The man who wouldn't be king - Dominic Sandbrook (2010) & The Enlightenment Philosophers

Extract

[...] He also says that only moderate governments can guarantee political liberty. The Social Contract by Jean Jacques Rousseau - The State of Nature: men are free. - Man animated by reason: the social contract is the solution to a fundamental problem for men: staying free while forming an association allowing them to "work in concert" and sum their forces. - The purpose of government: the government guarantees the effectiveness of this social contract. - The best type of government the author advocates: democracy. [...]

[...] In the end, what does he think about Cromwell? The journalist thinks that Oliver Cromwell might be "the greatest politician in our history" according to the first paragraph of the text. He is seen as "one of the most bewildering figures in Britain history" according to the second paragraph. The Enlightenment Philosophers The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes - The State of Nature: men are made equal, physically and psychologically. - Man animated by reason: men tend to believe that some of them are better than the others. [...]

[...] In the end, Cromwell should be remembered as "the champion of religious liberty". 5. What happened in Ireland? As Catholic rebels had made a deal with the royalists, terrible massacres happened in late 1649, killing around 7000 people: the massacres of Drogheda and Wexford. Cromwell justified these killings as righteous judgement of God upon these barbarous wretches." 6. How successful was the Protectorate? Cromwell had incredible and unprecedented power; the Protectorate is described by the author as a "great success". [...]

[...] The man who wouldn't be king - Dominic Sandbrook (2010) & The Enlightenment Philosophers 1. What was Cromwell's social background? Cromwell's social background is very modest, since he used to be a "yeoman farmer from Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire". He even had serious financial issues. 2. How can we explain his religiousness? Cromwell's religiousness can be explained by the misery he went through before he accessed the throne. Indeed, in 1629 and 1630, he had severe financial troubles and almost had a breakdown. [...]

[...] How did he fare in foreign affairs? Cromwell was very good in foreign affairs: he is described as the first to have world strategy". 8. Why did the journalist say that "the reigns of Charles II and James II were mere interludes"? The journalist says that because what was achieved during Cromwell's time "came to define British itself", whereas the reigns of Charles II and James II were quickly forgotten. What they did had no impact, since after their time "the policies of the 1650s were picked up again". [...]