Many said he was a cruel traitor, usurper, and hypocrite. Others found him broad-minded, tolerant, passionately religious, and ferociously moral. Cromwell's influence as a military commander and politician during the English Civil War dramatically altered the landscape of the British Isles. The massacre of nearly 3,500 people in Drogheda--including civilians, prisoners, and Catholic priests--has fuelled Irish-English strife for over three centuries.