Oliver Cromwell - Your Opinion - Page 4 - Historum

**gaius valerius** · August 26th, 2009, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epictatus

Within the British Civil Wars there was elements of racism, particularly against the West Britons who were often massacred...three things occassioned this
a) religion
b) language
c) ethnicity
the West was 'catholic'; non-English speaking, Celtic in culture....
evidence
English and lowland Scots pamphets from the time held in the British Library...the treatment of the Welsh, Cornish and Highland Scottish by the English/Covenanter forces, the treatment of Ireland...this was race war as well as religious.

True, but this 'racism' wasn't inherent to just Cromwell, it was something prevalent since the days the Tudor monarchy claimed Ireland and would remain so for many centuries.

The New English were just as "racist" towards Old English as towards the Gaels, being that the Old English were ethnic akin to the New English the argument of 'ethnic racism' holds less ground.

Epictatus · August 26th, 2009, 11:38 PM

trouble with history is we read present attitudes and values into the past...Cromwell's armies were racist and knew it...they despised the West Britons as backward, superstitious, unable to speak God's chosen language and basically vermin to be wiped out mercilessly...they were not 21st century PC.