evidence: On April 20 1653, Cromwell addressed parliament: [...] In 1650, after a successful but contentious campaign in Ireland, Cromwell was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces and launched a campaign against Scotland, which had declared the late king’s son to be his successor as King Charles II. After Cromwell’s military victories at the Battles of Dunbar and Worcester over the Scots and their royalist allies, he had urged parliament to introduce radical changes to the way government and the law related to the people of the new republic. He envisaged a fairer society and new beginning.