's hard to remain true to yourself and run a country.  We see that now and see it constantly repeated throughout history.

So what happened after Cromwell's death?  WELLLLLL..... The monarch was restored under supervision and King Charles II became ruler.  And well, he got some revenge.  King Charles II ordered Cromwell's body be exhumed from Westminister Abby and then decapitated.  His body was thrown into a pit and his head stayed on a stake outside of Westminster Hall for several years (4 they say).  The vault where Cromwell was buried now has the illegitimate children of King Charles II buried inside.

I guess the lesson is... holding a grudge can still mean "off with your head" even after your dead.