House of Cromwell

[TheNordicBrit]

It’s unknown how much influence the Lord Protector Oliver’s son, Oliver [1], had over his decision to accept the Crown in 1657. In letters that have recently been found between the Oliver’s it appears that Oliver (Junior) argued that God merely disapproved of Charles I and approved of Oliver (Senior) due to the success of the Western Design [2]…

Oliver: A Monarch from Revolution

The main military Grandees such as John Lambert expected the New Model Army to turn against Cromwell if he accepted the Crown, however he and the other Republican Grandees were bitterly disappointed when they found that only a very small minority of the Army were against the reinstatement of the Monarchy…

Leaders such as Robert Blake [3] and Lord Fairfax were used by Cromwell to keep both the majority of the Army and Navy on his side, thus the various Republican military leaders either resigned their posts or were replaced rapidly by men whom were waiting in the wings for promotion or were bought over by Cromwell [4]…

Cromwell

As if by “divine providence” a mere month after Oliver I accepted the throne the Anglo-French forces defeated the Spanish force in the Battle of Dunkirk [5] which led to English forces occupying Fort-Mardyke and Dunkirk…

With this continued military success after Cromwell took the Crown many people, including the radical religious groups believed that Cromwell had the will of God behind him…

Thus with numerous military successes under his belt Cromwell ordered a new offensive to take place directly in Spain, he ordered his son-and-heir Prince Oliver and son-in-law Henry Ireton, Earl of Nottingham to draw up plans alongside Robert Blake for the attack and capture of Gibraltar [6]…

England, History of

Cromwell called on his spymaster John Thurloe to pull together his resources to fool the Spanish King over the planned English capture of Gibraltar, and instead make the Spanish think Cromwell was to attempt an attack on Cadiz…

In the proceeding month Thurloe had successfully managed to use his agents to give the Spanish false information as to a fake attack on Cadiz, thus the Spanish moved a lot of their troops out of the region of Gibraltar to Cadiz…

Robert Blake took full advantage of this and with his fleet of 40 ships and 4000 men led by Henry Ireton he successfully managed to take Gibraltar from a meagre Spanish force of 300 men that were unsuspecting of the attack…

Gibraltar, History of

[1] – This is the first and main POD, IOTL Oliver Junior died of Typhoid Fever while serving as a Parliamentarian officer however ITTL he doesn’t and is as competent as his father.
[2] – OTL’s failure of the Western Design is butterflied as Cromwell has his militarily and strategically competent son and son-in-law (Ireton) design the attack on Spanish Hispaniola.
[3] – Minor POD in that Blake isn’t injured at the Battle of Portland thus doesn’t die of these past injuries on his way back to Portsmouth.
[4] – E.g. Lambert was made Earl of Skipton (his birthplace).
[5] – IOTL the Anglo-French forces won this battle as well, the situation is essentially no different here.
[6] – Cromwell wanted this IOTL, however Blake didn’t have the manpower to and it was a number of years previously.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Once the rebellions and Spanish counter-offensives against Saint Domingo had been beaten off by the veteran English troops King Oliver I had Sir William Lockhart, commander of the English troops at Dunkirk and English ambassador to France, join the Spanish and French delegates at Pheasant Island during the settlement of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Lockhart successfully had the Captaincy General of Saint Domingo, Dunkirk (and Fort-Mardyke) and Gibraltar ceded to the Kingdom of Britain [1]...

The English Empire: A Story from Revolution to Today

With England finally at peace in Europe and its Empire having been successfully expanded Cromwell began the 'Settlement of Hispaniola' in which English settlers from both England and North America began to settle in the new Colony of Hispaniola [2]. Around 500 settlers had moved from England to Hispaniola between the years of 1659 and 1665 and another 200 had moved from the English North American colonies in the same time period to Hispaniola...

Cromwellian Caribbean, The

The court of Oliver I was primarily made up by the military-elite in the New Model Army and his family...

For example Robert Blake, Earl of Somerset, Henry Ireton, Earl of Nottingham, Thomas Fairfax, Earl of Cameron and Baron Claypole [3] were present at most of the courts...

Alongside these military-elite near the end of Cromwell's he began to include men of culture within his Court such as Christopher Wren whom was a good friend of Claypole [4]...

The Historic Royal Courts

Though he, his family and the majority of his colleagues were Puritan near the end of King Oliver I's life an architectural revolution occurred [5], as throughout the majority of the Kings life he'd allowed architecture to lag behind and in some instances harmed great beauties such as the stained glass windows of Winchester Cathedral. However in 1662, a year before he died, Cromwell met with Christopher Wren whom was in his court and asked him to draw up a new design for St Paul's that he stated was to be pulled down and re-built [6]...

After months of planning Wren came back with a 'Greek Cross' design for King Oliver I, and while many critics said the design was far too 'radical' Cromwell gave it his consent [7] thus starting the Cromwellian 'Architectural Revolution' that would continue through his sons reign...

Oliver: A Monarch from Revolution

The death of King Oliver I on the 5th May, 1663 [8] led to mixed reactions among the English people, many in Wales, Cornwall and even the North cheered that the man they perceived to be a regicide and 'fake-King' had died and they'd hoped all hope of the House of Cromwell surviving had died with him, however many in London and the South of England mourned the loss of a great man, a man whom had ridden England of the 'Norman-yoke' and had revolutionised religion alongside the military...

A week later in Westminster Abbey King Olivers son, Oliver was crowned King Oliver II and his own eldest son Oliver [9] became Prince of Wales...

Cromwell

[1] - It's actually the Kingdom of England, Scotland and Ireland however it's commonly known as the Kingdom of Britain or also simple as Britain or England.
[2] - The name of the colony was changed to make it seem less Catholic.
[3] - Claypole had been made a Baron under Cromwell IOTL as he'd married Cromwell's daughter Elizabeth. (Note: Unlike IOTL butterflies have led to Elizabeth not dying in 1658, thus Cromwell isn't weakened during his time of illness).
[4] - IOTL Wren and Claypole were close and intimate friends.
[5] - This is due much more to Cromwell having mellowed in his old age.
[6] - The building had been practically ruined by Parliamentary forces who misused it during the Civil War.
[7] - IOTL Wren originally came up with a Greek Cross design however it was thrown out as it was indeed thought to be too radical.
[8] - Cromwell survived longer as unlike IOTL his daughter Elizabeth didn't die in 1658, alongside this Cromwell was treated far better by physicians when he was ill due to his son Oliver looking over the procedures unlike IOTL.
[9] - It would appear that the Cromwell's had a habit of naming one of their sons (usually the eldest) Oliver, thus this tradition is continued by the surviving son Oliver.

 

[Blackadder mk 2]

The reception to Cromwell's death seems to be similar to the reaction of when Thatcher dies.

So still is it an Absolute monarchy or does Parliament have more power?

 

[TheNordicBrit]

The reception to Cromwell's death seems to be similar to the reaction of when Thatcher dies.

Very much so

So still is it an Absolute monarchy or does Parliament have more power?

It's not an Absolute Monarchy, as per OTL's Humble Petition and Advice it:

assert[ed] Parliament's control over issuing new taxation, provide[d] an independent council to advise the king, safeguard[ed] 'Triennial' meetings (every three years) of Parliament and reduce[d] the size of the army in order to save money, amongst other things.

In effect it increased Parliaments power and limited Cromwell's power. The only difference between this HPA and OTL's HPA is Cromwell accepted the Crown with it.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Not long after the coronation of King Oliver II at Westminster Abbey the 'Vaughan Plot' sprang into action, the 2nd Earl of Carbery Richard Vaughan and his uncle Henry Vaughan began a revolt in Carmathenshire that had been planned in the last 2 years of King Oliver 'the Ironsides' reign. The Welsh family hoped to create a large enough revolt that would allow the pretender Stuart to land in Carmathenshire with his own forces and retake the English throne from the House of Cromwell...

England, History of

While the pretender Charles II of England had indeed planned on landing in Wales to take advantage of the Vaughan Plot he couldn't muster up enough wealth or support after having been kicked out of the Spanish court...

Thus it was due to this monetary failure that the Vaughan Plot was doomed to be put down by the sheer overwhelming might of the Cromwellian forces...

Stuarts: A Story of Exile

King Oliver II ‘the Lion’ was given the chance he'd hoped for when the Welsh revolted against his succession to the throne of England. He wished to prove himself as a military leader similar to his father in order to keep the New Model Army and Parliament on his side, thus at the age of 41 King Oliver II led an army around 8000 men strong westwards from London to Wales...

In the ensuing battle an army of around 3000 Welsh rebels led by the Vaughan’s, while this rabble of Welshmen had been supplied with weaponry they were poorly trained and only around a third of the rebels had been previous Royalist troops under King Charles I...

King Oliver II dispatched the rebels in the Battle of Ammanford and they took around 2000 casualties, of whom 700 were killed in the battle. The other 1000 either disbanded and ran or were captured by Cromwellian forces...

The leaders, including the Vaughan’s, were put on trial for treason against the King and were found guilty quickly. They were soon hanged and beheaded thus ending the minor Welsh revolt...

England, History of

In order to speed up the settlement of the Colony of Hispaniola King Oliver II had the Welsh rebels that had been imprisoned to be sent off to the Colony, this the numbers went up by around 400 men once the prisoners reached the island...

Cromwellian Caribbean, The

While King Oliver II was much more a military figure he also took a keen interest in the sciences, this is seen with his personal letters to Christopher Wren who would regularly attend his Court and were friends with each other. Oliver II also included John Wilkins, Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle within his Court at numerous time and was on good terms with all, perhaps even friends. Within his own bedroom at Whitehall Palace Oliver II had a painting of Francis Bacon, a scientific mind he greatly respected...

Cromwellian Science

 

[Blackadder mk 2]

This might be the Cromwell's way of flipping off the Catholic Church by embracing science and technology while the Church tried to suppress it in the Middle Ages.

 

[SavoyTruffle]

This might be the Cromwell's way of flipping off the Catholic Church by embracing science and technology while the Church tried to suppress it in the Middle Ages.

Wasn't church suppression more widespread in the Renaissance than the Middle Ages?

Anyway, interesting TL; it's a rare concept to see if Oliver got the crown for himself.

 

[TaetusPrimus]

I look forward to more exploits of the Cromwell Dynasty.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

King Oliver II faced his first internal crisis in 1664, since the success of the Parliamentarians and the placement of Cromwell as ruler of England the navy had become a force to be reckoned with in Europe and was feared by nations whom had felt its wrath such as Spain, the Bey of Tunis and the French [1]...

However in the triennial meeting of Parliament they began to discuss that, due to there being no wars that involved a Mediterranean power, the navy should be cut back and be used for defensive reasons against the Dutch and French in-case of war...

Oliver II, the Earl of Somerset and the Earl of Nottingham [2] were outraged by this as they'd been planning on the re-expansion of the New Model Army [3] alongside the hope that the Navy would be a good way of showing power within the Mediterranean from its base in Gibraltar...

While Cromwell knew he could simply disband the Parliament and put in place another load of Major-Generals he also knew England needed some kind of stability thus disbanding Parliament would create havoc. In the 'Meeting of Whitehall' the major military figures gathered together along with the King and the Kings chief-advisers in order to discuss to discuss what should be done...

Oliver II, The Lion

There were at least three reasons as to why England became involved in the War of Candia [4], the first was given by Oliver II as the official reason in that, while they're Catholics, the Venetians needed help against the "tyranny of the Muslims". While it would appear that Oliver II genuinely felt this as seen in the letters between him and his brother-in-law Baron Claypole, this was not the primary reason for the English joining the war...

The second reason was in order for the King and his main military-advisers to have an argument against Parliament that was attempting to shrink the size of the Navy as it had done to the English army years prior. This was by-far the main reason that the English joined the war...

Lastly the English simply wished to show their strength among the Europeans as the new King hadn't had a chance prior to prove himself as a viable-Monarch after his father, Oliver I...

Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century

The English Navy was now at war with the Turks and so once again the Mediterranean could be an 'English lake' as British frigates began to target the Ottoman shipping, however this general mercantile targeting was minor compared to the English actions around Candy [5] and the Dardanelles...

It was here that the Earl of Somersets naval-blockading ability came to the fore as the English navy managed to help the Venetians totally blockade the Dardanelles and halt any Ottoman resource go through, alongside this the English successfully helped the Venetians in stopping the Ottomans re-supplying their own forces...

Another very important action taken by the English troops was to land at the last Venetian hold-out in Candia, which was the city that bore the same name as the island, Candia. Here the English bombardment of the Turks sieging the city and the wave of English attacks led to the Turks being forced to give up their 16 year siege and retreat to the town of La Canea [6]...

The English Empire: A Story from Revolution to Today

[1] - The Spanish was during the Anglo-Spanish War, the Bey of Tunis was forcing him to pay a repartition for Arab piratical attacks and the French was halting an attack by the Duke of Guise on Naples.
[2] - Somerset is Robert Blake, Nottingham is Henry Ireton.
[3] - The New Model Army will soon be re-named.
[4] - Also known as the Cretan War or Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War. Candia was the Venetian word for Crete.
[5] - Candy is the anglicized version of Candia, the Venetian word for Crete.
[6] - In modern day this is called Chania.

 

[ByzantineCaesar]

Very nice TL! The Ottomans will be weakened after this war with the British and I wonder if Tsar Alexis I will take advantage of it and attemp an attack on Azaq. Could it be possible for England and Russia to become friends again. I've looked at Wikipedia and read that Alexis broke off diplomatic relations with England after Charles I's execution. However, now that the monarchy is back and secure under Oliver II maybe they could seek an alliance in order to weaken the Ottomans even more?

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Very nice TL! The Ottomans will be weakened after this war with the British and I wonder if Tsar Alexis I will take advantage of it and attemp an attack on Azaq. Could it be possible for England and Russia to become friends again. I've looked at Wikipedia and read that Alexis broke off diplomatic relations with England after Charles I's execution. However, now that the monarchy is back and secure under Oliver II maybe they could seek an alliance in order to weaken the Ottomans even more?

Indeed the Russians and English will be working together a lot now against the Ottomans, while Oliver II is still a Puritan fanatic like his father he also has the ability (like his father had that many of his advisers didn't) of setting his priorities straight when it comes to the continent. So while he dislikes Catholics he's willing to put this dislike aside for political and economic reasons, not only that but as a Christian round this time Oliver II would rather have a Mediterranean dominated by a Christian faith (even if it is Catholic or Orthodox) than an Islamic faith.

 

[ByzantineCaesar]

Excellent. I look forward to reading it

 

[Faeelin]

Hrm. You know, Hispaniola, while profitable, would be a disease ridden disaster like the rest of the Caribbean. I wonder where in North America gets fewer immigrants? This owuld be a state build on slavery and a cash cow in the form of sugar.

Assuming the French don't get it, the 18th century will get very weird. About 1/3 of France's foreign trade was based on commerce to and from the Island (and transporting Hispaniola's sugar elsewhere).

 

[TheNordicBrit]

Hrm. You know, Hispaniola, while profitable, would be a disease ridden disaster like the rest of the Caribbean. I wonder where in North America gets fewer immigrants? This owuld be a state build on slavery and a cash cow in the form of sugar.

Assuming the French don't get it, the 18th century will get very weird. About 1/3 of France's foreign trade was based on commerce to and from the Island (and transporting Hispaniola's sugar elsewhere).

Very good point on Hispaniola, however Cromwell's idea of colonizing it will still go ahead, whether it be forced movement or by false-propaganda. Certainly there will be a lot of slavery though.

And the French are unlikely to get it. More on this later.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

A fleet around 60 ships-strong, after having docked at Gibraltar for a week, met up with the Venetian fleet that was blockading the Dardanelles, with this added muscle to the force the Venetians were finally successful in totally blockading the Turkish supplies that were coming in through the Dardanelles [1]...

With this blockade the Anglo-Venetian navies managed to essentially break the Ottoman blockade of the city of Candy in August, ending the 16 year siege that had had a grip over the last Venetian stronghold on the island...

Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century

The English departed from the Dardanelles blockade as the Venetians were able to uphold it, they proceeded Westwards with the next step in the plan, to gain an Ottoman, North African port, Bône [2][3] ...

The 60 ship fleet, let by the Earl of Somerset and the Earl of Albermarle [4], began a mass-bombardment of Bône on the night of the 16th of September with the Bey of Algiers being utterly incapable of retaliating without any naval or military support from the rest of the Empire...

Merely a week later the defenses of the port had been utterly annihilated and yet support hadn't reached there yet due to the incapability of both the Bey of Algiers and Tunis. Thus when the English troops assaulted the town they only had to deal with local resistance which was poorly organised against the well-trained troops of the New Model Army...

Wars at Sea, Cromwell's

Not long after the successful breaking of the Ottoman siege the Venetian forces managed to surge back and take back nearly all of Candia, ironically by February, 1665 the Turks were put in the same position as the Venetian troops had been as they were forced back into La Canea, their last holding on the island...

Later in March the Venetian blockade of La Canea finally broke the Ottomans back in Candia and the town was re-taken by Venice, the Venetians immediately set about making retaliatory plans against the Ottoman Empire whilst Sultan Mehmed IV demanded another attack take place on the island of Candia...

Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century

With the English capture of Bône the seamen on the grand-fleet are allowed onto dry land for the first time in months, the Englishmen are treated well by the natives and in return the seamen treat the natives with respect...

Many sailors either get drunk or go to the religious sites in the town (mainly the old Christian temples) for peace, however many other troops (some drunk, some sober) find the local women to be highly attractive thus leading to the modern Anglo-Berber ethnic group that's highly concentrated around Bône...

Bône, The Unconquered Port

[1] - This had been the primary aim of the Venetians throughout the war, as the bulk of Ottoman supplies were coming through the Dardanelles. The Venetian blockade had been broken in 1654 however with large-scale English help the blockade is set up again and unbroken.
[2] - Modern day Annaba.
[3] - This port city would act like Ceuta to Portugal, or Gibraltar to England.
[4] - Albermarle is George Monck.

 

[Xnyrax]

I'm withholding judgement on this TL until you promise to finish your Leveller one.

 

[Faeelin]

I'm a tad confused. Why did Cromwell intervene to defend Cyprus?

 

[TheNordicBrit]

I'm a tad confused. Why did Cromwell intervene to defend Cyprus?

Not Cyprus, Crete.

And because Oliver II needed a reason to keep the Navy (and to an extent Army) at a large size to appease his military-allies. Rather than start a war with a big-Christian nation such as the Dutch or French why not go to war with a Muslim nation in order to protect Christianity? The navy was already powerful with numerous ships as well as good leaders such as Blake and Monck, alongside this it gives Oliver II a reason to start on the Ottomans and take a port-town. Unlike his father Oliver II prefers Catholics to Muslims, seeing as Muslims did okay under OTL Oliver, Oliver II is more focused on defeating the 'evil' of a Muslim Empire and then converting Catholics.

Lastly it gets English influence in Levant trade to increase, alongside trade with Venetian merchants.

 

[TheNordicBrit]

While the Venetians had succeeded in re-taking Candia the support from the English had now gone westwards to attack the various Beys, thus the Republic was now left alone again while the French refused to send aid as the objective of defending Candia had succeeded and they had their own plans on their borders...

Peace-feelers were sent by the Republic to the Ottomans again and this time they found a much more receptive audience as the Ottomans had suffered a humiliation against both the Venetians and English while they were still attempting to take Transylvania which became their primary concern...

Thus in December 1665 the Fifth Ottoman-Venetian War ended after 20 years of fighting, in the Treaty of Rhodes the Ottomans ceded land to Venice in Dalmatia that led to Venetian control over the Adriatic Sea secured and its Dalmatian territory tripled. Venetian control over Candia was also secured while the port of Bône was ceded to the Kingdom of England...

Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century

Early in 1667 Oliver II faced another problem, much closer to home than the Ottomans. In the North Sea a ship carrying the flag of the Netherlands was ordered to stop and allow a search to be carried out after rumours had been spread that it had been carrying the pretender King Charles II and his brothers James and Henry [1]...

The Dutch ship refused to stop, as it did indeed carry the Stuarts on-board, however it wasn't an official voyage from Johan de Witt, Grand Pensionary of Holland. The 4th rate English ship, Candy (26) [2] proceeded to fire on the ship which managed to escape, barely. After it had docked the Stuarts fled and their presence on-board the ship was kept a secret, instead the Dutch captain said that the English demanded the ship surrender to them and they merely fled to save themselves...

This lie then spiraled out of control which ended with a declaration of war by the Dutch against England. Immediately the aging Blake was put out to sea again commanding yet another fleet..

Europe in the Seventeenth Century

After the Stuarts had escaped the Dutch ship without being recognized they fled to the court of the 17 year old Prince of Orange, William III. He'd called upon the Stuarts secretly for two reasons, firstly he had a personal calling to them as they were his uncles but primarily he wanted them as he hoped to militarily win back his right to being a statholder that he felt had been taken after the death of his father...

Two of the pretenders had had military experience from the Franco-Spanish War in which James even led a company during the Battle of the Dunes that an Anglo-French force won, Henry had always shown potential...

The Stuart Exiles in Holland

For the first months of the war there were no conflicts as it was winter, however once it turned March in 1667 both navies seriously geared up...

In the initial Battle of Wadden a substantial force that numbered around 120 ships under the Earl of Somerset clashed with the Dutch fleet of around 130 ships led by Michiel de Ruyter...

By the end of the battle Blake had scored a close victory against Ruyter and had sunk around 20 of the Dutch ships, while 6 English ships had been sunk. Ruyter also had around 40 severely damaged ships (of which 10 were unusable again), Blake had just 12 ships that took that kind of damage and all would be functional again. The real victory was that Blake and his fleet, when the Dutch fleet was fleeing the sea, managed to capture 4 of the Dutch ships thus almost making up for their losses...

Wars at Sea, Cromwell's

[1] - IOTL Prince Henry died of smallpox in London in 1660 when Charles II had been restored to the throne, ITTL this obviously never happens so he's still alive.
[2] - Named Candy after the recent war against the Ottomans over the island of Candy (Crete IOTL).

 

[Parma]

Nice time line please go on.

Why should the Dutch Republic go to war, with almost the same reason as the first Anglo Dutch war of 1654-1655? Alleged support of the Stuarts?

The Patricians which ruled the Dutch Republic had no interesed in the schemes and intrigues of the Oranges and their Stuart relatives
The Dutch Republic was by the 1660ties firmly under control of the Patricians and the Oranges did had litle influence at that time.

The first Anglo-Dutch war revealed the short commings of the Dutch fleet, in tactic and ship design, by 1660 this short comming were well adressed and the navy was in tip top condition. State Pensioner Johan and especialy his brother Cornelis were strong navy supporters.