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Oliver Cromwell

1599 CE – 1658 CE

Retrace Oliver Cromwell's life across the map — 29 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Franco-Spanish War1635 CE
   The Franco-Spanish War, May 1635 to November 1659, was fought between France and Spain, each supported by various allies at different points. It consists of two distinct phases, the first from May 1635 to October 1648, which is considered a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, the second continued until the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.
2. Wars of the Three Kingdoms1638 CE
   The Wars of the Three Kingdoms is the collective term for a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bishops' Wars, the First and Second English Civil Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish War of 1650–1652. They resulted in the execution of Charles I, the abolition of monarchy, and founding of the Commonwealth of England, a unitary state which controlled the British Isles until the Stuart Restoration in 1660.
3. English Civil War1642 CE
   The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War and the Second English Civil War. The Anglo-Scottish war of 1650 to 1652 is sometimes referred to as the Third English Civil War.
4. Battle of Gainsborough1643 CE
   The Battle of Gainsborough took place during the First English Civil War on 28 July 1643. The strategically important town of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, was a Royalist base used for harassing the Parliamentarians who were generally dominant in Lincolnshire, but it was taken by Parliamentarians in July 1643. An attempt to recapture Gainsborough by Charles Cavendish and the Royalists was foiled in a battle in which Colonel Oliver Cromwell distinguished himself as a cavalry leader.
5. Siege of Hull1643 CE
   The unsuccessful second siege of Hull by the Royalist Earl of Newcastle in 1643 was a victory for Parliament at the high point of the Royalist campaign in the First English Civil War. It led to the abandonment of the Earl of Newcastle's campaign in Lincolnshire and the re-establishment of Parliament's presence in Yorkshire.
6. Siege of Basing House1643 CE
   The siege of Basing House near Basingstoke in Hampshire, was a Parliamentarian victory late in the First English Civil War. Whereas the title of the event may suggest a single siege, there were in fact three major engagements. John Paulet, 5th Marquess of Winchester owned the House and as a committed Royalist garrisoned it in support of King Charles I, as it commanded the road from London to the west through Salisbury.
7. Battle of Winceby1643 CE
   The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the First English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire. In the battle, a Royalist relieving force under the command of Sir William Widdrington was defeated by the Parliamentarian cavalry of the Earl of Manchester.
8. Battle of Marston Moor1644 CE
   The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle.
9. Siege of Lincoln1644 CE
   The siege of Lincoln took place from 3 to 6 May 1644 during the First English Civil War, when the important town of Lincoln was besieged by Parliamentarian forces under the Earl of Manchester. On the first day, the Parliamentarians took the lower town. The Royalist defenders retreated into the stronger fortifications of the upper town, which encompassed and incorporated Lincoln Castle and Lincoln Cathedral. The siege ended four days later when the Parliamentarian soldiers stormed the castle, taking prisoner the Royalist governor, Sir Francis Fane, and what remained of his garrison.
10. Second Battle of Newbury1644 CE
    The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in late September the previous year.
11. Battle of Langport1645 CE
    The Battle of Langport took place on 10 July 1645 during the First English Civil War, near Langport in Somerset.
12. Battle of Naseby1645 CE
    The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main Royalist army under Charles I and Prince Rupert. The defeat ended any real hope of Royalist victory, although Charles did not finally surrender until May 1646.
13. Siege of Bridgwater1645 CE
    The siege of Bridgwater took place in July 1645, during the First English Civil War, when a Royalist garrison surrendered to a Parliamentarian force under Sir Thomas Fairfax.
14. Battle of Bovey Heath1646 CE
    The battle of Bovey Heath took place on 9 January 1646 at Bovey Tracey and Bovey Heath during the First English Civil War. A Parliamentarian cavalry detachment under the command of Oliver Cromwell surprised and routed the Lord Wentworth's Royalist camp.
15. Siege of Pembroke1648 CE
    The siege of Pembroke took place in 1648 during the Second English Civil War. In the engagement, Parliamentarian troops led by Oliver Cromwell sieged Pembroke Castle in Wales. The Castle had become a refuge for rebellious Parliamentarian soldiers after the end of the First English Civil War.
16. Battle of Preston1648 CE
    The battle of Preston was fought on 17 August 1648 during the Second English Civil War. A Parliamentarian army commanded by Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell attacked a considerably larger force of Royalists under James Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton, near the Lancashire town of Preston; the Royalists were defeated with heavy losses.
17. Battle of Winwick1648 CE
    The Battle of Winwick was fought on 19 August 1648 near the Lancashire village of Winwick between part of a Royalist army under Lieutenant General William Baillie and a Parliamentarian army commanded by Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell. The Royalists were defeated with all of those who took part in the fighting, their army's entire infantry force, either killed or captured. The Royalist mounted component fled but surrendered five days after the battle. Winwick was the last battle of the Second English Civil War.
18. Siege of Drogheda1649 CE
    The Siege of Drogheda, 3 to 11 September 1649, took place at the start of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The port of Drogheda was held by a mixed garrison of Irish Catholics and Royalists under the command of Sir Arthur Aston, when it was besieged by English Commonwealth forces under Oliver Cromwell.
19. Third English Civil War1649 CE
    The Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652), also known as the Third Civil War, was the final conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between shifting alliances of religious and political factions in England, Scotland and Ireland.
20. Siege of Waterford1649 CE
    The city of Waterford in southeastern Ireland was besieged twice during 1649 and 1650 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The town was held by Irish Confederate Catholic under General Richard Farrell and English Royalist troops under general Thomas Preston. It was besieged by English Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell, Michael Jones and Henry Ireton.
21. Sack of Wexford1649 CE
    The Sack of Wexford took place from 2 to 11 October 1649, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, part of the 1641–1653 Irish Confederate Wars. English Commonwealth forces under Oliver Cromwell stormed the town after negotiations broke down, killing most of the Irish Confederate and Royalist garrison. Many civilians also died, either during the sack, or drowned attempting to escape across the River Slaney.
22. Battle of Dunbar1650 CE
    The Battle of Dunbar was fought between the English New Model Army, under Oliver Cromwell, and a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie on 3 September 1650 near Dunbar, Scotland. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for the English. It was the first major battle of the 1650 invasion of Scotland.
23. Siege of Kilkenny1650 CE
    The siege of Kilkenny took place from 22 to 28 March 1650, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Previously the capital of Confederate Ireland, the garrison surrendered to Commonwealth forces under Oliver Cromwell.
24. Siege of Clonmel1650 CE
    The siege of Clonmel, from 27 April to 18 May 1650, took place during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, when Clonmel in County Tipperary was besieged by 8,000 men from the New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell. The garrison of 1,500 commanded by Hugh Dubh O'Neill eventually surrendered after inflicting heavy casualties on the besiegers.
25. Battle of Worcester1651 CE
    The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell defeated a largely Scottish Royalist force of 16,000 led by Charles II of England and Scotland.
26. First Anglo-Dutch War1652 CE
    The First Anglo-Dutch War, or First Dutch War, was a naval conflict between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. Largely caused by disputes over trade, it began with English attacks on Dutch merchant shipping, but expanded to vast fleet actions. Despite a series of victories in 1652 and 1653, the Commonwealth was unable to blockade Dutch trade, although English privateers inflicted serious losses on Dutch merchant shipping.
27. Irish Confederate Wars1653 CE
    The Irish Confederate Wars took place from 1641 to 1653. The conflict began with the Irish rising of 1641 and evolved into a prolonged struggle over Ireland's future, as Irish forces sought to defend their land, political rights and autonomy against foreign control, plantation policies and continued encroachment on Irish self-government. Although linked to the wider Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the war in Ireland had its own distinct causes and objectives rooted in resistance to English rule, the recovery of confiscated lands and the defence of Irish interests. The conflict caused an estimated 200,000 deaths from fighting, as well as war-related famine and disease.
28. Treaty of Westminster1654 CE
    The Treaty of Westminster, concluded between the Lord Protector of the English Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell, and the States General of the United Netherlands, was signed on 5/15 April 1654. The treaty ended the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654). The treaty is otherwise notable because it is one of the first treaties implementing international arbitration as a method of conflict resolution in the early modern era. A secret clause, obliging the States of Holland to enact the Act of Seclusion, played an important part in Dutch internal politics during the First Stadtholderless Period.
29. Anglo-Spanish War1654 CE
    The Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660 was fought between the Commonwealth of England and Habsburg Spain. It was driven by the economic and religious rivalry between the two countries, with each side attacking the other's commercial and colonial interests in various ways, such as privateering and naval expeditions.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].