Britain's wild republican decade

Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. For some, it's hard to imagine Britain without a king or queen. But nearly 400 years ago, that extraordinary prospect became a reality. In January 1649, after a bloody civil war, King Charles I was put on trial, found guilty and beheaded. The eleven years that followed saw a bold Republican experiment that dominated the lives of those across Britain and Ireland.

In today's episode, Danny Byrd speaks to Alice Hunt about her new book on this revolutionary chapter in British history. Alice discusses a transformative decade, which saw some of the seventeenth century's greatest literary and scientific minds cut their teeth. She busts some myths about Cromwell and his Puritan cronies, and reveals how Britain's brief republic has left an indelible mark on its modern monarchy and constitution. Alice, we're here to discuss your new book, Republic, Britain's Revolutionary Decade, 1649 to 1660. And you open it with an event known as Pride's Purge, describing it as the starting point of an extraordinary period in British history.

Why is Pride's Purge such a pivotal moment in the story of the Republic that followed? Pride's Purge is really important because it was the purging of certain members of Parliament kicking out MPs from the House of Commons which enabled the House of Commons to then go ahead and put the King, King Charles I on trial. So before Pride's Purge, they were debating in the Commons whether to come to an agreement with Charles I after years of war, and there were some in the House who wanted to come to an agreement, and there were others in the House who really thought the king should now be brought to account.

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