

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 29, 2022 • 20min
Bonus - Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex and Captain-General of Parliament
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oct 29, 2022 • 32min
02.56 - The Wisdom of Crowds
With the English Civil War over - for now - it's time to count the cost, and take a look at post-war England.Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Jason Peacey, 'The Revolution in Print', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Stephen K. Roberts, 'State and Society in the English Revolution', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
John Walter, 'Crowds and Popular Politics in the English Revolution', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, 'War and Politics in England and Wales, 1642-1646', in Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael 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
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sep 7, 2022 • 33min
02.55 - Peace, if you can keep it
Naseby shattered the Royalist cause. Now the New Model Army just had to sweep up the pieces...Check 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 Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Pert, T. (2021). Divided Loyalties: The Elector Palatine and Charles I, 1638–1649, Journal of Early Modern History, 26(4), 311-334 [https://brill.com/view/journals/jemh/26/4/article-p311_2.xml]
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 28, 2022 • 30min
02.54 - The Great Battle of Naseby
Check 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 Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 16, 2022 • 33min
02.53 - The New Model Army
Parliament faces a crisis as divisions in their armies come to a head. Oliver Cromwell and Sir William Waller take aim at the earls of Manchester and Essex. The latest attempt at peace talkes between Charles I and the parliamentarians collapse. Calls for a clean slate are answered by the Self-Denying Ordinance and the New Model Ordinance. Sir Thomas Fairfax gets promoted.Check out the podcast websiteListen to the History of Westeros here: http://www.historyofwesteros.com/Check 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 Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Cotton, A. N. B. (1977). Cromwell and the Self-Denying Ordinance. History, 62(205), 211–231.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 7, 2022 • 27min
02.52 - Wasted Opportunities
Essex walks into a trap of his own making at Lostwithiel, and divisions between the Lord General, Manchester, Waller, and Cromwell, lead to another missed opportunity at the Second Battle of Newbury.Check 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 Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 31, 2022 • 30min
02.51 - The Battle of Five Armies
Royalist, Parliamentarian, and Covenanter meet on Marston Moor, and the fate of the North is decided.Check 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 Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 24, 2022 • 30min
02.50 - Drunk with Blood
Prince Rupert campaigns in the North, Charles outplays Waller in the south, and Marston Moor looms on the horizonCheck 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 Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution
Michael Braddick, God's Fury, England's Fire
Nick Lipscombe, The English Civil War: An Atlas and Concise History of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1639-51
Peter Gaunt, The English Civil War: A Military History
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 19, 2022 • 29min
02.49 - Unfortunate Madness
Charles I sends the Earl of Glamorgan to negotiate behind Lord Deputy Ormond's back. There's no way this will go badly.https://www.intelligentspeechconference.com/Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Little, Patrick, 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
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
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
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rushworth-papers/vol6/pp238-249
For a full bibliography, see the podcast website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 15, 2022 • 32min
02.48 - Butlerian Jihad
The Marquis of Ormond, James Butler, tries to come to terms with the Irish Confederacy. Political factions in the Confederacy, King Charles' meddling, the Protestant Irish lobby, the Covenanters in Ulster, the Parliamentarians in Munster, and Ormond's own personal desires make this a very painful process.https://www.intelligentspeechconference.com/Check out the podcast websiteCheck out Pax Britannica Merch!Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | DonateFor this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:
Little, Patrick, 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
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
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
For a full bibliography, see the podcast website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices