DOCSLIB.ORG

British Liberalism and the Balkans, C. 1875-1925

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
British Liberalism and the Balkans, C. 1875-1925 ORBIT - Online Repository of Birkbeck Institutional Theses Enabling Open Access to Birkbecks Research Degree output British liberalism and the Balkans, c. 1875-1925 http://bbktheses.da.ulcc.ac.uk/82/ Version: Full Version Citation: Perkins, James Andrew (2014) British liberalism and the Balkans, c. 1875- 1925. PhD thesis, Birkbeck, University of London. c 2014 The Author(s) All material available through ORBIT is protected by intellectual property law, including copyright law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Deposit guide Contact: email British liberalism and the Balkans, c. 1875-1925 James Andrew Perkins Department of History, Classics and Archaeology Birkbeck, University of London Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2014 1 I confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. James Perkins 2 Abstract This is a study of the place of the Balkans in British liberal politics from the late-Victorian era to the aftermath of the First World War. It argues that engagement with the region was part of a wider reformist dynamic in British politics and society in this period. The late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries saw the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and the emergence of independent successor states in the Balkans against a background of nationalist tension, political violence, and humanitarian suffering. This raised questions and concerns that resonated particularly strongly within British liberal political culture, as revealed through analysis of correspondence and memoir, journalism, public and parliamentary debate, humanitarian initiatives, political activism, and diplomacy. In particular, the thesis considers: the political agitation in response to atrocities in Ottoman Bulgaria in 1876 (chapter 1); the wider impact of this agitation on late-Victorian politics (chapter 2); the renewed activism in response to Ottoman misrule in early-twentieth century Macedonia (chapter 3); the dilemmas and debates generated by the Balkan Wars and the First World War between 1912 and 1918 (chapter 4); and the impact of this on the new internationalist agendas of the 1920s (chapter 5). Liberal engagement with the Balkans is shown to have intersected closely with domestic reformist political agendas, as well as with other international causes, both European and imperial. By exploring these intersections, the thesis re-examines aspects of change, continuity and conflict in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century British politics and society, and reconsiders the multifaceted relationships that linked that society to the rest of the world. 3 Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been written without the help and support of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, David Feldman, for his invaluable guidance over the course of my research. I am also grateful to Lucy Riall for her teaching and supervision on the MA in Historical Research that I completed at Birkbeck prior to starting the PhD, and for her help since. I would like to express my thanks for the fees scholarship awarded by Birkbeck’s School of Social Sciences, History and Philosophy, which provided welcome financial assistance. A Postgraduate Research Support Grant from the Royal Historical Society enabled me to consult the Noel Buxton papers at McGill University, Montreal. I am grateful for this support. I would also like to thank the staff of all the libraries and archives that I visited during the course of my research. I benefited from the opportunity to discuss aspects of this thesis at a number of conferences and seminars, and would particularly like to thank the organisers of: the History and Space Conference at Birkbeck, University of London (June 2014); the Voluntary Action History Society Conference at the University of Huddersfield (July 2013); the History Postgraduate Colloquium at the University of Reading (June 2013); the Political History Network Seminar at Newcastle University (February 2013); the PhD Symposium on South East Europe at Goldsmiths, University of London (June 2012); the Histories of Activism Postgraduate Conference at Bishopsgate Institute, London (November 2011). This thesis marks the culmination of a number of years combining work and study. I would like to thank my family for encouraging me in this endeavour, my colleagues for providing a supportive working environment, and my friends for providing welcome diversions from books, documents and archives along the way. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Martina. Her patience, consideration, encouragement and enthusiasm have been a constant source of support throughout my postgraduate study, and I am extremely grateful. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................4 Table of Contents......................................................................................................................5 Introduction: British liberalism and the Balkans .................................................................8 ‘Some slight friction threatening in the Balkans’..................................................................................9 ‘Trouble-Makers’ and ‘Mugwumps’ ...................................................................................................14 ‘Balkanism’ and the ‘East End of Europe’..........................................................................................17 The Balkans in the Age of Empire ......................................................................................................26 Outline of Chapters..............................................................................................................................29 The Balkans as a moral crusade – the Bulgarian agitation and the Eastern Crisis.........34 Liberals and the Eastern Question .......................................................................................................36 Liberals and the Balkans......................................................................................................................41 Against Tory and Turk ........................................................................................................................46 Radicalism, religion, and the ‘Semitic adventurer’ .............................................................................53 The Balkans after Berlin: ‘Progress’ and ‘Civilisation’? ....................................................................58 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................68 Balkan Legacies: the political memory of the Bulgarian agitation in late-Victorian Britain......................................................................................................................................71 The ‘East End of Europe’ and the East End of London ......................................................................71 Imperial analogies? The Irish Home Rule crisis..................................................................................78 The ‘Bulgarian Horrors’ Revisited? ....................................................................................................88 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................................99 ‘Europe Unredeemed’: the Macedonian question.............................................................102 The Balkan Committee......................................................................................................................105 Why Macedonia mattered..................................................................................................................113 The Balkan dilemmas of British liberal internationalism..................................................................120 Balkan peasants and the ‘Condition of England’ ..............................................................................132 Organising dissent over foreign policy..............................................................................................143 ‘Futile pinpricks’? A case study in humanitarian politics .................................................................152 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................161 5 “What then is the duty of the civilised world in the Balkans?” Liberalism, nationalism and war, 1912-1918...............................................................................................................164 From ‘Autonomy’ to ‘Anatomy’: the Balkan Wars ..........................................................................166 ‘Heroic Serbia’, Ivan Meštrović and the imaginative geography of the Balkans at war...................178 Clash of the Experts: the Balkans and the New Europe ....................................................................191 Citizenship, self-determination and empire.......................................................................................199 Conclusion .........................................................................................................................................211 After the Eastern
Load more

Recommended publications
  • HEBEELE, Gerald Clarence, 1932- the PREDICAMENT of the BRITISH UNIONIST PARTY, 1906-1914
    This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 68-3000 HEBEELE, Gerald Clarence, 1932- THE PREDICAMENT OF THE BRITISH UNIONIST PARTY, 1906-1914. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1967 History, modem University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan © Copyright by Gerald Clarence Heberle 1968 THE PREDICAMENT OF THE BRITISH UNIONIST PARTY, 1906-1914 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Gerald c / Heberle, B.A., M.A, ******* The Ohio State University 1967 Approved by B k f y f ’ P c M k ^ . f Adviser Department of History ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Philip P. Poirier of the Department of History, The Ohio State University, Dr. Poirier*s invaluable advice, his unfailing patience, and his timely encouragement were of immense assistance to me in the production of this dissertation, I must acknowledge the splendid service of the staff of the British Museum Manuscripts Room, The Librarian and staff of the University of Birmingham Library made the Chamberlain Papers available to me and were most friendly and helpful. His Lordship, Viscount Chilston, and Dr, Felix Hull, Kent County Archivist, very kindly permitted me to see the Chilston Papers, I received permission to see the Asquith Papers from Mr, Mark Bonham Carter, and the Papers were made available to me by the staff of the Bodleian Library, Oxford University, To all of these people I am indebted, I am especially grateful to Mr, Geoffrey D,M, Block and to Miss Anne Allason of the Conservative Research Department Library, Their cooperation made possible my work in the Conservative Party's publications, and their extreme kindness made it most enjoyable.
    [Show full text]
  • Fronts in the World Ocean's Large Marine Ecosystems. ICES CM 2007
    - 1 - This paper can be freely cited without prior reference to the authors International Council ICES CM 2007/D:21 for the Exploration Theme Session D: Comparative Marine Ecosystem of the Sea (ICES) Structure and Function: Descriptors and Characteristics Fronts in the World Ocean’s Large Marine Ecosystems Igor M. Belkin and Peter C. Cornillon Abstract. Oceanic fronts shape marine ecosystems; therefore front mapping and characterization is one of the most important aspects of physical oceanography. Here we report on the first effort to map and describe all major fronts in the World Ocean’s Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs). Apart from a geographical review, these fronts are classified according to their origin and physical mechanisms that maintain them. This first-ever zero-order pattern of the LME fronts is based on a unique global frontal data base assembled at the University of Rhode Island. Thermal fronts were automatically derived from 12 years (1985-1996) of twice-daily satellite 9-km resolution global AVHRR SST fields with the Cayula-Cornillon front detection algorithm. These frontal maps serve as guidance in using hydrographic data to explore subsurface thermohaline fronts, whose surface thermal signatures have been mapped from space. Our most recent study of chlorophyll fronts in the Northwest Atlantic from high-resolution 1-km data (Belkin and O’Reilly, 2007) revealed a close spatial association between chlorophyll fronts and SST fronts, suggesting causative links between these two types of fronts. Keywords: Fronts; Large Marine Ecosystems; World Ocean; sea surface temperature. Igor M. Belkin: Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, 215 South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882, USA [tel.: +1 401 874 6533, fax: +1 874 6728, email: [email protected]].
    [Show full text]
  • 1901 Diary of Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (1854–1932) Transcribed, Annotated and Indexed by Kate Targett
    1901 Diary of Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (1854–1932) Transcribed, annotated and indexed by Kate Targett. December 2012 NOTES ‘There was nothing wrong with my head, but only with my handwriting, which has often caused difficulties.’ Horace Plunkett, Irish Homestead, 30 July 1910 Conventions In order to reflect the manuscript as completely and accurately as possible and to retain its original ‘flavour’, Plunkett’s spelling, punctuation, capitalisation and amendments have been reproduced unless otherwise indicated. The conventions adopted for transcription are outlined below. 1) Common titles (usually with an underscored superscript in the original) have been standardised with full stops: Archbp. (Archbishop), Bp. (Bishop), Capt./Capt’n., Col., Fr. (Father), Gen./Gen’l , Gov./Gov’r (Governor), Hon. (Honourable), Jr., Ld., Mr., Mrs., Mgr. (Monsignor), Dr., Prof./Prof’r., Rev’d. 2) Unclear words for which there is a ‘best guess’ are preceded by a query (e.g. ?battle) in transcription; alternative transcriptions are expressed as ?bond/band. 3) Illegible letters are represented, as nearly as possible, by hyphens (e.g. b----t) 4) Any query (?) that does not immediately precede a word appears in the original manuscript unless otherwise indicated. 5) Punctuation (or lack of) Commas have been inserted only to reduce ambiguity. ‘Best guess’ additions appear as [,]. Apostrophes have been inserted in: – surnames beginning with O (e.g. O’Hara) – negative contractions (e.g. can’t, don’t, won’t, didn’t) – possessives, to clarify context (e.g. Adams’ house; Adam’s house). However, Plunkett commonly indicates the plural of surnames ending in ‘s’ by an apostrophe (e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • Particularly Sensitive Seas Areas (Pssas)
    Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas Recommendation WWF calls on the Environment Ministers of the Baltic Organization (IMO) to the need for action. In addition, and North-East Atlantic to agree to take concerted action the Contracting Parties should work co-operatively within the framework of the International Maritime within the IMO to achieve an appropriate response, Organization (IMO) to promote the Baltic Sea, including action at a regional or local level. In a the Barents Sea and the waters of Western Europe*, comparable but more specific way, Article 8 of the 1992 as Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) Helsinki Convention, in conjunction with its Annex IV, along with appropriate protective measures. provides the basis for Baltic states to work * co-operatively at regional level and within the The waters of Portugal, Spain including the waters to the Straits of IMO to prevent pollution from shipping. Gibraltar, France, and to the west and east of Ireland and the UK, including the Irish Sea and relevant parts of the North Sea. Background Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) are areas of the seas and oceans that need special protection through briefing action by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) because of their ecological, economic, cultural or scientific significance and their vulnerability to harmful Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas impacts from shipping activities. To date 5 PSSAs have PSSAs can benefit valuable ecosystems such as coral been designated globally and the 6th off the coast of reefs, intertidal wetlands and important marine and Peru is in the pipeline. The most recently designated coastal habitats. They are also important for migrating site, the Wadden Sea, is the first PSSA in European seabirds, dolphins, seals or other marine species, as well waters.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern Africa Record
    SOUTHERN AFRICA RECORD contains the original texts of, or extracts from, important statements by political leaders, government representatives and international organisations, concerning international relations in the southern region of Africa. In addition to statements on issues of current concern, some significant statements made in the past are included in the RECORD from time to time. The reproduction of these policy statements of the past and present is intended for information and reference purposes, not only for students, but also for all those who are concerned with the relations between the countries of Southern Africa. Statements are reproduced if and when texts become available (not in chronological order), and it must be emphasised that the selection- of statements included in SOUTHERN AFRICA RECORD should not be regarded in any sense as indicating a viewpoint as to the relative impor- tance of one or other statement over another not reproduced or repro- duced in a later number of the RECORD. In any case, as the Institute itself cannot, in terms of its Constitution, hold a viewpoint on any aspect of international affairs, no views expressed in any statement reproduced in the RECORD should be identified with the Institute. Compiler: Sonja Begg Published by the South African Institute of International Affairs. Four issues per year. Subscription rate R10.00 per annum (surface mail). R14.00 per annum (airmail) Africa and Europe. R15.00 US and elsewhere. Price per copy R2.50 (plus postage for overseas airmail). Uitgegee deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Instituut van Internasionaie Aangeleenthede. Vier uitgawes per iaar. Intekengeld R10.00 per jaar (lanrjpos).
    [Show full text]
  • The Crime of Material Culture, the Condition of the Colonies And
    The Crime of Material Culture, the Condition of the Colonies and Utopian/Dystopian Impulses, 1908-10 Robyn Walton During the years 1908-10 in Britain and Northern Europe, a number of liter- ary authors were producing fictions that both reflected and critiqued what Joseph Conrad later described as “the crudely materialistic atmosphere of the time.”1 In 1908, Conrad and his literary collaborator Ford Madox Ford (Hueffer) were completing The Nature of a Crime , a slight tale of one Lon- don professional’s addiction to embezzlement .2 Taking this Conrad-Ford microcosm of Edwardian materialism as its point of departure, this article first analyses how a range of 1908-10 fictions represent local financial prac- tices and the impacts of Northern money-making and materialistic culture. It notes that the narratives concentrate on upwardly mobile and creative characters of the middle classes, rather than on aristocrats or on the work- ing poor and unemployed who were the subject of contemporaneous social surveys and were the most immediately affected by their social superiors’ financial criminality and mismanagement. The article then asks why – given that Northern incomes, raw materials, and finished goods frequently had their origins in the colonies and developing nations – these fictions rarely examined the impacts of global resource exploitation on regions outside Europe. A number of possible reasons why the 1908-10 authors did not at- tend to the colonies are explored. The fictions’ few allusions to colonies and developing nations are found to further the authors’ collective critique of COLLOQUY text theory critique 21 (2011). © Monash University. www.arts.monash.edu.au/ecps/colloquy/journal/issue021/walton.pdf 116 Robyn Walton ░ Europe’s materialist, capitalist culture rather than to investigate colonial cir- cumstances.
    [Show full text]
  • Orme) Wilberforce (Albert) Raymond Blackburn (Alexander Bell
    Copyrights sought (Albert) Basil (Orme) Wilberforce (Albert) Raymond Blackburn (Alexander Bell) Filson Young (Alexander) Forbes Hendry (Alexander) Frederick Whyte (Alfred Hubert) Roy Fedden (Alfred) Alistair Cooke (Alfred) Guy Garrod (Alfred) James Hawkey (Archibald) Berkeley Milne (Archibald) David Stirling (Archibald) Havergal Downes-Shaw (Arthur) Berriedale Keith (Arthur) Beverley Baxter (Arthur) Cecil Tyrrell Beck (Arthur) Clive Morrison-Bell (Arthur) Hugh (Elsdale) Molson (Arthur) Mervyn Stockwood (Arthur) Paul Boissier, Harrow Heraldry Committee & Harrow School (Arthur) Trevor Dawson (Arwyn) Lynn Ungoed-Thomas (Basil Arthur) John Peto (Basil) Kingsley Martin (Basil) Kingsley Martin (Basil) Kingsley Martin & New Statesman (Borlasse Elward) Wyndham Childs (Cecil Frederick) Nevil Macready (Cecil George) Graham Hayman (Charles Edward) Howard Vincent (Charles Henry) Collins Baker (Charles) Alexander Harris (Charles) Cyril Clarke (Charles) Edgar Wood (Charles) Edward Troup (Charles) Frederick (Howard) Gough (Charles) Michael Duff (Charles) Philip Fothergill (Charles) Philip Fothergill, Liberal National Organisation, N-E Warwickshire Liberal Association & Rt Hon Charles Albert McCurdy (Charles) Vernon (Oldfield) Bartlett (Charles) Vernon (Oldfield) Bartlett & World Review of Reviews (Claude) Nigel (Byam) Davies (Claude) Nigel (Byam) Davies (Colin) Mark Patrick (Crwfurd) Wilfrid Griffin Eady (Cyril) Berkeley Ormerod (Cyril) Desmond Keeling (Cyril) George Toogood (Cyril) Kenneth Bird (David) Euan Wallace (Davies) Evan Bedford (Denis Duncan)
    [Show full text]
  • Major-General Sir Christopher Charles Teesdale VC KCMG CB
    | | HERO OF THE MONTH BY LORD ASHCROFT BY LORD ASHCROFT HERO OF THE MONTH LEFT 'The Defence of Kars', a lithograph showing Fenwick Williams and Lt Christopher Teesdale by William Simpson. (BROWN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY/HISTORIC MILITARY PRESS) BELOW 'Repulse of the Russians', an 1857 British engraving. (TOPFOTO) army, guarding against a Russian invasion Major-General Sir Christopher from Tiflis (now Tbilisi). The Russians had moved 35,000 troops into the area in early 1854, hoping to open up a second Charles Teesdale VC KCMG CB front against a weak and disorganised Turkish Army. On 3 and 6 August, the Russians twice routed the Turks on the battlefield. Smarting from two heavy defeats, the Turks fell back on the town of Kars, southwest of Tiflis. Realising the seriousness of the situation, the British decided in September 1854 to send a British Commissioner, accompanied hristopher Charles Teesdale will Christopher was just two years old when by a small staff, to join the Turkish force. forever be recorded in the history he returned to England with his family. For The man tasked with this key role was C books for two specific reasons: the rest of his childhood, he was raised in Colonel Sir Fenwick Williams of the Royal he received the only VC for the siege of England and Guernsey, where his mother’s Artillery, who was accompanied by an Kars – the last major action of the Crimean family lived. In 1848, Teesdale was accepted aide-de-camp, Lt Christopher Teesdale, War – and was the first South African-born as a gentleman cadet into the Royal Artillery and Dr Humphry Sandwith, who had been recipient of the VC.
    [Show full text]
  • "Weapon of Starvation": the Politics, Propaganda, and Morality of Britain's Hunger Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919
    Wilfrid Laurier University Scholars Commons @ Laurier Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) 2015 A "Weapon of Starvation": The Politics, Propaganda, and Morality of Britain's Hunger Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919 Alyssa Cundy Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd Part of the Diplomatic History Commons, European History Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Cundy, Alyssa, "A "Weapon of Starvation": The Politics, Propaganda, and Morality of Britain's Hunger Blockade of Germany, 1914-1919" (2015). Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive). 1763. https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/1763 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) by an authorized administrator of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A “WEAPON OF STARVATION”: THE POLITICS, PROPAGANDA, AND MORALITY OF BRITAIN’S HUNGER BLOCKADE OF GERMANY, 1914-1919 By Alyssa Nicole Cundy Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Western Ontario, 2007 Master of Arts, University of Western Ontario, 2008 DISSERTATION Submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Doctor of Philosophy in History Wilfrid Laurier University 2015 Alyssa N. Cundy © 2015 Abstract This dissertation examines the British naval blockade imposed on Imperial Germany between the outbreak of war in August 1914 and the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles in July 1919. The blockade has received modest attention in the historiography of the First World War, despite the assertion in the British official history that extreme privation and hunger resulted in more than 750,000 German civilian deaths.
    [Show full text]
  • The New Global Past
    Università di Napoli Federico II A. A. 2020-2021 Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche Scuola delle Scienze Umane e Sociali Master’s degree in International Relations THE NEW GLOBAL PAST An Introduction to the Global History of the Contemporary Age (Prof. Teodoro Tagliaferri) 1 Contents Part One. The New Global Past: A First Attempt at Conceptualization I. Introduction §1. World History, Global History, Contemporary History, and the Beginnings of the Global Age §2. Twentieth-Century Inspirations and False Starts §3. The Post-Cold War Thrust towards Professionalization $4. The Categorical Cluster in Outline: A Preliminary Glossary II. A Synoptic Overview of the Field of Study §1. World History Stoops to Conquer: the Global Point of View §2. The Global Past, (A): The Transregional and Transcultural Scales and Dimensions of Human History §3. The Global Past, (B): The «Human Community» and (or) the Long-Term History of Globalization §4. «Large-Scale Empirical Narratives» §5. «Dynamic Interactions» III. An Introductory Case Study: Contemporary India in the Perspective of the New Global History §1. The Reinterpretation of the Origins of British Colonialism §2. Hindu Civilization in the “Orientalist” Representation of James Mill IV. Dynamic Interactions between Multiple Regional Modernities at the Roots of the Long Imperial Century 2 §1. Christopher Bayly’s General Approach to Global History in The Birth of the Modern World §2. The Interactive Emergence of the British Domination in Afro-Eurasia in Bayly’s Imperial Meridian §3. The World Historical Impact of «British Nationalism» in the Age of Revolutions V. On the Utility of World History for Public Life §1.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter Meusburger Michael Heffernan Editors
    Heike Jöns · Peter Meusburger Michael Heff ernan Editors Klaus Tschira Symposia Knowledge and Space 10 Mobilities of Knowledge Knowledge and Space Volume 10 Series editor Peter Meusburger, Department of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany Knowledge and Space This book series entitled “Knowledge and Space” is dedicated to topics dealing with the production, dissemination, spatial distribution, and application of knowledge. Recent work on the spatial dimension of knowledge, education, and science; learning organizations; and creative milieus has underlined the importance of spatial disparities and local contexts in the creation, legitimation, diffusion, and application of new knowledge. These studies have shown that spatial disparities in knowledge and creativity are not short-term transitional events but rather a fundamental structural element of society and the economy. The volumes in the series on Knowledge and Space cover a broad range of topics relevant to all disciplines in the humanities and social sciences focusing on knowledge, intellectual capital, and human capital: clashes of knowledge; milieus of creativity; geographies of science; cultural memories; knowledge and the economy; learning organizations; knowledge and power; ethnic and cultural dimensions of knowledge; knowledge and action; and mobilities of knowledge. These topics are analyzed and discussed by scholars from a range of disciplines, schools of thought, and academic cultures. Knowledge and Space is the outcome of an agreement concluded by the Klaus
    [Show full text]
  • U DX9 Letters from Edward Augustus Freeman 1868-1892 to Edith Thompson
    Hull History Centre: Letters from Edward Augustus Freeman to Edith Thompson U DX9 Letters from Edward Augustus Freeman 1868-1892 to Edith Thompson Biographical Background: Edward Augustus Freeman was born at Harborne, Staffordshire in 1823, the only son of John Freeman and Mary Anne Carless. His parents died while he was still an infant and he was schooled by the Reverend Browne at Cheam in Surrey and then privately-tutored by the Reverend R Gutch at Segrave in Leicstershire, whose daughter, Eleanor, he ultimately married. His tertiary education was not totally smooth; he was turned down at Balliol College, Oxford, before being accepted at Trinity College, Oxford, where he obtained a second class in the schools in 1845. He married in 1847 and in 1849 published his first book, A history of architecture Architecture was to remain an abiding interest, particularly ecclesiastical architecture. In 1855 he moved to Lanrumney Hall near Cardiff, the year of the foundation of the Saturday Review, a journal to which he contributed for 22 years. In 1856 he went on a continental tour for the first time and from then on he travelled as an extension of his eclectic historical interest, writing articles on places he visited and adding to his knowledge of Greek and Roman political and architectural history (Dictionary of National Biography). In 1860 the Freeman family moved to a house and park called Somerleaze near Wells and most of the letters in the collection were posted from Somerleaze or abroad. During the 1860s Edward Freeman made two unsuccessful bids for chairs at Oxford and published on constitutional history and the history of the Norman Conquest.
    [Show full text]