

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

Jun 2, 2023 • 35min
02.64 - A Deal with the Devil
The Scots watched as 1647 showed post-war England come to the brink of revolution, and with it all sorts of crazy ideas like 'religious toleration'. Despite the stubborness of their king, they would have to compromise.Join the Mailing List and stay up to date HERECheck out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Kenyon, J. and Ohlmeyer, J., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Harris, T. Rebellion
Healey, J. The Blazing World.
Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
Antonia Fraser, Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
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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May 24, 2023 • 1h 22min
Bonus - The Great Defiance with Dr David Veevers
I speak with Dr David Veevers, author of The Great Defiance: How the World Took on the British Empire.Order The Great Defiance from Penguin or from your local bookstore.Join the Mailing List and stay up to date HERECheck out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | Donate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

May 7, 2023 • 34min
02.63 - The Putney Debates
Discipline in the New Model Army breaks down, and new political ideas become possible. Fairfax and Cromwell attempt to keep their troops in line, and radicals attempt to rebuild England's political system from the ground up.Join the Mailing List and stay up to date HEREListen to 1666 And All That HERECheck out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Kenyon, J. and Ohlmeyer, J., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Harris, T. Rebellion
Healey, J. The Blazing World.
Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
Antonia Fraser, Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
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Mar 13, 2023 • 27min
02.62 - The Burning of Cashel
Parliamentary armies go on the offensive in Ireland.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
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
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
Ó Siochrú, Micheál, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Ó Siochrú, Micheál, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Lenihan, Pádraig, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
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Feb 26, 2023 • 34min
02.61 - London Has Fallen
The New Model Army seizes the king, and begins to march on the capital.Fill out the survey HERECheck out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Kenyon, J. and Ohlmeyer, J., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Harris, T. Rebellion
Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
Antonia Fraser, Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
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Jan 25, 2023 • 30min
02.60 - You and What Army?
Denzil Holles, now the leading Presbyterian in the English Parliament, has a cunning plan for dealing with Charles I. But he needs the New Model Army to just go away. But the army has other ideas.Fill out the survey HERE Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Kaplan, Lawrence, 'Charles I's Flight to the Scots', Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies
Kenyon, J. and Ohlmeyer, J., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Harris, T. Rebellion
Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
Antonia Fraser, Cromwell: Our Chief of Men
Kishlansky, M, Monarchy Transformed
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Dec 23, 2022 • 17min
Bonus - Did Oliver Cromwell Ban Christmas?
By virtue of him becoming the face of English Puritanism, warts and all, Cromwell tends to get blamed for the ban on Christmas during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Commonwealth. There are plenty of potted histories, especially online, which lay the blame for the ban solely at Cromwell’s feet. But this isn't true. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dec 5, 2022 • 30min
02.59 - A King's Ransom
Charles is a captive of the Covenanter Scots, but he hasn't given up. His enemies are divided, and he is determined to conquer them. But as he will find out, the patience of his hosts is not infinite.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Kaplan, Lawrence, 'Charles I's Flight to the Scots', Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies
Kenyon, J. and Ohlmeyer, J., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Harris, T. Rebellion
Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
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Nov 17, 2022 • 28min
02.58 - The Entropy of Victory
The English Civil War is over, and former allies turn on each other. The entropy of victory breaks down the common bonds within Parliament, as Independents and Presbyterians squabble and fight for control of the post-war settlement. And the New Model Army watches on.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateListen to Revolutions: Appendix 1: https://pod.link/703889772/episode/a62121c4aaadace65ebea2f0538f1fd7For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Kenyon, J. and Ohlmeyer, J., The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.
Harris, T. Rebellion
Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael J. Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
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Nov 10, 2022 • 29min
02.57 - Kilkenny Coup d'etat
With the king's defeat in the English Civil War, his forces in Scotland and Ireland react. In Scotland, Montrose goes into exile, Mac Colla continues raiding the Campbells, and Huntly remains useless. In Ireland, the First Ormond Peace goes public, forcing the hand of Papal Nuncio Rinuccini.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateListen to the History of WW2 HERE: https://pod.link/493253759 or visit the website https://worldwariipodcast.net/For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Blair Worden, The English Civil Wars: 1640-1660
Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652
John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland
David Edwards, ‘Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603-1641’, Cambridge History of Ireland
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
Ó Siochrú, Micheál, (ed.) Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s, 2000
Ó Siochrú, Micheál, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999
Lenihan, Pádraig, Confederate Catholics at War, 1641-49, 2001
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