The Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins, did not exist in a vacuum. How could this man, who had no formal authority, tour South-East England and not only execute hundreds of 'witches', but find cheering crowds and grateful magistrates waiting for him? Today's episode will examine the possible reasons why the Hopkins witch craze was so exceptional in its scale and brutality.
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This episode primarily made use of the following texts:
- Gaskill, Malcolm, ‘Witchcraft Trials in England’, in Levack, B. P. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America (Oxford, 2013)
- Levack, Brian, ‘State-Building and Witch-Hunting’, in Oldridge, Darren (ed.), The Witchcraft Reader, 2002
- Elmer, Peter,Witchcraft, Witch-Hunting, and Politics in Early Modern England, (Oxford, 2016)
- Jackson, Louise, ‘Witches, Wives and Mothers: Witchcraft Persecution and Women’s Confessions in Seventeenth-Century England’, in Oldridge, Darren (ed.), The Witchcraft Reader, 2002
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02.42 - The Devil Hath His Chapel

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'?

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Back in London, Oliver Cromwell loses patience with the Rump Parliament. The New Model Army is getting restless, and Parliament appears to be prioritising its own power over the reforms its soldiers fought for. 
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Jonathan Barth, The Currency of Empire, Money and Power in Seventeenth-Century English America (Cornell University Press, 2021).

Martyn Bennet, Oliver Cromwell, 2006.

Michael Braddick. The Oxford Handbook of the English Revolution, 2015.


Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.

Jonathan Healey, The Blazing World, 2023.

Anna Keay, The Restless Republic, 2022.

John Morrill, The Letters, Writings, and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, Vol 2: 1 February 1649 to 12 December 1653, 2023

Nicholas Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: a Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1649-1815, 2004.

Ian Roy, 'Prince Rupert', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.


Roger Hainsworth, Christine Churches, The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars, 1652-1674, 1998.

Christian J. Koot, ‘A “Dangerous Principle”: Free Trade Discourses in Barbados and the English Leeward Islands, 1650—1689’, Early American Studies, 5.1 (2007), 132–63.

John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.


Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.


Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

03.28 - In the Name of God, Go!

The English defeat the Dutch, and Tromp faces his last battle.
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, 1649-1815, 2004.

Ian Roy, 'Prince Rupert', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.


Roger Hainsworth, Christine Churches, The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars, 1652-1674, 1998.

Christian J. Koot, ‘A “Dangerous Principle”: Free Trade Discourses in Barbados and the English Leeward Islands, 1650—1689’, Early American Studies, 5.1 (2007), 132–63.

Thomas Leng, ‘Commercial Conflict and Regulation in the Discourse of Trade in Seventeenth-Century England’, The Historical Journal, 48.4 (2005), 933–54

Jonathan Barth, The Currency of Empire, Money and Power in Seventeenth-Century English America (Cornell University Press, 2021).

John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.


Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.


Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

03.27 - Masters of the Seas

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, 1649-1815, 2004.

Ian Roy, 'Prince Rupert', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.


Roger Hainsworth, Christine Churches, The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars, 1652-1674, 1998.

Christian J. Koot, ‘A “Dangerous Principle”: Free Trade Discourses in Barbados and the English Leeward Islands, 1650—1689’, Early American Studies, 5.1 (2007), 132–63.

Thomas Leng, ‘Commercial Conflict and Regulation in the Discourse of Trade in Seventeenth-Century England’, The Historical Journal, 48.4 (2005), 933–54

Jonathan Barth, The Currency of Empire, Money and Power in Seventeenth-Century English America (Cornell University Press, 2021).

John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.


Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.


Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

03.26 - The Mountain of Iron

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 English Revolution, 2015.


Barry Coward, The Cromwellian Protectorate, 2002.

Nicholas Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: a Naval History of Britain, Volume 2, 1649-1815, 2004.

Ian Roy, 'Prince Rupert', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.


Roger Hainsworth, Christine Churches, The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars, 1652-1674, 1998.

Christian J. Koot, ‘A “Dangerous Principle”: Free Trade Discourses in Barbados and the English Leeward Islands, 1650—1689’, Early American Studies, 5.1 (2007), 132–63.

Thomas Leng, ‘Commercial Conflict and Regulation in the Discourse of Trade in Seventeenth-Century England’, The Historical Journal, 48.4 (2005), 933–54

Jonathan Barth, The Currency of Empire, Money and Power in Seventeenth-Century English America (Cornell University Press, 2021).

John Kenyon and Jane Ohlmeyer, The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638-1660.


Alan MacInnes, The British Revolution, 1629-1660, 2004.


Go to AirwaveMedia.com to find other great history shows.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

02.42 - The Devil Hath His Chapel

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