January 1649, Whitehall. A king steps onto the scaffold. Moments later, Charles I is dead... tried and executed by his own subjects. For the first time in its history, England is without a monarch.
What follows is one of the most radical experiments in British history. The House of Lords is abolished. The monarchy is swept away. England, Scotland, and Ireland are declared a republic, a commonwealth built on revolutionary ideals. But was it truly a revolution? And why did this bold new republic collapse within a decade?
For this Not Just The Tudors...Late, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb hosts a panel of leading historians - Dr Jonathan Healey, Dr Miranda Malins, and Prof. Ronald Hutton - to explore the often overlooked interregnum of the 1650s. Together, they dig into the realities behind the rhetoric: the role of Oliver Cromwell, the tensions between army and parliament, and the limits of radical change in a deeply divided nation.
Was England’s republic doomed from the start, or was it a missed opportunity? And did this failed experiment plant the seeds for later revolutions?
Join us as we revisit a turbulent decade of ambition, ideology, and contradiction... and ask why England’s revolution didn’t last.
Up Next in More than Just the Tudors
-
Secrets of Shakespeare's Stratford Ep...
In this episode, Alice and Dan discover how the Shakespeare family were rocked by religious turmoil of the 16th century. They visit one of the most notorious Catholic houses in the county, William Shakespeare's schoolroom and the ruins of Evesham Abbey.
-
Coronavirus: Lessons From History
In the past few months more than a billion people have faced restrictions unlike any seen before. Shops are closed; the death toll is rising; people across the globe have been forced to rise to an extraordinary challenge. But it is important to remember that humans have experienced pandemics befo...
-
Mayflower 400: Beyond the Journey
On 16 September 1620, 400 years ago, a merchant ship called the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, on a voyage to America. Its passengers sought a new life, for some this meant religious freedom and for some a fresh start in a new land. They would go on to be known as Pilgrims, and influe...
6 Comments