Pax Britannica: A History of the British Empire

Latest Episodes:

01.12 - Laboratory of Empire Apr 13, 2019

Show notes

Both before and after the Flight of the Earls territory in north Ireland was forfeited to the Crown and purchased by investors. Even while the burgeoning colony of Virginia was facing its earliest challenges, it was in Ulster that most government attention was focused. Money, men, and materials flooded the province, determined to make this latest plantation effort a success. The experiences of English, Scots, Welsh and Irish would form the basis of the next two centuries of British colonial expansion.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Kennedy, L. and Ollerenshaw, P. (2012).Ulster Since 1600. Oxford

- Jane H. Ohlmeyer, ''Civilizinge of those Rude Partes': Colonization within Britain and Ireland, 1580s-1640s', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire

- David Edwards, 'Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603–1641', in The Cambridge History of Ireland: 1550–1730

- J. H. Elliott, Scots & Catalans: Union & Disunion

For a full bibliography, see the website.

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01.11 - The New World Mar 31, 2019

Show notes

Compared to the kingdoms of Iberia, England was fairly late to the colonisation game. This episode covers the costly failures of Elizabeth's reign, and the successful, but still costly, attempts which James oversaw. Enormous death tolls from disease, starvation, and violence were not enough to prevent the foundations of British North America.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Benjamin, T. (2009). The Atlantic World: Europeans, Africans, Indians and Their Shared History, 1400-1900. Cambridge

- Nicholas Canny, 'The Origins of Empire: An Introduction', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire

- John C. Appleby, 'War, Politics, and Colonization, 1558-1625', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire

For a full bibliography, see the website.

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01.10 - The Flight of the Earls Mar 24, 2019

Show notes

A closer look at how James attempts to unite his kingdoms into one body, and the difficulty he faced. In Ireland, the English yoke tightens around both the Gaelic and Anglo-Irish in the wake of the Nine Year's War.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Smith, David L., The Stuart parliaments, 1603-1689. (1999)

- David Edwards, 'Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603–1641', in The Cambridge History of Ireland: 1550–1730

For a full bibliography, see the website.

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01.09 - Gunpowder Treason and Plot Mar 17, 2019

Show notes

Despite the cheering crowds and warm welcome James received from his new subjects, all was not well in his new kingdom. As James would find out, England was not so different to Scotland. A number of plots against the king's life, spurred by fears or hopes for religious toleration, were hatched in the early years of James' reign. Some planned to be relatively bloodless, just another way to attract the king's ear. Others were much more... explosive in their intentions.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Alan Stewart, The Cradle King: A Life of James VI and I

- Nicholls, M. (1995). ‘Treason’s Reward: The Punishment of Conspirators in the Bye Plot of 1603’

For a full bibliography, see the website.

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01.08 - The King of Great Britain Mar 10, 2019

Show notes

With the death of Elizabeth, the King of Scots travels south to take up his new kingdoms of England and Ireland. James faces an uphill challenge; his rulership style is vastly different to Elizabeth's, and he inherits a number of serious problems. Adding to this is James' insistence on political union between his two larger kingdoms; he wants to become King of a single Great Britain.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Jane H. Ohlmeyer, ''Civilizinge of those Rude Partes': Colonization within Britain and Ireland, 1580s-1640s', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire

- Alan Stewart, The Cradle King: A Life of James VI and I

- Julian Goodare, The Government of Scotland 1560-1625

For a full bibliography, see the website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

01.07 - Personal Unions with Sir John Elliott Mar 03, 2019

Show notes

Sir John Elliott, Regius Professor Emeritus of Modern History at Oxford University, speaks with me in Edinburgh about composite monarchies and personal unions, the similarities between Scotland and Catalonia, the challenges that James will face as he travels south to take up his new crown, and how his and his son’s actions will echo throughout the century and beyond.

The recommended books, available from all good retailers, are:

- Scots and Catalans: Union and Disunion (2018)

- Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America 1492-1830 (2006)

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01.06 - The Devil's Greatest Enemy Feb 27, 2019

Show notes

James VI was crowned king at one year old, and his early life was spent as the puppet of a succession of regencies. When he finally asserted his independence, he faced down a series of rebellions and strengthened his royal authority through fire and sword. His relationship with Elizabeth of England was complicated and often violent, and his vassals were insubordinate and churlish. Yet he would emerge at the dawn of the 17th century the ruler of the entirety of the British Isles.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Jane H. Ohlmeyer, ''Civilizinge of those Rude Partes': Colonization within Britain and Ireland, 1580s-1640s', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire

- Alan Stewart, The Cradle King: A Life of James VI and I

- Julian Goodare, The Government of Scotland 1560-1625

For a full bibliography, see the website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

01.05 - The Great Earl's Rebellion Feb 24, 2019

Show notes

Irish lords rise up against English domination, lead by The O'Neill, the Great Earl of Tyrone, Hugh O'Neill. England, already at war with Spain, dispatches thousands of troops to try and quell the rebellion. Felipe II of Spain sees an opportunity, and sends his own soldiers to assist the Irish against Dublin and London. This was the largest military campaign of Elizabeth's reign, and the one with the most long-lasting consequences for the British Isles.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Steven G. Ellis, Ireland in the Age of the Tudors 1447-1603: English Expansion and the End of Gaelic Rule

- Harold O’Sullivan, Dynamics of Regional Development: processes of assimilation and division in the marchland of south-east Ulster in late medieval and early modern Ireland

- David Edwards, 'Political Change and Social Transformation, 1603–1641', in The Cambridge History of Ireland: 1550–1730

For a full bibliography, see the website.

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01.04 - The 'First Battle of the Atlantic' Feb 20, 2019

Show notes

For generations, Habsburg Spain had been a stalwart ally of England, their royal families connected by marriage and kinship, to counter-balance the Auld Alliance of France and Scotland. This had been the state of things for decades, and upon Elizabeth's accession there was no reason to think that this would change. Calais had just fallen to the French, and English armies had been rampaging through Scotland just years before, and a French regent ruled in place of her young child.

And yet, by the time of Elizabeth's death, Scotland was a close ally whose king would soon inherit the crown of England and Ireland, and Spanish Armadas had narrowly missed invading English shores. What caused this dramatic reversal?

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

In this episode I made particular use of the following publications:

- Doran, S. (2000). Elizabeth I and Foreign Policy, 1558-1603

- Croft, P. (2005). ‘“The State of the World is Marvellously Changed”: England, Spain and Europe 1558-1604’. Doran S. & Richardson G. (eds) Tudor England and its Neighbours

Find a full bibliography on the website.

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01.03 - Gold, Praise, Glory Feb 17, 2019

Show notes

Through a range of cultural, economic, and political changes, the old trading relationships that English merchants had enjoyed for centuries fully broke down during Elizabeth's reign. In their place, new opportunities for wealth emerged; new countries to trade with, new products to buy and sell, and a thinly-guarded colonial empire full to the brim with slave markets and gold mines. Opportunities aplenty for those with the naval expertise to seize them.

Check out the podcast website: https://www.paxbritannica.info

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodBritannica/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BritannicaPax

For this episode, I found the following publications particularly useful:

- Clay C. G. A., 1940-. (1984). Economic expansion and social change : England 1500-1700

- Benjamin Thomas, 1952-. (2009). The Atlantic world : European, Africans, Indians and their shared history, 1400-1900

- John C. Appleby, 'War, Politics, and Colonization, 1558-1625', in The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume I: The Origins of Empire

For a full bibliography, see the website.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices