Edmund Ludlow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Edmund Ludlow
MP in the Long Parliament, Rump Parliament, Convention Parliament
Personal details
Born	c. 1617 Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire, England
Died	1692 Vevey, Switzerland
Spouse	Elizabeth Thomas
Profession	politician, soldier

Edmund Ludlow (born around 1617, died 1692) was an important English politician and soldier. He is famous for his role in the English Civil War and for helping decide the fate of King Charles I.

Ludlow also wrote Memoirs, which are like his personal diaries. These writings were published after his death and are a key source for historians studying that time. He was elected to Parliament and fought for the Parliament's army during the Civil War.

After the war, he became a top commander in Ireland. However, he later disagreed with Oliver Cromwell when Cromwell took too much power. When the king returned to England, Ludlow had to leave and lived in Switzerland for the rest of his life.

Early Life and Education

Edmund Ludlow was born in Maiden Bradley, a town in Wiltshire, England, around 1617. His father was Sir Henry Ludlow.

He went to Trinity College, Oxford in 1634 and finished his studies in 1636. Later, in 1638, he began studying law at the Inner Temple in London.

Fighting in the English Civil Wars

When the English Civil War began in 1642, Ludlow joined the Parliament's army as a volunteer. His first battles were at Worcester and Edgehill.

In 1643, he became a captain in Wiltshire. He was made governor of Wardour Castle and bravely defended it for three months. But he had to surrender to the Royalist forces in March 1644.

After being briefly held prisoner, he was exchanged and became a major in another army regiment. He fought in important battles like the second battle of Newbury.

In 1646, Ludlow was elected as a Member of Parliament for Wiltshire. He joined a group in Parliament that wanted big changes and was critical of the king. Ludlow was a Baptist and believed strongly in his religious views, which shaped his political ideas.

Ludlow was against making deals with King Charles I. He played a key role in Pride's Purge in 1648, which removed members of Parliament who supported the king. He was one of the judges who decided the king's future and signed the order for his execution. In 1649, he became a member of the new Council of State. Around this time, he married Elizabeth Thomas.

Campaigns in Ireland

In 1650, Oliver Cromwell appointed Ludlow as second-in-command of Parliament's army in Ireland. Ludlow worked very hard and spent his own money to help the cause.

He arrived in Ireland in January 1651 and helped with the Siege of Limerick. After the main commander, Henry Ireton, died in 1651, Ludlow took charge. He nearly finished conquering the island before handing over command in October 1652. Most of his fighting in Ireland was against small groups of Irish fighters.

Disagreement with Cromwell

Ludlow did not agree with Cromwell's decision to close down Parliament in April 1653. However, he kept his job for a while. But when Cromwell declared himself Lord Protector (a powerful leader), Ludlow refused to accept his authority.

Ludlow believed that Cromwell only used people to achieve his own goals. He felt that the people who fought in the war wanted to be governed by their own choice, not by one person's rule.

When Cromwell questioned him, Ludlow famously said that what they fought for was "that the nation might be governed by its own consent."

After Oliver Cromwell died, Ludlow was elected to Parliament again in 1659. He continued to oppose the idea of a "Protectorate" and wanted England to be a republic.

Opposing the King's Return

Ludlow was a strong supporter of a republic, where the country would be governed by elected representatives, not a king. He tried to bring together different groups in the army and Parliament to keep England a republic.

In July 1659, Ludlow was made commander of all forces in Ireland again. He also became a Lieutenant-General. He urged other leaders not to make things difficult for the army.

However, many different groups had their own ideas and couldn't agree. This made it hard for Ludlow to unite them. The army and Parliament struggled to trust each other.

Eventually, King Charles II was brought back to the throne. Many who supported the republic, like Ludlow, were surprised by this. General George Monck, who many thought supported Parliament, secretly helped bring the king back.

Ludlow was even accused of treason by some members of Parliament. His power faded, especially after General John Lambert failed to stop General Monck's army from reaching London.

Life in Exile

After King Charles II returned in 1660, Ludlow's election to Parliament was cancelled. The new government ordered the arrest of everyone who had judged King Charles I. Ludlow was not protected by the new laws.

He surrendered for a short time but then realized his life was in danger. He managed to escape to Dieppe, France, and then traveled to Geneva and Lausanne before settling in Vevey, Switzerland. In 1662, the local government in Bern gave him protection. His wife joined him in 1663. To stay safe, he used the fake name Edmund Phillips.

After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, Ludlow thought it might be safe to return to England. He came back in 1689. However, people still remembered him as one of the judges who decided the king's fate. The House of Commons asked King William III to arrest him.

So, Ludlow had to escape again. He returned to Vevey, Switzerland, where he died in 1692.

His Legacy and Writings

A monument to Edmund Ludlow, put there by his wife, can be found in the church of St Martin in Vevey. On the house where he lived, there was an inscription that meant "to the brave man every land is a fatherland because God his father made it." Ludlow married Elizabeth Thomas but did not have any children.

During his time in exile, Ludlow wrote his autobiography called A voyce from the watch tower. After he died, a rewritten and shorter version of his writings was published as The Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow in 1698–99.

For a long time, historians thought these Memoirs were exactly what Ludlow wrote. They used them as a major source for understanding the 17th century. However, in the 1970s, part of Ludlow's original manuscript was found. This discovery showed that the published Memoirs had been changed to make his views seem more like those of the Whigs, a political group that came later. This discovery helped historians understand the true story better.