Cromwell’s swift rise to power      Now sitting firmly in his cavalry saddle in the war against the King and the Church of England, Cromwell was soon reimbursed by Parliament of all his expenses in building up his personal army. Before entering officially into the Civil War, in May, 1641, Cromwell signed a Commons’ vow, ‘To maintain and defend as far as Lawfully I may, with my life, power, and estate, the True Reformed Protestant Religion, expressed in the Doctrines of the Church of England, against all Popery and Popish innovations’. It does appear that Cromwell, who was a harsh critic of the Anglican system, was merely accommodating himself with this statement for the sake of his career. It could mean that he was merely… Full Article

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