Oliver Cromwell’s Posthumous Execution
History Daily
History Daily
4.4 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 30 January 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
January 30, 1661. On the 12th anniversary of the beheading of King Charles I, the controversial politician Oliver Cromwell faces the same grisly fate, even though he’s already been dead for two and a half years. This episode originally aired in 2023.
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Transcript
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| 0:30.3 | It's two-.m. in the afternoon on January 30th, 1649, in London, England. |
| 0:35.7 | British general and statesman, Oliver Cromwell, peers out the window of the famous banqueting house on Whitehall. His eyes |
| 0:38.4 | scan the crowd that's gathered outside around a large wooden platform. These people have come |
| 0:43.8 | to witness a historic event, the execution of their king. When the crowd suddenly grows louder, |
| 0:50.4 | Oliver spots King Charles I ascending to the platform. The king was recently found guilty of treason, and now he's here to face punishment. |
| 0:59.0 | As the king climbs the steps, he glances uneasily at the line of armed soldiers separating him from the crowd. |
| 1:06.0 | When the king tries to address his subjects, his voice is drowned out by a swell of jeers. |
| 1:12.7 | Looking on from inside banqueting house, Oliver Cromwell can't help but feel impressed by |
| 1:17.6 | the king's composure. Charles calmly kneels on the platform, placing his exposed neck on the |
| 1:23.1 | block. The crowd finally falls silent as the executioner takes his place. While Cromwell is pleased |
| 1:30.0 | that the king is facing this fate, he must admit it's a disconcerning end for the man who |
| 1:34.9 | once sat on the throne of England. But there's nothing to be done now as the executioner finishes |
| 1:40.3 | his bloody and violent task. |
| 1:50.3 | For the past seven years, Charles has been a king at war with his own people. |
| 1:55.7 | Royalists who supported Charles wanted him to retain absolute control over the country. |
| 2:00.4 | Parliamentarians, like Oliver Cromwell, wanted to limit the power of the monarchy. In the end, Charles' supporters |
| 2:02.7 | lost the conflict and Charles, his head. When the king conspired to restart the civil war with the help |
| 2:08.4 | of the Scottish, and Oliver Cromwell pushed for the king to be put on trial where he was found |
... |
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