

Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire
Samuel Hume
Pax Britannica is a narrative history podcast covering the empire upon which the sun never set. Shortlisted for the 2023 Independent Podcast Awards, Pax Britannica follows the events which created an empire that dominated the globe. Hosted by Dr Samuel Hume, a historian of British Imperial history, Pax Britannica aims to explain the rise and eventual fall of the largest empire in history. After all, how peaceful was the 'British Peace'?
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 4, 2020 • 29min
02.09 - The Calm Before the Storm
After signing a treaty with the king, the Covenanters find it wasn't worth the paper it was written on. The General Assembly meets once more, but the Parliament of Scotland is held up in procedure for weeks, before being prorogued. Aware of the danger of foreign intervention, the Covenanters continue their diplomatic offensive with fantastic results.Listen to Agoraphobia here: https://pod.link/1068901505Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Adams, Goodare, Scotland in the Age of Two Revolutions
Russell, C The Causes of the English Civil War
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
Macinnes, Allan, The British Revolution, 1629-1660
Harris, T. Rebellion
Keynon, Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars
James Miller, ‘The Scottish mercenary as a migrant labourer in Europe, 1550-1650’, in Erik-Jan Zürcher (ed), Fighting for a Living Book Subtitle: A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000
Alexia Grosjean, Steve Murdoch, Alexander Leslie and the Scottish generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648
Steve Murdoch (ed), Scotland and the Thirty Years' War
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Sep 27, 2020 • 42min
Bonus - The Sinking of the Arandora Star
This was the talk I gave at this year's Intelligent Speech conference. I follow three interned 'enemy aliens' during the Second World War, as the British Government arrested them. Their eventual fates were very different, but first they would all have to pass through the crucible of the Arandora Star.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | Donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 20, 2020 • 48min
Bonus - Plague, War and Hellfire with Rebecca Rideal
After reading and loving 1666: Plague, War and Hellfire I asked historian, author, producer and podcaster Rebecca Rideal on to talk about it.Buy the book HERE.Register for the Regicide event HEREListen to Killing Time with Rebecca Rideal HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 13, 2020 • 1h 5min
02.08 - The First Bishops' War
King and Covenanter call up their forces and prepare for war. Alexander Leslie returns to Scotland. We look at how the armies are armed and trained, and how Scotland's famous castles held up in the era of gunpowder.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Adams, Goodare, Scotland in the Age of Two Revolutions
Russell, C The Causes of the English Civil War
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
Macinnes, Allan, The British Revolution, 1629-1660
Harris, T. Rebellion
Keynon, Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars
James Miller, ‘The Scottish mercenary as a migrant labourer in Europe, 1550-1650’, in Erik-Jan Zürcher (ed), Fighting for a Living Book Subtitle: A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000
Alexia Grosjean, Steve Murdoch, Alexander Leslie and the Scottish generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648
Steve Murdoch (ed), Scotland and the Thirty Years' War
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 6, 2020 • 39min
02.07 - ‘No Matter What Master We Serve’
Veterans of the Thirty Years War were invaluable in the early Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and this episode looks at why. Why did so many Scots sign up to fight on the continent? Gold? Glory? Escaping a debt? Because they were arrested and forced to? All of the above.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Keynon, Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars
MacKenzie, Kirsteen, The Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Kingdoms and the Cromwellian Union, 1643-1663
Miller, James, 'The Scottish mercenary as a migrant labourer in Europe, 1550-1650', in Zürcher, Erik-Jan (ed.), Fighting for a Living: A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000
Murdoch, Steven and Grosjean, Alexia, Alexander Leslie and the Scottish generals of the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648
Murdoch, Steven, Scotland and the Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648
For a full bibliography, see the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 30, 2020 • 1h 6min
Bonus - The Pre-History of Maryland
Jared Books from A History of Maryland covers the winding background of the colonyListen to A History of Maryland : https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jared-books/a-history-of-maryland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 23, 2020 • 35min
Bonus - For God or the Devil with Zachary Twamley
I talk with When Diplomacy Fails' Zack Twamley about his new book, For God or the Devil: A History of the Thirty Years War. We chat about how the conflict is remembered, and what he's learnt after returning to the topic after seven years.Buy the book HEREListen to When Diplomacy Fails HERE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 16, 2020 • 35min
02.06 - A Crisis by Monthly Instalments
A new prayer book sparks riots in July, more riots in August, a National Petition in September, a National Supplication in October, a new government in November. When things go badly wrong, they happen fast.Listen to the Research in Scottish History Podcast here: https://pod.link/1523363966Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Adams, Goodare, Scotland in the Age of Two Revolutions
Russell, C The Causes of the English Civil War
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
Harris, T. Rebellion
Keynon, Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars
MacKenzie, K, The Solemn League and Covenant of the Three Kingdoms and the Cromwellian Union, 1643-1663
For a full bibliography, see the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 16, 2020 • 29min
Bonus - The National Covenant
The confession of faith of the Kirk of Scotland, February 1638.Text courtesy of Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland: https://www.fpchurch.org.uk/about-us/important-documents/the-national-covenant-1638/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 9, 2020 • 34min
02.05 - Homecoming
Despite being born in Scotland, Charles I left as a young child and did not return until he was in his thirties. Nevertheless, he tried to enforce his will much as his father had done. In one of the worst homecomings in history, the king would thoroughly antagonise vast numbers of his subjects.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Russell, C The Causes of the English Civil War
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
Harris, T. Rebellion
Keynon, Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars
Adams, Goodare, Scotland in the Age of Two Revolutions.
For a full bibliography, see the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices