Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire

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

May 18, 2026 30 mins
John Sassamon is found dead, a suspected murder victim. Who killed him, why, and how did it lead to war? Watch the Kurzgesagt Nightshift video I wrote! https://youtu.be/bVc_xY6TWiY?si=JoAa78lzgJHIpoFT Join 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
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Rhode Island gets a Royal Charter, and the rest of New England is ordered to play nicely with the Indians. Philip becomes Sachem, and Weetamoo turns the English love of lawsuits against them. Join 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
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March 16, 2026 32 mins
How the Puritans converted the Indians, the origins of Harvard University Press, and the first bible in an American language. Join 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
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February 23, 2026 34 mins
We get to grips with the history of King Philip's War, and set the stage for the conflict to come. Join the ⁠⁠⁠Mailing List⁠⁠⁠! Join the ⁠⁠⁠Patreon ⁠⁠⁠House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Buy a ticket to ⁠⁠Intelligent Speech 2026 ⁠⁠and use the code PAX for 10% off. Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Philip J. Stern, Professor of History at Duke Empire, Incorporated The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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February 9, 2026 23 mins
New England faces smallpox, failed harvests, and religious dissenters. Join the ⁠⁠Mailing List⁠⁠! Join the ⁠⁠Patreon ⁠⁠House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Buy a ticket to ⁠Intelligent Speech 2026 ⁠and use the code PAX for 10% off. Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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January 26, 2026 32 mins
With the downfall of Clarendon, the CABAL takes centre stage in Restoration politics. But it's never so simple... Join the ⁠Mailing List⁠! Join the ⁠Patreon ⁠House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Buy a ticket to Intelligent Speech 2026 and use the code PAX for 10% off. Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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January 19, 2026 34 mins
Bankruptcy forces the Royal Navy into port. I'm sure it'll be safe. Nicholas Rodgers, The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1649–1815 Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire, 2016. Frank Fox, The Four Days' Battle: The Greatest Sea Fight of the Age of Sail, 2009. David Onnekink & Gijs Rommelse, The Dutch in the Early Modern World. Steve M...
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January 12, 2026 44 mins
The Royal Navy and the Dutch fleet square off. Michiel de Ruyter needs to clear the way for the merchant fleet to get home, or else the Dutch economy might collapse. George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, is outnumbered and outgunned, and Prince Rupert races to join him. Nicholas Rodgers, The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1649–1815 Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: P...
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January 5, 2026 35 mins
After the Great Fire of London, the city needed to be rebuilt. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire Jacob Field, London, Londoners and the Great Fire of 1666: Disaster and Recover. Clare Jackson, Charles II: The Star King For other great shows on the Airwave network, go to AirwaveMedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Today I speak with Dr Patrick Wyman, host of The Fall of Rome, Tides of History, and his new show Past Lives. He's also published The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World, and has a forthcoming book, Lost Worlds: How Humans Tried, Failed, Succeeded, and Built Our World. We talk about public history, slavery, and the podcast industry! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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November 24, 2025 42 mins
From a bakery on Pudding Lane, a fire destroys most of the City of London. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire Jacob Field, London, Londoners and the Great Fire of 1666: Disaster and Recover. Clare Jackson, Charles II: The Star King For other great shows on the Airwave network, go to AirwaveMedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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November 10, 2025 31 mins
The Bubonic Plague, Yersinia Pestis, arrives in London at the end of 1664. By the end of 1665, it will have killed 200,000 people all across England and Wales. Evelyn Lord, The Great Plague: A People's History. Dorothy Moote, The great plague: the story of London's most deadly year. Charles River, The Great Plague of London: The History and Legacy of England’s Last Major Outbreak of the Bubonic Plague Rebecca Rideal, ...
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October 20, 2025 31 mins
The Second Anglo-Dutch War begins, and we take a closer look at the Royal Navy of the Restoration. Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023. Nicholas Rodgers, The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1649–1815 Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire, 2016. Charles Wilson, England’s Apprenticeship: 1603-1763, 1975. David Veevers, The Origins ...
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The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI&I Devil-Land: England under Siege, 1588-1688 Charles II: The Star King Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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October 6, 2025 34 mins
New trade policies annoy the Dutch, and new English companies attempt to force their way into West African markets. New Amsterdam becomes New York. The Second Anglo-Dutch War begins. Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023. Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire, 2016. Charles Wilson, England’s Apprenticeship: 1603-1763, 1975. David Veevers, The Origins of the Britis...
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September 29, 2025 26 mins
Charles II marries Catherine of Braganza, and the Portuguese Princess brings her new husband the city of Tangiers and the islands of Bombay. One of these will become a stronghold of the British Empire. The other will not. Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024. Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015. Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023. Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Rebecca Ri...
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September 8, 2025 38 mins
Charles II Stuart returns to London, and the Restoration tries to turn the clock back in England, Scotland, and Ireland. But a generation of civil war and revolution is not something that can be easily reversed. Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024. Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006. Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015. Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023. Paul Lay, Providence L...
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Find Pax Britannica everywhere you find your podcasts, or go to Pod.Link/Pax to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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September 1, 2025 36 mins
George Monck arrives in London and restores the Long Parliament. Charles Stuart moves to Breda. The Republic votes itself out of existence. 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 Lost: The Rise and F...
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