One of the great names in history is that of Oliver Cromwell. He was a gentleman farmer, a member of the House of Commons in 1629 when King Charles I dissolved Parliament in anger and began a tyrannical reign. The King invoked severe religious strictures on all those opposed to the Church of England, imposed harsh taxes, and imprisoned men who were openly defiant. In the decades that followed, Oliver Cromwell led the forces of freedom in a long, violent struggle to forge a government in which the people would also have a voice.

Cromwell believed passionately in religious and political liberty, and when Parliament re-convened, he helped pass daring reforms meant to curb the Royal power. King Charles, who considered himself above all laws, conspired to imprison the leaders of Parliament, an act that antagonized the people and ignited a Civil War. Although Cromwell was not a military man, he recruited and trained a troop of cavalry, and led them brilliantly in combat, earning the reputation as the most renowned general in England. After four years of war, Cromwell's Roundheads triumphed over the King's Royalists.

But this was only the beginning of the struggle to establish a stable government. On every side Cromwell encountered intrigue, dissension, ambitious men who cared nothing for the people's rights. He unmasked a sinister plot by the King, put down another Royalist uprising, fought major wars with Scotland and Ireland, who supported the King,—and, reluctantly, was among those who tried Charles for treason and had him beheaded.

Oliver Cromwell was a man dedicated to his own religious principles, yet in his burning desire to see justice triumph over the divine right of kings, he established a Free Commonwealth of England and became its first Lord Protector, launching a golden age of progress in education, science and trade.

From the book