Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire

After the Battle of Kentish Knock, the English navy is over confident. At the Battle of Dungeness, the Dutch hit back, led by the resurgent Admiral Tromp. Have your say in the Airwave survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PAXBRITANNICA Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006. Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the Eng...

Have your say in the Airwave survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PAXBRITANNICA Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006. Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015. Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002. Nicholas Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: a Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1...

In this first episode of this bonus series, we hear about Timur's devastating raid of northern India, and then follow his descendant Babur through his adventurous early years.  For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: William Dalrymple, The Anarchy. William Dalrymple, The Last Mughal. John F. Richard, The Mughal Empire. Bamber Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls Learn mor...

Have your say in the Airwave survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PAXBRITANNICA Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006. Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015. Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002. Nicholas Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: a Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1...

Two of the greatest naval commanders of the 17th century - Robert Blake and Maarten Tromp - face off in the English Channel. After months of growing hostilities, a refusal to salute English ships is enough to spark a shooting war between the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. Have your say in the Airwave survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PAXBRITANNICA Join th...

I speak with Micheál Ó Siochrú, Professor in Modern History at Trinity College Dublin about the Irish Confederacy, its strengths and successes, the place of Oliver Cromwell in Irish history, and whether the conquest was genocidal in intention and outcome. Interested listeners might enjoy reading: Micheál Ó Siochrú, Confederate Ireland, 1642-1649, 1999 Micheál Ó Siochrú, God’s Executioner: Oliver C...

On the surface the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the Commonwealth of England should have been firm allies: both Protestant, both Republics, both naval powers. And yet the first of the Anglo-Dutch Wars was fought between them. Was this just commercial rivalry, or were there other reasons for this global naval conflict? Have your say in the Airwave survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P...

I speak to Professor Carla Gardina Pestana, Distinguished Professor and Joyce Appleby Endowed Chair of America in the World at UCLA, and ask her about Oliver Cromwell's Western Design. Recommended for listeners who want to know more: Carla Gardina Pestana, The World of Plymouth Plantation, (Belknap Press / Harvard University Press, 2020). Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Conquest of Jamaica: Oli...

Prince Rupert fights his naval war with the English Republic, to devastating personal cost. We also cover the Navigation Act, and why England's neighbours might not like it. Have your say in the Airwave survey! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PAXBRITANNICA Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Atlantic in the Age of Revolutio...

Admit it: you’re obsessed with royal families – watching them, gossiping about them, wanting to be them. It’s the stuff of fantasy. But for real life royals, the crown jewels can be more like shiny handcuffs. There are expectations and rules – and if you break them, the consequences are big, and very public. And there are royal families and wild royal tales from around the world and throughout his...

Virginia and Barbados, royalist colonies which had rejected the authority of the new republican Commonwealth of England, find heavily-armed warships off their coasts. Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Atlantic in the Age of Revolution, 2007. Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Conquest of Jamaica: Oliver Cromwell’s Bid fo...

The Commonwealth of England dispatches the States' Navy against its enemies - Prince Rupert and his fleet is at the top of that list. Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Atlantic in the Age of Revolution, 2007. Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Conquest of Jamaica: Oliver Cromwell’s Bid for Empire, 2017. Nicholas Rodger,...

The Regicide of Charles I prompts Royalist reactions in the English colonies. Virginia, Bermuda, Barbados, Antigua, Newfoundland, and Maryland all proclaimed Charles II as their king. Some of these were forced by popular uprisings, others were political coups, and one was a Deputy Governor taking advantage of his boss being away. The Commonwealth, though distracted by the wars with England and Sco...

Transportation, to Europe or to England's colonies, was the fate for thousands of Irish soldiers, clergy, and civilians. Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in British Interventions in Early Modern Ireland, ed. by Ciaran Brady and Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambr...

Irish land is awarded to English Adventurers and Cromwellian soldiers, and Protestant dominance is secured. Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in British Interventions in Early Modern Ireland, ed. by Ciaran Brady and Jane Ohlmeyer (Cambridge: Cambrid...

The Commonwealth, hungry for land, confiscates massive amounts of property from Irish Catholics. Most are ordered to move elsewhere in Ireland, to the Province of Connacht or County Clare. To refuse risked death. Join the Mailing List! Join the Patreon House of Lords for ad-free episodes! Sarah Barber, ‘Settlement, Transplantation and Expulsion: A Comparative Study of the Placement of Peoples’, in...

After the defeat of the Royalist coalition, the last military resistance to the Commonwealth in Ireland are irregular Tories - isolated, cut off from the chain of command, thousands of veteran Irish fights live off the land, establish bases in bogs and hills, and hit the English occupation forces wherever they can. The Commonwealth goes to extreme lengths to crush them. Join the Mailing List! Join...

The last embers of resistance to the Commonwealth are snuffed out in England and Scotland. For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: Charles Spencer, To Catch a King. Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652. Alexia Grosjean, S...

After his defeat at Worcester, the young King Charles II is in enemy territory. He has to escape England, all while Oliver Cromwell's troops scour the countryside for him. If he's caught, he will almost certainly be executed like his father. For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: Charles Spencer, To Catch a King. Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddi...

After Oliver Cromwell's victory at Dunbar, the English forces hunker down in Edinburgh for winter. The Scots almost come to civil war between supporters of Charles II and the remaining Kirk Faction. After the Battle of Inverkeithing, English occupation of Scotland appears inevitable, and so Charles II proposes a bold strategy - leave Scotland, and march the length of England to capture London. For...

Cromwell invades Scotland and it goes badly. Until it doesn't. For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652. Alexia Grosjean, Steve Murdoch, Alexander Leslie and the Scottish generals of th...

The young Charles II tries to win international support. Montrose is unleashed on Scotland. For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: Philip Baker, 'The Regicide', in Michael J. Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution Ian Gentles, The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638-1652. Alexia Grosjean, Steve Murdoch, Alexander Leslie an...

Ormond's coalition collapses, as Henry Ireton takes over from Cromwell. Check out the podcast website or join the mailing list! Check out Pax Britannica Merch! Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | Donate For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochrú, Jason Peacey, John Morril...

The final attempt at compromise with Charles I was a secret mission by the earl of Denbigh, but the king famously denied it. Or did he? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cromwell's campaign in Ireland comes to an end, with a high cost for the New Model Army at Clonmel. Check out the podcast website or join the mailing list! Check out Pax Britannica Merch! Facebook | Twitter | Patreon | Donate For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful: John Cunningham, ‘Politics, 1641-1660’, Cambridge History of Ireland Elaine Murphy, Micheál Ó Siochr...