How far do you agree that Oliver Cromwell led an evil regime but left a great ideal? For centuries there has been a debate as to whether Oliver Cromwell was a murderer and a tyrant or a conquering hero. As a very religious man who relied heavily on signs he thought were of God to take action, Cromwell’s strongest wish had always been to get to an agreement before having to resort to more ruthless means to achieve his goals. Thus, it could be argued that the demonization of Cromwell is only well-founded and deserved in the eyes of those who suffered the consequences of his acts, or lack thereof. However, his actions, for better or worse, shaped the future of the land, which no English ruler had ever achieved. Some of the most brutal acts that helped build Cromwell’s bad reputation happened before he ruled as Lord Protector and yet left a mark, especially for the Irish, for many years to come. After the execution of the king, Ireland became the centre of the commonwealth’s enemies due to …show more content…
The lord protector wished to spread Protestantism and a war between Protestant nations was against his ideals. As a result of the treaty, he secured English commerce and prevented the restoration of the Stuarts by the aid of the Dutch or any other foreign country. Cromwell’s aspiration to expand England’s possessions overseas and extend English commerce suffered a temporary setback. He launched an expedition against the Spanish Islands to attack Hispaniola. Due to the poor preparations of the troops, the attack was a complete failure. Hoping to save the situation, the commanders of the expedition attacked Jamaica, which was an easy target for its defences were weak and eventually became an important sugar island. Despite the lack of success in some of his expeditions, the Western Design was the part of Cromwell’s foreign policy that produced the most lasting