Following the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execution of king Charles I Oliver Cromwell, who is easily one of the most disputed personalities in English history, became the undisputed leader of England. From 1653 to his death in 1658 he was Lord Protector of the newly established British republic normally referred to as the Protectorate. The Latin inscription OLIVAR D G RP ANG SCO ET HIB & PRO can be translated as “Oliver, by the Grace of God of the Republic of England, Scotland, Ireland etc. Protector”