23. Oliver Cromwell was a hated figure among Catholics and Royalists
Cromwell, one of the men to sign the warrant of execution for King Charles I, has been hailed as one of the greatest Britons of all time by some, and a genocidal tyrant by others. Crushingly brutal treatment of Irish Catholics followed his departure from Ireland, which has led some scholars to place the blame for the atrocities on other generals. Cromwell however was certainly aware of it and did nothing to stop the deportation of thousands to Barbados, Bermuda, and other locations as indentured servants or prisoners of war. Women and children were among the more than 50,000 Irish so treated. During his military campaigns in Ireland, he reported to London the killing of 3,000 Irish troops, though he appended the phrase “and many inhabitants” during the destruction of Drogheda in September 1649. Cromwell’s several massacres were based on religious prejudice, and he himself wrote that he would not allow “the exercise of the Mass” wherever he held power.