The World Turned Upside Down: England's Puritan Dystopia

About this episode

The episode explores England's Puritan Dystopia during the Interregnum, focusing on the societal changes and censorship that occurred after the execution of Charles I.

Hide your mince pies! Our first-ever Christmas Special is about when Christmas was outlawed in England. I’m joined by historian Dr. Fiona McCall to explore one of England’s weirdest experiments in governance: the Interregnum. Between the execution of Charles I in 1649 and the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, England abolished kingship, dismantled the Church hierarchy, censored culture, banned Christmas, and attempted to remake society along rigid moral and religious lines. What began as a revolutionary push toward a “better” society quickly revealed the all-too-familiar contours of a dystopia: surveillance, neighbour reporting on neighbour, draconian laws governing private life, and the violent policing of belief. Drawing on first-hand accounts from people who were there, Dr. McCall brings the 17th century to life, showing how ordinary people navigated civil war, censorship, puritanical rule, and the terrifying collapse of the line between sin and crime. Our conversation found unsettling parallels between England’s past and present regimes in their attempts to legislate morality, a stark reminder of how fragile social freedoms can be. You can find Dr. McCall’s books on…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Freedman

Guest: Dr. Fiona McCall

Topics covered

• Puritanism
• Dystopia
• Censorship
• Christmas
• Governance
• Civil War

Keywords

• Puritan Dystopia
• Interregnum
• Censorship
• Christmas Outlawed
• Surveillance
• Moral Legislation

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Church and People in Interregnum Britain, Baal’s Priests: The Loyalist Clergy and the English Revolution

Places: England

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