DBWI: Crowmwell chooses his son as Lord Protector.

As we know, when asked to name a successor as Lord Protector in 1657 Oliver Cromwell opened the choice to parliament and consulted others on the matter. At the time it was seen as a controversial move and it would lead to a lot of major changes in the fledgling protectorate.

However, many people at the time suspected Cromwell was preparing his son Richard for the position and would from '57 onwards train him in the role. Given this perhaps nepotistic choice and Richard's lack of experience both politically and militarily. What do people think might have happened?
 
Honestly, Richard Cromwell probably would have done a better job of preserving the Commonwealth precisely because he was less qualified. There is no way Richard could have ruled as an autocrat; he would have been forced to take his generals' advice, and occasionally that of Parliament as well. We would have seen government by consensus because he lacked the spine to govern by decree. Instead, we got Fleetwood, who preserved the Commonwealth in name - because he personally commanded the NMA and it was done, and could ignore Parliament as he chose. By the 1670s, the Commonwealth was a despotism more surely than Charles Stuart's had been - becauss Charles Stuart would yield to the Church. That couldn't have happened under Richard Cromwell.

I have always found it ironic that fear of tyranny led our predecessors to create one.
 
Not sure if Richard would have been a good choice, his brother Henry would have made a much better Lord Protector, very capable politician and a modest person. Someone who would not be an autocrat like his father.

We all know what cromwells choice led to, first a parliament appointed lord protector later to be replaced by the council of nine (or like later historians called them, the council of death).

Whoever of his sons cromwell had appointment it would always have been a better choice than the 2 centuries of the council terror that britain had to endure.
 
Not sure if Richard would have been a good choice, his brother Henry would have made a much better Lord Protector, very capable politician and a modest person. Someone who would not be an autocrat like his father.

We all know what cromwells choice led to, first a parliament appointed lord protector later to be replaced by the council of nine (or like later historians called them, the council of death).

Whoever of his sons cromwell had appointment it would always have been a better choice than the 2 centuries of the council terror that britain had to endure.

Yes, but with a more moderate government. Would we have seen the major same changes that happened when the Nine fell?

Richard would've had parliament, more or less but he was a glorified cavalry officer. I couldnt see the army supporting him.
 
Well, it does occur to me that if Richard Cromwell gets the Lord Protectorship, then if he manages to hold onto his position and keep things functioning there's a very good chance he would keep the title within the Cromwell family whenever it's his turn to pass it along. So, I suppose it could lead to a situation similar to what happened in the Netherlands with the Stadtholders of the House of Orange, where the Commonwealth basically becomes a de-facto monarchy.
 
Well, it does occur to me that if Richard Cromwell gets the Lord Protectorship, then if he manages to hold onto his position and keep things functioning there's a very good chance he would keep the title within the Cromwell family whenever it's his turn to pass it along. So, I suppose it could lead to a situation similar to what happened in the Netherlands with the Stadtholders of the House of Orange, where the Commonwealth basically becomes a de-facto monarchy.

Which is precisely why this is impossible, Cromwell had overthrown a monarchy and beheaded a monarch, all in the name of parliamentary sovereignty. It would be silly for him to establish a new hereditary executive. Most modern Commonwealth historians believe that he intended to make the office of Lord Protector temporary and elected by Parliament during his lifetime, but continued threats from royalists, papists etc postponed this until his successor.

OOC This is a convenient fiction about a man considered a father of his country in TTL (akin to how many believe Kennedy was about to get us out of Vietnam although he had in fact increased troops there).
 
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