Republic: Britain's Revolutionary Decade, 1649-60

Professor Alice Hunt examines the tumultuous impact of the British Civil Wars. How did England's republican experiment change the course of British history?

In 1649, King Charles I was publicly executed outside the Banqueting House on London’s Whitehall. Events then unfolded with remarkable speed: the monarchy was abolished, the House of Lords was dismissed, and England was declared a republic – for the first and only time in its history.

This was a decade of unprecedented change and instability. However, amid the turmoil arose innovation and opportunity. Previously unthinkable ideas about sovereignty and liberty were vigorously debated and implemented. Alternative forms of art and religion flourished, philosophers discussed radical politics in coffee houses, and experimental scientists scrutinised the world in entirely new ways.

Professor Alice Hunt will explore how England’s republican experiment, despite its brief nature, fundamentally changed the course of British history.

About the speaker

Alice Hunt is a Professor of Early Modern Literature and History at the University of Southampton. She has previously written about the Tudors and James I and is the author of ‘The Drama of Coronation: Medieval Ceremony in Early Modern England’ and ‘Republic: Britain’s Revolutionary Decade, 1649-1660’.