Stuart Woodward reviewed Providence Lost by Paul Lay
Review of 'Providence Lost' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I have read around the topic of the English Civil War but I always wondered why the English Republic invited King Charles II back to rule.
This book is a detailed investigation into the events that preceded it mainly Cromwell's refusal to accept the title of the new hereditary King and his avoidance of making it clear who the next Lord Protector would be. The legislators were not anti-monarchy as such but preferred a godly king that was not Charles I.
We tend to look back at history with the eyes of our current experience but this book really brought home how differently they thought about the situation. For example, Parliament were convinced that they had God's blessing because of the military victories that they had attained in The Civil War but the failure and loss of the colonies in the Caribbean obviously showed that God was angry with them …
I have read around the topic of the English Civil War but I always wondered why the English Republic invited King Charles II back to rule.
This book is a detailed investigation into the events that preceded it mainly Cromwell's refusal to accept the title of the new hereditary King and his avoidance of making it clear who the next Lord Protector would be. The legislators were not anti-monarchy as such but preferred a godly king that was not Charles I.
We tend to look back at history with the eyes of our current experience but this book really brought home how differently they thought about the situation. For example, Parliament were convinced that they had God's blessing because of the military victories that they had attained in The Civil War but the failure and loss of the colonies in the Caribbean obviously showed that God was angry with them and they pondered as to what it was. As a result some suspicion lay with Cromwell as he was head of State so must have something to do with it.
I can't say that I listened carefully to this book as it was in the background at times when I did other things but I did feel that I have better grasp of the topic and enjoyed it.
One thing that surprised me was that Cromwell died partly from Fens Malaria. Looking into it, malaria was endemic to the Fens at that time and was a killer until the last century when the number of stagnant water bodies were reduced by drainage and it died out.
