Charles II kept a stronger Parliament within England than his father could have imagined, and he expanded the Navigation Acts, kept the policy of transportation, and pushed the slave trade. When news of the new king’s planned policies reached Virginia, Berkeley rushed to ask that they be revoked or modified to avoid crushing his colony. Read more about Restoration 4: Meet the new boss[…]
In the final episode of our English Civil War series, we discuss the Restoration. After Cromwell died, there was chaos that could have erupted in yet another round of war. Instead, though, the return of Charles II to the throne of England occurred without bloodshed, which only intensified the excitement over his return. With the Read more about ECW 32: The Restoration[…]
The Western Design was England’s disastrous attempt to conquer Spanish America, starting with Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Cartagena. Instead, after an unspeakably bad defeat in Hispaniola, they ended up with Jamaica. Jamaica quickly became England’s bloodiest colony, and much of that blood came from Irish victims of transportation. It was a disaster, though, which Read more about ECW 29: The Western Design – Conquering Jamaica[…]
The Quaker movement had its origins in the deepest radicalism of Interregnum England. Characterized by the most extreme of religious and political thought, combined with outlandish and belligerent behavior, they were soon the most feared group in the English speaking world. This fear led to persecution which was even intense by the standards of the Read more about ECW 28: Mary Dyer and the earliest Quakers[…]
1655 was the year of the first Virginia law which mentioned slavery as a legitimate institution, and the Commonwealth Era was also the one which saw England take active, organized steps to enter the slave trade. In this episode, we discuss the history of England’s Western Africa trade, and exactly what was going on, slavery-wise, Read more about ECW 25: The Guinea Company[…]
Part 1 If you support a revolution, you have to be willing to accept the utter uncertainty of its outcome. You don’t get to dictate how much, or exactly how things change. Your options are to defend the status quo, even if you believe in reform, or to destroy the established order and accept the Read more about ECW 21-22: The Scottish Civil War[…]
If you were to make a list of the top 10 most pivotal events in American History, the execution of King Charles I would have to be on it. It might not be one which immediately sprang to mind, but it hadn’t happened, America would be unrecognizable today. As we will shortly see, everything we Read more about ECW 17: The Second English Civil War[…]
Civil wars are notoriously terrible. They’re more violent, harder to end, and create longer lasting animosities than other types of conflict. In 1645, America had largely been spared from these effects and problems, but it wouldn’t be spared from people affected by them. Introduction But first! A quick announcement. I’ve just gotten my first full-time Read more about ECW 12: The experience of war in England[…]
Listen on: iTunesSubscribe on Android, Stitcher and more Transcript The English Civil War officially started in 1642, and the road to war was a terrifying and chaotic time of political intrigue, mob violence and widespread paranoia. Introduction If you’ve been following this series from the beginning, you have a vague idea of the events of Read more about English Civil War 2: An overview of the war[…]
Listen on: iTunes Subscribe on Android Stitcher and more Conflicting experiences The situation of Catholics as the reign of Charles I began was a complex one. He worked to reduce their persecution, but that only prompted local officials to treat Catholics even more harshly than they had before. He had a marriage treaty protecting his wife’s religion, but Read more about Maryland 1: Henrietta Maria and the Catholics[…]