Editing Oliver Cromwell (section)

==Crisis and recovery==
Little evidence exists of Cromwell's religion in his early years. His 1626 letter to Henry Downhall, an [[Arminian]] minister, suggests that he had yet to be influenced by radical Puritanism.{{Sfn|Morrill|1990b|page=34}} But there is evidence that Cromwell underwent a personal crisis during the late 1620s and early 1630s. In 1628 he was elected to Parliament from the [[Huntingdonshire]] [[county town]] of [[Huntingdon]]. Later that year, he sought treatment from the Swiss-born London doctor [[Théodore de Mayerne]] for a variety of physical and emotional ailments, including ''valde melancholicus'' ([[Major depressive disorder|depression]]). In 1629, Cromwell became involved in a dispute among the gentry of Huntingdon involving a new charter for the town. As a result, he was called before the [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]] in 1630.{{Sfn|Morrill|1990b|pages=24–33}}

In 1631, likely as a result of the dispute, Cromwell sold most of his properties in Huntingdon and moved to a farmstead in nearby [[St Ives, Cambridgeshire|St Ives]]. This move, a significant step down in society for the Cromwells, also had significant emotional and spiritual impact on Cromwell; an extant 1638 letter from him to his cousin, the wife of Oliver St John, gives an account of his spiritual awakening at this time in which he describes himself as having been the "chief of sinners", describes his calling as among "the congregation of the firstborn".{{Sfn|Morrill|1990b|page=34}} The letter's language, particularly the inclusion of numerous biblical quotations, shows Cromwell's belief that he was saved from his previous sins by God's mercy, and indicates his religiously [[Independent (religion)|Independent]] beliefs, chief among them that the [[Reformation]] had not gone far enough, that much of England was still living in sin, and that Catholic beliefs and practices must be fully removed from the church.{{Sfn|Morrill|1990b|page=34}} It appears that in 1634 Cromwell attempted to emigrate to what became the [[Connecticut Colony]] in the Americas, but was prevented by the government from leaving.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morrill |first=John S. |author-link=John Morrill (historian) |date=17 February 2011 |title=A unique leader |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/cromwell_01.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320194229/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/cromwell_01.shtml |archive-date=20 March 2019 |access-date=2 December 2023 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

Along with his brother Henry, Cromwell had kept a [[smallholding]] of chickens and sheep, selling eggs and wool to support himself, his lifestyle resembling that of a [[yeoman]] farmer. In 1636 Cromwell inherited control of various properties in [[Ely, Cambridgeshire|Ely]] from his uncle on his mother's side, and his uncle's job as [[tithe]]-collector for [[Ely Cathedral]]. As a result, his income is likely to have risen to around £300–400 per year;{{Sfn|Gaunt|2004|page=34}} by the end of the 1630s Cromwell had returned to the ranks of acknowledged gentry. He had become a committed Puritan and had established important family links to leading families in London and [[Essex]].<ref name=bcw/>