The Protectorate’s Expansion and Naval Dominance

After Oliver Cromwell’s ascension as Lord Protector in 1653, England pursued an aggressive foreign policy, seeking to expand its influence at the expense of European rivals. In 1655, the English Navy launched a surprise attack on Jamaica, a key Spanish stronghold in the Caribbean, marking England’s formal entry into the ongoing conflict between France and Spain. John Thurloe, Cromwell’s Secretary of State, warned that while Spain was in decline, France under Louis XIV was emerging as a formidable threat. Yet Cromwell prioritized immediate gains, and under Admiral Robert Blake, England relentlessly harassed Spanish colonies. In a single engagement on April 20, 1657, Blake’s fleet destroyed six Spanish treasure ports, ten warships, and six coastal fortifications.

Blake’s success stemmed from his revolutionary naval tactics. He arranged ships in a disciplined line formation, maximizing broadside firepower and allowing precise command control. Combined with England’s heavily armed three-deck warships and the sailors’ ability to unleash five broadsides in five minutes, these innovations made the English Navy nearly invincible—even against fortified coastal defenses.

However, years at sea took a toll on Blake’s health. By the summer of 1657, he was gravely ill and attempted to return home. Tragically, he died just as his ship entered Portsmouth Harbor. His legacy included a formidable navy and the Fighting Instructions, a tactical doctrine that shaped naval warfare for generations.

Domestic Strife and Cromwell’s Authoritarian Rule

While the navy thrived, Cromwell’s rule over England grew increasingly authoritarian. In March 1655, a Royalist uprising led by Colonel John Penruddock was swiftly crushed, but reports of lingering conspiracies pushed Cromwell toward repression. He divided England and Wales into eleven military districts, each governed by a major-general who enforced Puritan morality, taxed Royalist sympathizers, and suppressed “vices” like gambling, drinking, and even Christmas celebrations. Soldiers were known to raid homes on Christmas Eve, confiscating festive meals.

Despite domestic unrest, Cromwell continued military campaigns abroad. In 1657, he accepted Louis XIV’s invitation to send 3,000 troops to fight Spain in northern France, with the promise of gaining Dunkirk. To fund the war, Cromwell reconvened Parliament, but tensions flared when he sought to make the Protectorate hereditary. His supporters argued that a king’s title carried legal legitimacy, but army officers resisted, forcing Cromwell to settle for hereditary succession without a crown. Frustrated, he dissolved Parliament for the third time in January 1658.

The Battle of the Dunes and Cromwell’s Final Victory

Cromwell’s intervention in France proved his last military triumph. At the Battle of the Dunes (June 1658), English troops pinned down Spanish forces while the French outflanked them. True to his word, Louis XIV ceded Dunkirk to England—a strategic foothold on the continent after a century of absence. Yet France gained far more, annexing the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium) and emerging as Europe’s rising power.

Cromwell died on September 3, 1658, during a violent storm—reportedly murmuring, “God is with His people.” By then, he ruled with near-regal pomp: clad in ermine-trimmed robes, wielding a golden scepter, and guarded by 160 soldiers. His funeral mirrored that of King James I, with streets lined by red-coated troops. Though he rejected the crown, calling it “a feather in the hat,” his refusal to fully embrace monarchy left his successors vulnerable.

The Collapse of the Protectorate and the Restoration

Cromwell’s son, Richard, inherited the Protectorate but lacked his father’s authority. Facing pressure from Parliament and the army, he was forced to resign in 1659. General George Monck, a shrewd commander governing Scotland, marched south with 7,000 troops, ostensibly to restore Parliament but ultimately to facilitate the monarchy’s return.

On May 5, 1660, Charles II—the exiled son of the executed Charles I—returned to England amid jubilant crowds. Monck, once a Parliamentarian, now knelt before the king. London erupted in celebration, with even former Roundheads cheering the Restoration. Yet the joy was short-lived. England’s treasury was empty, and Charles II disbanded the army—once the backbone of the Republic—without resistance.

Legacy: From Republic to Empire

Cromwell’s corpse was exhumed and symbolically “executed,” but his impact endured. His naval reforms laid the foundation for British maritime dominance, while his authoritarian rule exposed the fragility of republican governance. Charles II, though a pleasure-loving monarch, expanded England’s colonial reach, securing Bombay and New York while clashing with the Dutch in global trade wars.

The Restoration restored the monarchy but also entrenched Parliament’s power—a balance that would define Britain’s constitutional future. As historian Winston Churchill noted, Cromwell’s era was a turbulent prelude to Britain’s rise as a global empire, where naval might and political pragmatism eclipsed ideological purity.

The Protectorate’s rise and fall remains a pivotal chapter in English history, illustrating the tensions between military power, republican ideals, and the enduring allure of monarchy.