--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without Oliver Cromwell there might well…" description: "\"“Without Oliver Cromwell there might well have not been a Parliament to which Our Sovereign Lady might make her gracious address.”\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/christopher-hitchens-117_cromwell_without-oliver-cromwell-there-might-well_3125918.jpg" --- # Without Oliver Cromwell there might well have not been a… ![“Without Oliver Cromwell there might well have not been a Parliament to which Our Sovereign Lady might make her gracious address.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/christopher-hitchens-117_cromwell_without-oliver-cromwell-there-might-well_3125918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/christopher-hitchens-117_cromwell_without-oliver-cromwell-there-might-well_3125918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d13/christopher-hitchens-117_cromwell_without-oliver-cromwell-there-might-well_3125918.jpg) > ““Without Oliver Cromwell there might well have not been a Parliament to which Our Sovereign Lady might make her gracious address.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hitchens suggests that Cromwell's rise enabled a parliamentary system that could address the monarch respectfully. **In simple terms:** Cromwell made Parliament possible. Key Takeaway Recognize how power shifts shape institutions. Themes politics history power authority institution reform Mood reflective analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - studying historical governance - analyzing modern legislative bodies - debating authority - examining power dynamics Key Concepts constitutionalism legitimacy political agency Questions to Reflect On - How did Cromwell's actions affect parliamentary sovereignty? - What other forces contributed to England's political evolution? A Different Perspective Cromwell's influence is contested; other factors also shaped Parliament. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cromwell/) [Cromwell Parliament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cromwell-parliament-5508189/) [Gracious Address](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gracious-address-5508190/) [Oliver Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oliver-cromwell/) [Parliament Sovereign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parliament-sovereign-511438/) ## Related quotes > [“As a baby, Oliver Cromwell was abducted by his grandfather’s pet monkey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/as-a-baby-oliver-cromwell-was-abducted-by-his-grandfather-s-pet-monkey/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) moved from a legitimate to a charismatic role, reversing the course followed by Washington. Yet therewere surface similarities in their careers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/oliver-cromwell-1599-1658-moved-from-a-legitimate-to-a-charismatic/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [“Oliver Cromwell can kiss my singing emerald scrotum!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/oliver-cromwell-can-kiss-my-singing-emerald-scrotum/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [The irony about Charles II is not that he came to the throne because England needed a successor to Charles I, but because England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-irony-about-charles-ii-is-not-that-he-came-to-the-throne-because/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [I've been dreaming of a time when The English are sick to death of Labour and Tories And spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/i-ve-been-dreaming-of-a-time-when-the-english-are-sick-to-death-of/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [Did you know that Puritanism went hand in hand with dirt, that Oliver Cromwell put a 100 per cent tax on soap and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/did-you-know-that-puritanism-went-hand-in-hand-with-dirt-that-oliver/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [From the 15th century to 1688, England and Wales, like Scotland, had been peripheral kingdoms in the European power game, more often at war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/from-the-15th-century-to-1688-england-and-wales-like-scotland-had/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [The 'Little' or 'Barebones' Parliament, summoned by Oliver Cromwell to meet at Westminster on 4th July, 1653, after the dissolution of the remains of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-jenks/the-little-or-barebones-parliament-summoned-by-oliver-cromwell-to/) [Edward Jenks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-jenks/) > [I got four volumes of the letters and speeches of Oliver Cromwell. 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Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Cromwell quotes > [Taxation, the very thing that had triggered the British civil wars, would do so again, this time in America. 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I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/right-thomas-cromwell-she-said-make-a-note-of-this-no-strange-dutch/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [After Mary Queen of Scots, I turned to the farthest subject possible: Cromwell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/after-mary-queen-of-scots-i-turned-to-the-farthest-subject-possible/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [In a Balkan country, not so many years ago, a party which had been beaten by a narrow margin in a general election retrieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/in-a-balkan-country-not-so-many-years-ago-a-party-which-had-been/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Why did you let her take the head off London Bridge?" Cromwell:"You know me, Stephen. 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