How did Oliver Cromwell become Lord Protector?
After the second English Civil War. Oliver Cromwell took control of Parliament and dissolved the House of Lords, leaving the House of Commons, or Rump Parliament, to indict Charles the First for tyranny. Charles was executed January 1649. Cromwell then went to reform the British Government, changing it from a monarchy to a republic. However due to a power struggle between the Rump Parliament and Cromwell over who was actually going to control this new Republic, Cromwell dismissed the Rump Parliament on April 20th 1653. Having no other political opponents, Cromwell became Lord Protector, shaping England to be a Puritan Republic with his ideals alone.
