Editing Richard Cromwell (section)

==Political background==
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Oliver Cromwell had risen from being an unknown member of Parliament in his forties to being a commander of the New Model Army, which emerged victorious from the [[English Civil War]]. When he returned from a final campaign in Ireland, Oliver Cromwell became disillusioned at inconclusive debates in the [[Rump Parliament]] between Presbyterians and other schools of thought within Protestantism. Parliamentarian suspicion of anything smacking of Catholicism, which was strongly associated with the Royalist side in the war, led to the enforcement of religious precepts that left moderate Anglicans barely tolerated.

A [[Puritan]] regime strictly enforced the Sabbath, and banned almost all form of public celebration, including even at Christmas. Cromwell attempted to reform the government through an army-nominated assembly known as [[Barebone's Parliament]], but the proposals were so unworkably radical that he was forced to end the experiment after a few months. Thereafter, a written constitution created the position of [[Lord Protector of the Commonwealth|Lord Protector]] for Cromwell and from  1653 until his death in 1658, he ruled with many of the powers of a monarch, while Richard took on the role of heir.