King Charles I took the throne of England harboring dreams of uniting his country with Scotland – the two countries had much in common, at one point even sharing a king. His dreams were overtaken by a Parliamentary refusal to finance some of his unpopular edicts – forcing Charles to enact other fund-raising measures that made him more unpopular still. Scotland rebelled and invaded England, forcing Charles to abdicate the throne. One of Britain’s greatest statesmen, Oliver Cromwell, took his place.

On this day, December 16, in 1653 Oliver Cromwell became “Lord Protector” of England, and nominally Scotland, Ireland and Wales. For five of the 11 years of the existence of the “Commonwealth,” it was ruled by Cromwell.

He had almost no preparation for the role. Cromwell grew up among the gentry, but made a living as a farmer – he did not participate in any matter of the court until well after his 40s. Initially he contributed very little to parliamentary debates, but in the ensuing wars he made a great impact as a military commander. He picked men devout as well as strong, the extremely pious led by moral authority rather than tactics. His successes in the field could not be denied: he united the kingdoms for the first time, even if for only a short while.