Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire
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
August 5, 2025 • 32 mins
Check out the University of Aberdeen Online Courses: http://on.abdn.ac.uk/online-history-courses
Oliver Cromwell is offered a crown... but will he take it?
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
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 ...
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July 15, 2025 • 29 mins
Check out the University of Aberdeen Online Courses: http://on.abdn.ac.uk/online-history-courses
The Second Protectorate Parliament meets, and the Major-Generals purge a third of the MPs before it even begins. Royalists and Levellers conspire to assassinate Lord Protector Cromwell. Thoughts turn towards a new royal dynasty.
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxfo...
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June 23, 2025 • 33 mins
After rebellion and disappointment, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell fears he has lost God's favour. The only way to restore it is do his work on earth - the moral reformation of England and Wales.
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
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 W...
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June 16, 2025 • 47 mins
As recently as 1928, a vast swathe of Asia – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Yemen, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait – were bound together under a single imperial banner, an entity known officially as the ‘Indian Empire’, or more simply as the Raj. Sam Dalrymple was kind enough to speak with me about his new book, Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia, and how this enormous entity...
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June 11, 2025 • 42 mins
Oliver Cromwell's friend and Secretary of State John Thurloe was also one of the most effective spymasters in English history. Catching the Gerard Plot before they could assassinate the Lord Protector, and uprooting Penruddock's Uprising until it was just Penruddock left, he kept the Protectorate safe from threats. But he could not shield Cromwell from the terrible news of the Western Design.
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
Mart...
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May 12, 2025 • 35 mins
The army of the Western Design invades Jamaica, and marches unopposed into the capital. But despite English claims of victory, the Jamaican population is not about to let itself be conquered.
This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, ...
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April 21, 2025 • 38 mins
The fleet of the Western Design arrives off the coast of Hispaniola, and Oliver Cromwell's dream of a Protestant colonial empire seems assured. But it doesn't take long for everything to go wrong...
This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry Coward, The...
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January 27, 2025 • 28 mins
Lord Protector Cromwell dispatches a huge fleet of warships to the Caribben to conquer the Spanish colonies. But once the expedition reaches Barbados, they discover that reality doesn't match with expectations.
This episode could not have been written without the following works:
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.
Barry...
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December 9, 2024 • 33 mins
The first half of Episode 2 - Hostile Takeover. Listen to the full episode here: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/ARML6837257429?selected=ARML4090812395
After 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 Su...
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November 25, 2024 • 38 mins
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/1779033628
Listen to The History of England HERE: https://pod.link/412308812
Join the Mailing List! https://forms.gle/meJvkqLb81uzRqya9
Join the Pa...
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November 18, 2024 • 24 mins
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 HERE
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This episode could not have been written...
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September 24, 2024 • 27 mins
The First Protectorate Parliament meets... and immediately starts tearing up the constitution.
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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 Revol...
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September 9, 2024 • 39 mins
George Monck arrives in Scotland, and burns the Royalists out.
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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...
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August 26, 2024 • 28 mins
Royalist rebellion erupts in the Scottish Highlands.
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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.), T...
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August 11, 2024 • 55 mins
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
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August 4, 2024 • 68 mins
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
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July 9, 2024 • 22 mins
The New Model Army occupies Scotland, but trouble is brewing in the Highlands.
Send us your questions at https://bit.ly/RevQA
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...
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July 1, 2024 • 28 mins
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. ...
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June 22, 2024 • 50 mins
Learn more about The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context HERE or HERE
Send in questions about the Wars of the Three Kingdoms to https://bit.ly/RevQA
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Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes!
Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows.
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June 17, 2024 • 22 mins
The First Anglo-Dutch War ends, and Lord Protector Cromwell brings peace to his new Commonwealth. Mostly.
Send us your questions at https://bit.ly/RevQA
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.
Michae...
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