Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of Cromwell's Protectorate

As a boy growing up I learnt at school about Roundheads and Cavaliers, about how Charles I had his head disconnected from his shoulders in 1649 and about Oliver Cromwell. What we weren't taught about was the Protectorate and the tight grip Cromwell had over the country and its people. How refreshing it was to read the ins and ours of Cromwell's reign - a true masterpiece of a history lesson. Paul Lay captured the comings and goings of parliamentarians; the fiefdom created by Cromwell's Major-Generals and how the Intertrgnum collapsed after Cromwell's death because the Protector failed to appoint an heir. A good read, laborious at times but a concise history of England between 1649 to 1660

Item arrived early and undamaged, this is a good book, very interesting and readable, if you're into history you can't go wrong with this. Recommended.

Ask the average British person with little specific interest in history what they know about Oliver Cromwell and one suspects they would answer that he cut the king's head off and abolished Christmas (his shade was very visible in the UK tabloid media during the Government's agonising over what rules should be imposed on family Christmas celebrations in 2020, for instance). Neither proposition is quite correct, and Lay's book shows that even when Lord Protector Oliver was alive both monarchy and Christmas were live issues. The question of whether to turn the Protectorate into a formal monarchy of the House of Cromwell overshadowed the final year and more of the regime, dividing military from civilian interests, while the continuing celebration of Christmas even by members of the Protectorate's Parliament opened up scope for political manoeuvres, with religious radicals seeking to exploit thin attendance during the Twelve Days of Christmas to push through their favoured legislation.Lay's book is not a biography of Cromwell (who is often a brooding figure in the background rather than a central protagonist) nor a comprehensive study of England in the years between the Stuart monarchs (Scotland and Ireland get very little attention). The focus is squarely on the years of the formal Protectorate from 1653 to Cromwell's death in 1658, with the bewildering chaos of its ignominious collapse during 1659-60 dispatched rather rapidly. Within that period, coverage is dominated by high politics, sometimes enlivened by royalist plotting. Lay loses interest in the war with Spain after the fiasco of the Western Design in 1655 (admittedly a body blow to Cromwell's confidence that the regime he led was doing God's will which led him into the disastrously ill-judged attempt to force godly behaviour on the masses at sword point through the rule of the Major Generals). The quest for a religious settlement never quite comes into focus despite the lengthy section devoted to the travails of the Quaker dissident James Nayler. Broader social and cultural issues are only briefly touched on, though Lay does underline the distinctly lavish lifestyle of the Protector (complete with an art collection full of nudes and Catholic devotional paintings) and his closest associates. Surprisingly, though Davenant's opera "The Siege of Rhodes" rates a mention, his subsequent anti-Spanish multi-media extravaganzas "The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru" and "Sir Frances Drake" do not, despite their obvious links to Protectoral foreign policy.The overall sense one has is of a regime increasingly stuck up a cul-de-sac. Cromwell liked the idea of a Parliament but could never get one elected which would agree with him on every detail. No final constitutional settlement ever emerged and it's not clear what Cromwell's preference really was (though his complete failure to train his eldest son Richard for the role of Lord Protector suggests he didn't favour a hereditary succession). The positive support base of the regime was increasingly narrow as principled Republicans increasingly drifted into opposition, following the radicals and Levellers (some of whom were so disillusioned that they cooperated with royalist conspiracies). The cost of a bloated military establishment aimed as much at maintaining domestic control as fighting foreign foes drove the state debt to unsustainable levels. Nevertheless it looked firmly in the saddle- until the only man who could hold it together died.

This book is an excellent introduction to a perhaps little-known but crucially important period of British history, the only time (so far) that Britain has come close to being run by a military dictatorship. I studied this period for A-level many years ago and I was interested to see just how much new research has been done - most of the entries in the excellent bibliography have been published since I was at school. The author is particularly good at pointing the similarities, or near-similarities, between the 1650s and the present (2020), though some are more convincing than others; it is somehow uplifting to know that Britain has survived being run by malignant fantasists before.

Marvellous; for me who knew little of this period it was a real page turner. Beautifully written, it maintained a level of suspense about Providence Island and characters such as James Nayler that kept my interest throughout. Cromwell, as always, remains an ambiguous figure. How extraordinary that one man could dominate a nation in such a way that on his death the whole structure could be swept away in months.

A lucid exposition of the complex religious politics of Cromwell's commonwealth. A book that might so easily become a mire of names and obscure religious sects is brought to life by the author's engaging style and deep learning. The book can be thoroughly recommended to anyone interested in the history of the Civil War and its immediate aftermath.

A most interesting account of a corner of 17th century history of the Cromwellian era in which the Protectorate endeavoured,largely unsuccessfully,to set up colonies in the west indies.They tried Spanish Dominica (Hispaniola) to no avail but were luckier with the much smaller island of Jamaica. A good read.

Excellent coverage of Protectorate and highlights what goes wrong when there is no viable opposition, and the Government controls the Armed Forces.Was it a failure in succession planning or a realisation that Cromwell and his dream could not carry on that created a reluctance to nominate either his son or A N Other, impossible to speculate.The main Parliamentary achievement was the abolition of “the Other House”, if only we could repeat this today or replace with a 6 year tenure Senate which would represent the People and not whichever political party was busy stuffing it with Lords and Ladies.A modern Cromwell would accept the current Monarchy with its limited powers, he may even be radical enough to reduce the numbers of MP’s to 250, in place of “the Other House” the new Senate with 100, how much more would get done, but we know this will never happen as too many people have too much invested in the Status Quo to allow radical improvement that benefited the majority and not just the few.

Brilliant synthesis of this very complex time, an engaging and informative narrative,. The research was extensive and the bibliography was much appreciated, can't wait to read more about this subject,,

This was a gift to my son and I’ve had no feedback from him! He asked for and received many books I doubt he’s read them all.

And it reads like a novel full of the intrigue and vanity of the players that literally helped to create a new world.