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
October 13, 2025 • 50 mins
The Mirror of Great Britain: A Life of James VI&I
Devil-Land: England under Siege, 1588-1688
Charles II: The Star King
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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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September 8, 2025 • 1 min
Find Pax Britannica everywhere you find your podcasts, or go to Pod.Link/Pax to find out more.
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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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August 25, 2025 • 40 mins
The Army brings back the Rump Parliament, but they quickly regret that decision. In Scotland, George Monck prepares to march.
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 Fall of the Eng...
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August 18, 2025 • 28 mins
With the death of Oliver Cromwell, his eldest son Richard becomes Lord Protector. Can he balance the competing demands of the army and the republicans?
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: Th...
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August 11, 2025 • 33 mins
"I will not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed, and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again."
Oliver Cromwell refuses to become a king, and a new constitution takes effect. But Cromwell is not long for this world, and the question of succession had still not been settled.
Alice Hunt, Republic, 2024.
Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.
Michael Braddick (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of the Eng...
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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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