

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

Dec 9, 2024 • 33min
Preview of Winds of Change - Hostile Takeover
The first half of Episode 2 - Hostile Takeover. Listen to the full episode here: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/ARML6837257429?selected=ARML4090812395After the death of Aurangzeb, the United East India Company benefitted from the political chaos of 18th century India. Allying with, fighting against, and eventually dominating the Nawabs of Bengal and Arcot, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy, and the Sultans of Mysore. At the Battles of Plassey and Buxar, Company generals like Sir Robert Clive asserted British authority over massive territories, and the Carnatic Wars hobbled their European rivals.The British Empire in India was on the rise, but what goes up must come down.Subscribe to the mailing list at LangnessMedia.comThank you to my guest historians:
Philip J. Stern, Professor of History at Duke, and author of The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011) and Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations that built British Colonialism (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2023).
Jon Wilson, Professor of Modern History at King’s College, London, and author of India Conquered: Britain's Raj and the Chaos of Empire (London: Simon & Schuster, 2016)
Rupali Mishra, Associate Professor of History at Auburn University, and author of A Business of State: Commerce, Politics, and the Birth of the East India Company (Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2018)
Benjamin R. Siegel, Associate Professor of History at Boston University, and author of Hungry Nation: Food, Famine, and the Making of Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018)
Christina Welsch, Assistant Professor of History at the College of Wooster, and author of The Company's Sword: The East India Company and the Politics of Militarism, 1644-1858 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022)
Thank you to my guest voice actors:
Robin Pierson, host of the History of Byzantium Podcast.
David Crowther, host of the History of England Podcast
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Nov 25, 2024 • 39min
Republic: Britain’s Revolutionary Decade with Prof. Alice Hunt
Professor Alice Hunt was kind enough to come on the podcast to talk about her new book, Republic: Britain’s Revolutionary Decade, 1649–1660. - https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571303199-republic-britains-revolutionary-decade-1649-1660/Listen to Winds of Change HERE: https://pod.link/1779033628Listen to The History of England HERE: https://pod.link/412308812Join the Mailing List! https://forms.gle/meJvkqLb81uzRqya9Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! https://www.patreon.com/PaxBritannica Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 18, 2024 • 24min
03.37 - The Western Design
With the Commonwealth quiet, Cromwell takes his conquests global. With as much secrecy as possible, the Protectorate puts together an expedition to strike at the vulnerable colonies of the Catholic powers: the Western Design. But first, the Lord Protector has to decide where to attack.Listen to Winds of Change HEREJoin the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.
Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023.
Paul Lay, Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic, 2020.
Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022.
John Morrill, The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Volume 3: 16 December 1653 to 2 September 1658, 2023
John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.
Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022.
Carla Gardina Pestana, 'Atlantic Mobilities and the Defiance of the Early Quakers', Journal of Early Modern History, 2023.
Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Atlantic in the Age of Revolution, 2007.
Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Conquest of Jamaica: Oliver Cromwell’s Bid for Empire, 2017.
Hilary Beckles, A History of Barbados: From Amerindian Settlement to Caribbean Single Market, 2006.
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Sep 24, 2024 • 27min
03.36 - The Alliance to Restore the Republic
The First Protectorate Parliament meets... and immediately starts tearing up the constitution.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!This episode could not have been written without the following works:
The Instrument of Government: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1653intrumentgovt.asp
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
John Coffey, 'Religious Thought', in Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.
Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023.
Paul Lay, Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic, 2020.
Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022.
John Morrill, The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Volume 3: 16 December 1653 to 2 September 1658, 2023
John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.
Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022.
Leo F. Solt, 'The Fifth Monarchy Men: Politics and the Millenium', Church History, 30, 3, 1961.
Jonathan Fitzgibbons, "'To settle a governement without somthing of Monarchy in it": Bulstrode Whitelocke’s Memoirs and the Reinvention of the Interregnum', The English Historical Review, 137, 586, 2022, 655-691.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 9, 2024 • 39min
03.35 - Glencairn's Falling
George Monck arrives in Scotland, and burns the Royalists out.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Francis Dow, Cromwellian Scotland, 1651-1660, 1999.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
John Coffey, 'Religious Thought', in Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.
Paul Lay, Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic, 2020.
Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022.
John Morrill, The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Vol 2: 1 February 1649 to 12 December 1653, 2023
John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.
Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 26, 2024 • 29min
03.34 - Glencairn's Rising
Royalist rebellion erupts in the Scottish Highlands.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Francis Dow, Cromwellian Scotland, 1651-1660, 1999.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
John Coffey, 'Religious Thought', in Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.
Paul Lay, Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic, 2020.
Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022.
John Morrill, The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Vol 2: 1 February 1649 to 12 December 1653, 2023
John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.
Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 11, 2024 • 56min
English Revolution Q&A with David Crowther Part 2
I answer YOUR questions with David Crowther of the History of England Podcast!Listen to the History of England: https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/podcasts/history-of-england/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 4, 2024 • 1h 9min
English Revolution Q&A with David Crowther Part 1
I answer YOUR questions with David Crowther of the History of England Podcast!Listen to the History of England: https://thehistoryofengland.co.uk/podcasts/history-of-england/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 9, 2024 • 23min
03.33 - The Occupation of Scotland
The New Model Army occupies Scotland, but trouble is brewing in the Highlands.Send us your questions at https://bit.ly/RevQAJoin the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Francis Dow, Cromwellian Scotland, 1651-1660, 1999.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
John Coffey, 'Religious Thought', in Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.
Paul Lay, Providence Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic, 2020.
Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022.
John Morrill, The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Vol 2: 1 February 1649 to 12 December 1653, 2023
John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.
Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 1, 2024 • 29min
Elections from History: New Zealand, 1919
William Massey, leader of the Reform Party, and Sir Joseph Ward, leader of the Liberal Party, had spent an agonising four years in coalition together. They hated it, and once the First World War was over and they were back in New Zealand, they tried to tear each other down.But the political scene in New Zealand had turned nasty in their absence. Sectarianism was surging, and the political value of prejudice had never been higher. There was also a new kid on the bloc - the New Zealand Labour Party.Send in questions about the Wars of the Three Kingdoms to https://bit.ly/RevQAJoin the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


