Using These Three Passages Assess the View That Cromwell's Military Successes Were a Result of His Religious Zeal.

Using these three passages assess the view that Cromwell's military successes were a result of his religious zeal.

It is a well-known fact that Cromwell was a strict puritan but what is unknown is the effect that his religious beliefs had on the method and success of his military exploits. There are many opinions on this issue however there is no definitive answer. That being said there is evidence both supporting and refuting the claim that Cromwell's military success was a result of his religious zeal.

The first view I will be examining is that “Cromwell actively recruited and promoted godly men” this quote from David sharp is supported by the similar statement by JC Davis who states that both Cromwell and Manchester “support and promote godliness…” It could be argued that those statement both concurs and contradicts the view that Cromwell’s success was due to his religious zeal because the characteristic of being ‘godly’ meant that they were restrained and more chaste than their royalist counterparts thus meaning they were less likely to break formation and were easier to control. However the fact that they were chosen due to their religious belief could support the assertion that due to Cromwell's religious zeal he chose people who shared his passion and would make better soldiers this id supported by the subsequent quote “Cromwell’s belief that he was doing the lords work… to give him a sense of destiny, of being gods instrument” this suggests that Cromwell used his religion as an explanation for his success’ in battle this would have given his men a sense of purpose and also given them a excuse for going against the king who at the time was considered gods representative on earth (the divine rights of kings which was a belief that James the first initially coined). In my opinion I feel that due to Cromwell's own religious beliefs the promotion of godly men would have meant he could use his passion to inspire the men an encourage them to work harder...