John Campbell (8 March 1708 – 28 December 1775) was a Scottish author. He contributed to
George Sale's ''
Universal History
A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...
'', and wrote a ''Political Survey of Britain'' (1774). He was both prolific and well paid: according to
James Boswell
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...
,
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
spoke of Campbell to
Joseph Warton
Joseph Warton (April 1722 – 23 February 1800) was an English academic and literary critic.
He was born in Dunsfold, Surrey, England, but his family soon moved to Hampshire, where his father, the Reverend Thomas Warton, became vicar of B ...
as 'the richest author that ever grazed the common of literature.'
Life
He was the son of a Campbell of
Glenlyon, captain in a regiment of horse, and was born at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
on 8 March 1708. At the age of five he was taken to Windsor by his mother, originally of that town, and educated under the direction of an uncle, who placed him as a clerk in an attorney's office. He left the law for literature, in the 1730s.
[
In 1754 the ]University of Glasgow
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, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
conferred on him the degree of LL.D. In March 1765 he was appointed his majesty's agent for the Province of Georgia
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outs ...
, and held the office until his death. He died on 28 December 1775, having received in the preceding year from the Empress Catherine of Russia a present of her portrait.[
]
Early works
Campbell produced at the age of 28 a ''Military History of the late Prince Eugene of Savoy and the late John, Duke of Marlborough … illustrated with variety of copper-plates of battles, sieges, plans, &c., carefully engraved by Claude Du Bosc
Claude Du Bosc (also spelled Dubosc and DuBosc; –c. or after 1746) was a French engraver, publisher, and printseller who spent much of his career in London. Associated with French contemporaries such as the painter Antoine Watteau and the draft ...
'', issued without the compiler's name in 1736. In compiling it Campbell used the Marquis de Quincy's ''Histoire Militaire du règne de Louis Quatorze'', and the works of Jean Dumont and Jean Rousset de Missy
Jean Rousset de Missy (Laon, 26 August 1686– Uithoorn?, 13 August, 1762) was a French Huguenot writer, from early in life in the Netherlands. He was a renowned historian and author on international law and a prolific journalist. Born in Laon fro ...
on Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy–Carignano, (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736) better known as Prince Eugene, was a Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th a ...
. In 1734 appeared, under Campbell's name, ''A View of the Changes to which the Trade of Great Britain to Turkey and Italy will be exposed if Naples and Sicily fall into the hands of the Spaniards''. Campbell suggested that the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and a ...
should be handed over to the Elector of Bavaria
The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic state in the Federal Republic of Germ ...
.[
His first major original work was ''The Travels and Adventures of Edward Bevan, Esq., formerly a merchant in London'' (1739), fictitious autobiography in the style of ]Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...
. The description given in it by three Arab brothers (pp. 327–8) of a strayed camel, which they had never seen, may have suggested to Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
the description of the dog and horse of the queen and king of Babylon in ''Zadig
''Zadig; or, The Book of Fate'' (french: Zadig ou la Destinée; 1747) is a novella and work of philosophical fiction by the Enlightenment writer Voltaire. It tells the story of Zadig, a Zoroastrian philosopher in ancient Babylonia. The story ...
'' (1746). In 1739, too, appeared Campbell's ''Memoirs of the Bashaw Duke de Ripperda'' (second edition 1750).[
]
The "Universal History"
Campbell began to contribute to the (Ancient) ''Universal History'' (1740–1744). Only the ''Cosmogony'' section is assigned to him by the ''Biographia Britannica
''Biographia Britannica'' was a multi-volume biographical compendium, "the most ambitious attempt in the latter half of the eighteenth century to document the lives of notable British men and women". The first edition, edited by William Oldys (16 ...
'', but in the list of the writers communicated by John Swinton to Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...
the ''Cosmogony'' is attributed to George Sale, and the ''History of the Persians and the Constantinopolitan Empire'' to Campbell. To the ''Modern Universal History'' he contributed the histories of the Portuguese, Dutch, French, Swedish, Danish, and Ostend settlements in the East Indies; and histories of Spain, Portugal, Algarves, Navarre; and that of France from Clovis I
Clovis ( la, Chlodovechus; reconstructed Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a single kin ...
to the year 1656.[
]
Further works
In 1741 Campbell's ''Concise History of Spanish America'' (second edition 1755) appeared, and in 1742 ''A Letter to a Friend in the Country on the Publication of Thurloe's State Papers'', in which John Thurloe
John Thurloe (June 1616 – 21 February 1668) was an English politician who served as secretary to the council of state in Protectorate England and spymaster for Oliver Cromwell and held the position of Postmaster General between 1655 and 1660. ...
's then newly issued folios were reviewed. Also in 1742 volumes I. and II. of ''Lives of the Admirals, and other Eminent British Seamen'' were published; the remaining two volumes appearing in 1744.[ Archived full text, vol]
I
II
III
IV
The work was translated into German, and three other editions of it were published in Campbell's lifetime. After his death there were several more, with continuations, an abridgement appearing in 1870.[
In 1743 appeared anonymously Campbell's English version, with copious annotations, of the Latin work of ]Johann Heinrich Cohausen
Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...
, ''Hermippus Redivivus; or, the Sage's Triumph over Old Age and the Grave''. It reached a third edition in 1771. In 1743 also appeared his translation from the Dutch, ''The True Interest and Political Maxims of the Republic of Holland.'' The original was ascribed wrongly to John de Witt; Campbell added memoirs of Cornelius and John de Witt.[
In 1744 was published Campbell's enlarged edition of John Harris's ''Collection of Voyages and Travels'' (1702–05), ''Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca''. In the ''Account of the European Settlements in America'', attributed to William Burke and ]Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
, the author expresses his obligations to this colossal work. A new edition in numbers was completed in 1749.[
To Campbell has been generally ascribed the recast (1744) of ''The Shepherd of Banbury's Rules to judge of the Changes of the Weather'', by "John Claridge, shepherd", first issued in 1670, and popular in rural districts. Little more than a few words of the original title remained in the recast, which was frequently reprinted into the nineteenth century. It attempted to base on principles the weather forecasts of the alleged Banbury shepherd.][
In 1747 Campbell's ''The Spanish Empire in America'' was published.]
Periodicals
To the first ''Biographia Britannica
''Biographia Britannica'' was a multi-volume biographical compendium, "the most ambitious attempt in the latter half of the eighteenth century to document the lives of notable British men and women". The first edition, edited by William Oldys (16 ...
'', the issue of which in weekly numbers began in 1745, Campbell's contributions, signed E. and X., were copious; but they ceased with the publication of vol. iv. Among them were biographies of members of noble British families. In 1750 there appeared, mainly reprinted from a periodical, 'The Museum,' his work ''The Political State of Europe'', which went through six editions in his lifetime, and gave him a wide reputation. It consisted of summaries of the history of the most prominent European states, with remarks on their international relations, and on the policy of their rulers and governments.[
]
Later works
''A Full and Particular Description of the Highlands of Scotland, its Situation and Produce, the Manners and Customs of the Natives'' (1752) contained a highly coloured account of the highlanders and of the resources of the Scottish Highlands. After the Peace of Paris, 1763, he wrote, at Lord Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, (; 25 May 1713 – 10 March 1792), styled Lord Mount Stuart between 1713 and 1723, was a British nobleman who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 to 1763 under George III. He was arguabl ...
's request, a ''Description and History of the new Sugar Islands in the West Indies'', to show the value of those which had been ceded by the French at the close of the Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
.[
In 1774 appeared his last work, ''A Political Survey of Great Britain, being a series of reflections on the situation, lands, inhabitants, revenues, colonies, and commerce of the island'' (2 vols. London, 1774). It mentions projects for the construction of harbours, the opening up of new communications by road and canal, and the introduction of new industries. Campbell proposed that the state should buy up all the waste lands of the country and develop their latent resources, arable and pastoral. Many years had been spent in its preparation, and some of the original subscribers were dead before it appeared.][
The memoir of Campbell in ]Andrew Kippis
Andrew Kippis (28 March 17258 October 1795) was an English nonconformist clergyman and biographer.
Life
The son of Robert Kippis, a silk-hosier, he was born at Nottingham. Having gone to Carre's Grammar School in Sleaford, Lincolnshire he pass ...
's ''Biographia Britannica'' gives a list including further writings.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John
1708 births
1775 deaths
Writers from Edinburgh
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
18th-century Scottish historians
Scottish male writers
18th-century British male writers