Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic

Description

Having won two civil wars, conquered Ireland and Scotland and seen off Charles II, in 1653 Oliver Cromwell assumed the title Lord Protector. The same Protestant wind that had filled the sails of Drake's ships in 1588 was surely behind him. Determined to avenge the loss of the Puritan colony of Providence Island, he decided to take on the Spanish in the New World; but an assault on the island of Hispaniola proved a disaster. To Cromwell, obsessed with God's plan for an elect nation, this was a grievous blow. Concluding that God had deserted him because his domestic reforms had not gone far enough, he introduced the hardline puritan rule of the Major-Generals. Sectarianism and fundamentalism ran riot; Levellers and royalists joined together in conspiracy against Cromwell. The only way out seemed to be a return to the Parliament presided over by a King. But would Cromwell accept the crown? Title Page Copyright Dedication Prologue: A Puritan Peak 1.    The Path to the Protectorate 2.    Old and New Worlds 3.    Some Advantageous Designe 4.    Hubris and Hispaniola 5.    All the King’s Men 6.    Some Great Plot 7.    False News and Bad News 8.    England’s New Elites 9.    Electing the Elect 10.  The Quaker Jesus 11.  Judge and Jury 12.  The Militia Bill 13.  Gunpowder, Treason and Plot 14.  Cromwell and the Crown 15.  A Feather in a Cap 16.  Dancing and Dissent 17.  Succession 18.  Full Circle Plate Section Notes Bibliography Acknowledgments Picture credits About the Author An Invitation from the Publisher