Oliver was born on the 25th of April 1599, was educated under Dr Thomas Beard, a fervent puritan, at the free school at Huntingdon, and on the 23rd of April 1616 matriculated as a fellow-commoner at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, then a hotbed of puritanism, subsequently studying law in London.
To Algernon Sidney, who refused to take part in proceedings on the plea that neither the king nor any man could be tried by such a court, Cromwell replied, "I tell you, v e will cut off his head with the crown upon it."
Sir Sidney Smith with a British squadron captured Capri (February 18o6), and the peasants of the Abruzzi and Calabria soon began to give trouble.
