

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

Jan 29, 2024 • 34min
03.16 - To Hell or Barbados
Transportation, to Europe or to England's colonies, was the fate for thousands of Irish soldiers, clergy, and civilians.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!
Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in British Interventions in Early Modern Ireland, ed. by Ciaran Brady and Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Heidi J. Coburn, 'Cromwellian Transplantations of the Irish to the Colonies', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives (Liverpool, 2020)
John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Jason Peacey, John Morril, eds. The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Crmwell: Volume II, 2022.
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Micheál Ó Siochrú, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Micheál Ó Siochrú, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland.
Micheál Ó Siochrú, 'Atrocity, Codes of Conduct and the Irish in the British Civil Wars 1641-1653', Past & Present , 195 (May, 2007), pp. 55-86
Micheál Ó Siochrú and David Brown, 'The Down Survey and the Cromwellian Land Settlement', in Jane Ohlmeyer (ed), The Cambridge History of Ireland: Volume II.
Pádraig Lenihan, Consolidating Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (England: Pearson, 2008).
Pádraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
Pádraig Lenihan, 'Siege Massacres in Ireland: Drogheda in Context', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Patrick J. Corish, ‘The Cromwellian Regime, 1650–60’, in A New History of Ireland: Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691, ed. by T. W. Moody, F. X. Martin, and F. J. Byrne (Oxford University Press, 2009)
Carla Gardina Pestana, 'Atlantic Mobilities and the Defiance of the Early Quakers', Journal of Early Modern History, 2023.
James Scott Wheeler, 'Ormond and Cromwell: The Struggle for Ireland', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Martyn Bennett, ‘God’s Wall of Brass: Cromwell’s Generals in Ireland, 1649-1650’ in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Derek Hirst, ‘Security and Reform in England’s Other Nations, 1649-1658’, in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution.
Jenny Shaw, Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean: Irish, Africans, and the Construction of Difference (Athens, United States: University of Georgia Press, 2013)
R. Scott Spurlock, ‘Cromwell and Catholics: Towards a Reassessment of Lay Catholic Experience in Interregnum Ireland’, in Constructing the Past: Writing Irish History, 1600-1800, ed. by Mark Williams and Stephen Paul Forrest, Irish Historical Monographs (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2010).
Jennifer Wells, ‘Proceedings at the High Court of Justice at Dublin and Cork 1652-1654, part 2’, Archivium Hibernicum, 67, 76-274.
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Jan 14, 2024 • 24min
03.15 - Protestants, Ascendant
Irish land is awarded to English Adventurers and Cromwellian soldiers, and Protestant dominance is secured.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!
Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in British Interventions in Early Modern Ireland, ed. by Ciaran Brady and Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Heidi J. Coburn, 'Cromwellian Transplantations of the Irish to the Colonies', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives (Liverpool, 2020)
John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Jason Peacey, John Morril, eds. The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Crmwell: Volume II, 2022.
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Micheál Ó Siochrú, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Micheál Ó Siochrú, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland.
Micheál Ó Siochrú, 'Atrocity, Codes of Conduct and the Irish in the British Civil Wars 1641-1653', Past & Present , 195 (May, 2007), pp. 55-86
Micheál Ó Siochrú and David Brown, 'The Down Survey and the Cromwellian Land Settlement', in Jane Ohlmeyer (ed), The Cambridge History of Ireland: Volume II.
Pádraig Lenihan, Consolidating Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (England: Pearson, 2008).
Pádraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
Pádraig Lenihan, 'Siege Massacres in Ireland: Drogheda in Context', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Patrick J. Corish, ‘The Cromwellian Regime, 1650–60’, in A New History of Ireland: Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691, ed. by T. W. Moody, F. X. Martin, and F. J. Byrne (Oxford University Press, 2009)
James Scott Wheeler, 'Ormond and Cromwell: The Struggle for Ireland', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Martyn Bennett, ‘God’s Wall of Brass: Cromwell’s Generals in Ireland, 1649-1650’ in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Derek Hirst, ‘Security and Reform in England’s Other Nations, 1649-1658’, in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution.
Jenny Shaw, Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean: Irish, Africans, and the Construction of Difference (Athens, United States: University of Georgia Press, 2013)
R. Scott Spurlock, ‘Cromwell and Catholics: Towards a Reassessment of Lay Catholic Experience in Interregnum Ireland’, in Constructing the Past: Writing Irish History, 1600-1800, ed. by Mark Williams and Stephen Paul Forrest, Irish Historical Monographs (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2010).
Jennifer Wells, ‘Proceedings at the High Court of Justice at Dublin and Cork 1652-1654, part 2’, Archivium Hibernicum, 67, 76-274.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 24, 2023 • 44min
03.14 - To Hell or Connacht
The Commonwealth, hungry for land, confiscates massive amounts of property from Irish Catholics. Most are ordered to move elsewhere in Ireland, to the Province of Connacht or County Clare. To refuse risked death.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!
Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in British Interventions in Early Modern Ireland, ed. by Ciaran Brady and Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Heidi J. Coburn, 'Cromwellian Transplantations of the Irish to the Colonies', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives (Liverpool, 2020)
John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Jason Peacey, John Morril, eds. The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Crmwell: Volume II, 2022.
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Micheál Ó Siochrú, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Micheál Ó Siochrú, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland.
Micheál Ó Siochrú, 'Atrocity, Codes of Conduct and the Irish in the British Civil Wars 1641-1653', Past & Present , 195 (May, 2007), pp. 55-86
Pádraig Lenihan, Consolidating Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (England: Pearson, 2008).
Pádraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
Pádraig Lenihan, 'Siege Massacres in Ireland: Drogheda in Context', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
James Scott Wheeler, 'Ormond and Cromwell: The Struggle for Ireland', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Martyn Bennett, ‘God’s Wall of Brass: Cromwell’s Generals in Ireland, 1649-1650’ in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Derek Hirst, ‘Security and Reform in England’s Other Nations, 1649-1658’, in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution.
Jenny Shaw, Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean: Irish, Africans, and the Construction of Difference (Athens, United States: University of Georgia Press, 2013)
R. Scott Spurlock, ‘Cromwell and Catholics: Towards a Reassessment of Lay Catholic Experience in Interregnum Ireland’, in Constructing the Past: Writing Irish History, 1600-1800, ed. by Mark Williams and Stephen Paul Forrest, Irish Historical Monographs (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2010).
Jennifer Wells, ‘Proceedings at the High Court of Justice at Dublin and Cork 1652-1654, part 2’, Archivium Hibernicum, 67, 76-274.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 17, 2023 • 27min
03.13 - The Tory War
After the defeat of the Royalist coalition, the last military resistance to the Commonwealth in Ireland are irregular Tories - isolated, cut off from the chain of command, thousands of veteran Irish fights live off the land, establish bases in bogs and hills, and hit the English occupation forces wherever they can. The Commonwealth goes to extreme lengths to crush them.Join the Mailing List!Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!
Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in British Interventions in Early Modern Ireland, ed. by Ciaran Brady and Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Jason Peacey, John Morril, eds. The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Crmwell: Volume II, 2022.
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Micheál Ó Siochrú, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Micheál Ó Siochrú, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland.
Micheál Ó Siochrú, 'Atrocity, Codes of Conduct and the Irish in the British Civil Wars 1641-1653', Past & Present , 195 (May, 2007), pp. 55-86
Pádraig Lenihan, Consolidating Conquest: Ireland 1603-1727 (England: Pearson, 2008).
Pádraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
Pádraig Lenihan, 'Siege Massacres in Ireland: Drogheda in Context', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Wheeler, James Scott, 'Ormond and Cromwell: The Struggle for Ireland', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Martyn Bennett, ‘God’s Wall of Brass: Cromwell’s Generals in Ireland, 1649-1650’ in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Derek Hirst, ‘Security and Reform in England’s Other Nations, 1649-1658’, in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution.
R. Scott Spurlock, ‘Cromwell and Catholics: Towards a Reassessment of Lay Catholic Experience in Interregnum Ireland’, in Constructing the Past: Writing Irish History, 1600-1800, ed. by Mark Williams and Stephen Paul Forrest, Irish Historical Monographs (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2010).
Wells, Jennifer, ‘Proceedings at the High Court of Justice at Dublin and Cork 1652-1654, part 2’, Archivium Hibernicum, 67, 76-274.
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 27, 2023 • 22min
03.12 - Peace At Last?
The last embers of resistance to the Commonwealth are snuffed out in England and Scotland.For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Charles Spencer, To Catch a King.
Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652.
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
Stuart Reid, Crown, Covenant, and Cromwell: The Civil Wars in Scotland, 1639-1651.
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51.
Edward Cowan, Montrose: For Covenant and King.
Barry Robertson, Royalists at War in Scotland and Ireland, 1638-1650.
This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 12, 2023 • 27min
03.11 - The Great Escape
After his defeat at Worcester, the young King Charles II is in enemy territory. He has to escape England, all while Oliver Cromwell's troops scour the countryside for him. If he's caught, he will almost certainly be executed like his father.For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Charles Spencer, To Catch a King.
Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652.
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
Stuart Reid, Crown, Covenant, and Cromwell: The Civil Wars in Scotland, 1639-1651.
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51.
Edward Cowan, Montrose: For Covenant and King.
Barry Robertson, Royalists at War in Scotland and Ireland, 1638-1650.
This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nov 5, 2023 • 35min
03.10 - 'A Crowning Mercy' - the Final Battle of Worcester
After Oliver Cromwell's victory at Dunbar, the English forces hunker down in Edinburgh for winter. The Scots almost come to civil war between supporters of Charles II and the remaining Kirk Faction. After the Battle of Inverkeithing, English occupation of Scotland appears inevitable, and so Charles II proposes a bold strategy - leave Scotland, and march the length of England to capture London.For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652.
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
Stuart Reid, Crown, Covenant, and Cromwell: The Civil Wars in Scotland, 1639-1651.
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51.
Edward Cowan, Montrose: For Covenant and King.
Barry Robertson, Royalists at War in Scotland and Ireland, 1638-1650.
This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 23, 2023 • 33min
03.09 - The Miracle of Dunbar
Cromwell invades Scotland and it goes badly. Until it doesn't.For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652.
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
Stuart Reid, Crown, Covenant, and Cromwell: The Civil Wars in Scotland, 1639-1651.
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51.
Edward Cowan, Montrose: For Covenant and King.
This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 15, 2023 • 32min
03.08 - The Murderer of the Scottish Nation
The young Charles II tries to win international support. Montrose is unleashed on Scotland.For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652.
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
Stuart Reid, Crown, Covenant, and Cromwell: The Civil Wars in Scotland, 1639-1651.
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51.
Edward Cowan, Montrose: For Covenant and King.
This podcast is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to inquire about advertising on this podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 10, 2023 • 36min
03.07 - The Death of Royalist Ireland
Ormond's coalition collapses, as Henry Ireton takes over from Cromwell.Check out the podcast website or join the mailing list!Check out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Jason Peacey, John Morril, eds. The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Crmwell: Volume II, 2022.
Antonia Fraser, Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
John Jeremiah Cronin and Padraig Lenihan, ‘Wars of Religion, 1641-1691’, Cambridge History of Ireland
Patrick Little, Lord Broghill and the Cromwellian Union with Ireland and Scotland, 2004
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Micheál Ó Siochrú, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Micheál Ó Siochrú, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the Conquest of Ireland
Pádraig Lenihan, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
Pádraig Lenihan, 'Siege Massacres in Ireland: Drogheda in Context', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Wheeler, James Scott, 'Ormond and Cromwell: The Struggle for Ireland', in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Martyn Bennett, ‘God’s Wall of Brass: Cromwell’s Generals in Ireland, 1649-1650’ in Martyn Bennett, Raymond Gillespie, and Scott Spurlock (eds), Cromwell and Ireland: New Perspectives
Derek Hirst, ‘Security and Reform in England’s Other Nations, 1649-1658’, in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
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