Date of Award

Spring 1977

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

History

Abstract

It is easy to portray Cromwell as some kind of Machiavellian plotter bent upon the achievement of personal gain through coercion, even murder, yet as Wingfied-Stratford noted, it was possible for Charles to save himself and his crown, but "Charles was more resolved to die than Oliver Cromwell to kill him." Cromwell and the other like minded members of the army were forced to depose and kill the King by Charles himself. Political, social, and most particularly, religious forces combined to pressure Cromwell into a long and agonizing decision, but when once firmly convinced of the moral rightness of his cause, he did not hesitate to pursue it to the necessary conclusion. When Charles was executed on January 30, 1649, the King's death was viewed by Cromwell as a political and religious necessity.

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