Cromwellian England: A Propaganda State?

Abstract

This article explores the attitude to the press on the part of Oliver Cromwell and his chief ministers in terms of press control and propaganda and in terms of the theory and the practice of government policy. It examines whether the regime sought and whether it was able to achieve strict press control through pre-publication censorship and swift and severe punishment of malefactors as well as effective and pervasive propaganda, which was centrally organized, controlled, funded, and distributed. It argues that between 1653 and 1659 profound changes were implemented regarding intelligence-gathering, press censorship and propaganda in the deployment of resources and bureaucratic efficiency, not least by centralizing power in the hands of the secretary of state, even if the regime sought to exert its power in only some areas of print culture rather than to achieve a complete press monopoly.