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
January 26, 2026 • 32 mins
With the downfall of Clarendon, the CABAL takes centre stage in Restoration politics. But it's never so simple...
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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
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December 22, 2025 • 53 mins
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!
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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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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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