Episode 2.51: The Purge
December 1648 Frustrated with parliament's continued negotiations with the King, a group of army officers engineers a coup to seize control of Westminster.
Apr 17, 2021•34 min
Early Stuart England
A narrative history of England (1603-1642)
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Episodes
Episode 2.50: The Mock Treaty
Fall 1648 With England once again secure, parliament returns to that has plagued English politics for two and a half years - what to do with the King?
Apr 10, 2021•34 min
Episode 2.49: Private Hostilities
1647-1648 As the rest of the British Engager project falls apart, Ireland once again devolves into a new set of factions and alliances of convenience.
Apr 03, 2021•34 min
Episode 2.48: A Warwick
1648 Mutinies at the main navy dockyard in Chatham threaten to give royalist exiles a ticket back to England.
Mar 27, 2021•39 min
Episode 2.47: Colchester and the Whiggamores
Summer 1648 After the defeat at the battle of Preston, the Engager government in Scotland is challenged by insurrection. Meanwhile the royalists at Colchester see their struggle is futile.
Mar 20, 2021•31 min
Episode 2.46: The Scottish Invasion
Summer 1648 The centre-piece of the Engager campaign, a long delayed Scottish incursion, begins. The New Model Army rushes north to meet the invaders.
Mar 13, 2021•36 min
Episode 2.45: We Long to See Our King
Spring 1648 After weeks of unrest, organized, armed opposition to the regime at Westminster erupts in the form of an army mutiny in Wales, and royalist-led insurrections in Kent and Essex.
Mar 06, 2021•36 min
Episode 2.44: The Great Blow
Spring 1648 Protests break out across England against the regime's religious policies, taxation, and intrusion into local affairs. The disturbances in Norwich get particularly "explosive".
Feb 27, 2021•35 min
Episode 2.43: The Engagement
December 1647 While the army contemplates an increasingly radical settlement, the King turns to last remaining option - the Scots.
Feb 20, 2021•37 min
Episode 2.42: United in Our Doing
Fall 1647 Now firmly in control of the kingdom, the army coalition debates what its goals are - revealing its fundamental divisions.
Feb 13, 2021•40 min
Episode 2.41: No Mere Mercenary Army
Summer 1647 The long awaited storm finally breaks as both the Independents and the Presbyterians provoke each other into open conflict.
Feb 06, 2021•40 min
Episode 2.40: The Agitators
Spring 1647 Alarmed by the consolidation of Presbyterian power in London and parliament, a coalition emerges in the army between Independents, political radicals, and soldiers worried about their back pay.
Jan 30, 2021•41 min
Episode 2.39: Free-Born Englishmen
Spring 1647 Unable to find a voice under the repressive Presbyterian regime in London, a group of dissidents turn in a truly revolutionary direction.
Jan 23, 2021•38 min
Episode 2.38: The Presbyterian Regime
1646-7 In preparation for a conflict with the Independents in the New Model Army, the Presbyterians consolidate their control over London's government, and mobilize the city's military resources.
Jan 16, 2021•32 min
Episode 2.37: The Semblance of a Conquest
1645-1646 The end of the war in England causes a re-alignment of factions in Ireland that (if anything) make the conflict more complicated and intractable.
Jan 09, 2021•37 min
Episode 2.36: Hissed at by All Nations
1646 The Scots begin to regret hosting their royal guest and look to pass off the stubborn king on to the English parliament.
Jan 02, 2021•36 min
Episode 2.35: Men Must Differ
1646 The Presbyterian-controlled government of London does its best to suppress the Independent churches of the city, in preparation for the coming conflict.
Dec 26, 2020•38 min
Episode 2.34: Unrest in the Provinces
1646 The people of England await a return to pre-war normalcy, but find that the kingdom's institutions have been irreversibly changed by the conflict.
Dec 19, 2020•44 min
Episode 2.33: Surrender
1646 Charles finally accepts reality, and gives up the fight. But in ending the war, the King manages to initiate new rounds of political conflict within the parliamentary coalition.
Dec 12, 2020•41 min
Episode 2.32: The Irish Option
1645-1646 The Kilkenny Confederation contemplates a series of offers from an increasingly desperate King Charles. But continental Catholics powers have some tempting proposals of their own.
Dec 05, 2020•39 min
Episode 2.31: Love Loyalty
1645-1646 In the southwest of England, a collection of royalists desperately hold out hope that reinforcements from Ireland might swing the balance of the war.
Nov 28, 2020•42 min
Episode 2.30: Clan Warfare
1644-1645 A rag-tag group of Scottish Highlanders and Irish warriors threaten to bring down the Covenantor government and turn the tide of the war.
Nov 21, 2020•48 min
Episode 2.29: Our National Quarrel
Summer 1645 In desperate need of help, King Charles turns to his most consistently loyal subjects - the Welsh. But he finds that loyalty can wither, when taken for granted.
Nov 14, 2020•36 min
Episode 2.28: The Clubmen
Summer 1645 The farmers of the West Country have had enough of the fighting, and declare war on the war.
Nov 07, 2020•34 min
Episode 2.27: Naseby
Spring 1645 The King hopes to continue his recent run of successes against parliament's latest experiment - the New Model Army
Oct 31, 2020•43 min
Episode 2.26: The New Model Army
Winter 1645 In order to break the deadlock over the Self-Denying Ordnance, parliament embarks on a comprehensive reform of the army.
Oct 24, 2020•33 min
Episode 2.25: Backwardness in All Actions
Winter 1644/1645 Parliament's feuding generals lay down their arms for the winter, and sharpen their blades for a political knife fight.
Oct 17, 2020•34 min
Episode 2.24: Second Newbury
Fall 1644 An all-star team of parliamentary generals confront the King in battle, but spend most of their time bickering with one another.
Oct 10, 2020•31 min
Episode 2.23: Chaplain to the Worms
1643/1644 As parliament struggles to build a replacement to William Laud's anti-Calvinist church, disorder and uncertainty spreads through the parishes of England.
Oct 03, 2020•41 min
Episode 2.22: Dirty and Dejected
Summer 1644 With the royalist position in the north collapsing at Marston Moor, Charles fights for his life in the south.
Sep 26, 2020•38 min
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