Oliver Cromwell lived between 1599 and 1658 and was a primary figure in the republicanisation of England. His family were of gentry, although not of a major nature, and Cromwell studied at the prestigious Cambridge University. His political career began when he joined parliament in 1628 to 1629, representing the constituency of Huntingdon. The 1630s saw Cromwell have an ecclesiastical crisis which resulted in him holding the belief that he would be guided to carry out the work of God. In 1640, he was elected to represent Cambridge in parliament and was, by then, a well-known radical Puritan.
When civil war began ...