The Lord Protector: Religion and Politics in the Life of Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwellstands at the gateway of modern history; his resolutePuritanismformative to concepts of political and religious liberty, the development ofdemocracy, and the individual's duty to resist tyranny. In The LordProtector, Robert S. Paul traces Cromwell's political career,fromhis early influences and political experience, to the English Civil Wars, hisbrutal conquest of Ireland and campaigns in Scotland.

Where somehistorians present Cromwell in extremes, either as a scheming power-hungrytyrant, or as a noble hero, Paul seeks to understand the Lord Protector throughthe religious context of the seventeenth century, removed from the typicalhistorical readings of his contemporaries. In order to understand Cromwell'scareer, Paul's investigation focusses his study through the extent to whichCromwell shared the theological beliefs common to his time. This relationshipbetween his religion and political action provides an estimate of Cromwell as aman of faith, statesman and ruler.