Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire
A Podcast History of the British Empire
Samuel Hume
Show overview
Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire has been publishing since 2019, and across the 7 years since has built a catalogue of 238 episodes, alongside 53 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 140 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a fortnightly cadence, with the show now in its 4th season.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 28 min and 38 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-language History show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed yesterday, with 10 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Samuel Hume.
From the publisher
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'?
Latest Episodes
View all 238 episodes04.15 - CSI: New England
S4 Ep 1404.14 - All's Fair in Love and Law
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
S4 Ep 1304.13 - From Death and Darkness
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
S4 Ep 124-12 - Love Thy Neighbour
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
Bonus - The Company in India with Professor Philip Stern
bonusPhilip 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
S4 Ep 1104.11 - New Starts in New England
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
S4 Ep 1004.10 - The Cabal
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
S4 Ep 904.09 - The Raid on the Medway
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 Murdoch, The terror of the Seas: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713, 2010. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S4 Ep 804.08 - The Four Days' Battle
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: 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 Murdoch, The terror of the Seas: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713, 2010. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S4 Ep 704.07 - A City of Ash
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
Slavery throughout History with Patrick Wyman
bonusToday 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
S4 Ep 604.06 - The Great Fire of London
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
S4 Ep 504.05 - The Great Plague of London
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, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S4 Ep 404.04 - The Royal Navy Reborn
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 of the British Empire in Asia, 1600-1750, 2020. John Childs, General Percy Kirke and the Later Stuart Army, 2014. Philip Stern, The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India, 2011. Edwin Burrows, Mike Wallace, Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, 1999. Julie Svalastog, Mastering the Worst of Trades: England’s Early Africa Companies and their Traders, 1618–1672, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Stuarts, the Scottish Restoration, and Devil-Land with Professor Clare Jackson
bonusThe 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
S4 Ep 304.03 - The First Scramble for Africa
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 British Empire in Asia, 1600-1750, 2020. John Childs, General Percy Kirke and the Later Stuart Army, 2014. Philip Stern, The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India, 2011. Edwin Burrows, Mike Wallace, Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898, 1999. Julie Svalastog, Mastering the Worst of Trades: England’s Early Africa Companies and their Traders, 1618–1672, 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S4 Ep 204.02 - The Seven Islands of Bombay
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 Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire, 2016. Charles Wilson, England’s Apprenticeship: 1603-1763, 1975. David Veevers, The Origins of the British Empire in Asia, 1600-1750, 2020. John Childs, General Percy Kirke and the Later Stuart Army, 2014. Philip Stern, The Company-State: Corporate Sovereignty and the Early Modern Foundations of the British Empire in India, 2011. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S4 Ep 104.01 - The Return of the King
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 Lost: The Rise and Fall of the English Republic, 2020. Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022. Rebecca Rideal, 1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire, 2016. Micheál Ó Siochrú, God's Executioner: Oliver Cromwell and the conquest of Ireland, 2008. Charles Wilson, England’s Apprenticeship: 1603-1763, 1975. Charles Spencer, Killers of the King Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introducing Pax Britannica Season 4 - The Restoration
trailerFind 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
S3 Ep 4803.48 - With Thunderous Applause
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 Fall of the English Republic, 2020. Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022. Ian Gentles, The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution, 2022. Carla Gardina Pestana, The English Conquest of Jamaica: Oliver Cromwell’s Bid for Empire, 2017. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices