![Martin AS Hume - Bassano](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Martin_AS_Hume_-_Bassano.jpg)
Martin Andrew Sharp Hume (8 December 1843 – 1 July 1910), born Martin Andrew Sharp, was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
historian, long a resident in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
.
Background and early life
Martin Andrew Sharp was born in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
on 8 December 1843. He was second son of William Lacy Sharp, of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's service, who married Louisa Charlotte Hume in 1840. He was educated at a private school at
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross.
The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...
, he had some practical training in business, and began early to learn Spanish. A branch of his mother's family had settled at Madrid towards the end of the eighteenth century.
Career
In 1860, Sharp paid his Spanish kinsfolk a first visit, which had a decisive influence on his career. His relatives received him with affectionate cordiality. Though he declined their invitation to make his home with them, he visited them annually for long periods, perfected his knowledge of Spanish, witnessed the
revolution of 1868
The Glorious Revolution ( es, la Gloriosa or ) took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II. The success of the revolution marked the beginning of the with the installment of a provisional government.
Backgrou ...
, and became acquainted with the chief organisers of the movement. The last of the Spanish Humes, a lady advanced in years, died in 1876, bequeathing her property to Martin Sharp, and in August 1877, in compliance with her wish, he assumed the name of Hume. He was now independent. A keen volunteer officer, he was attached to the Turkish forces during the
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...
of 1877–78; he then spent some time in exploration on the west coast of Africa, and travelled extensively in Central and South America.
Until 1882 Hume's sympathies had been vaguely conservative. His views then changed, and during the next eleven years he actively engaged in English political conflict. He stood unsuccessfully as a liberal candidate at
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...
in 1885, at
Central Hackney in 1886, and at
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is within ...
in 1892 and 1893.
After some practice in journalism, he meanwhile produced his first book, a ''Chronicle of King Henry VIII of England'' (1889), a translation from the Spanish. Though this attracted little attention, Hume persevered, and ''The Courtships of Queen Elizabeth; a History of the Various Negotiations for her Marriage,'' and ''The Year after the Armada, and other Historical Studies,'' both issued in 1896, were received with a degree of popular favour which led him to adopt authorship as a profession. In 1897, he published ''Sir Walter Ralegh'' and ''Philip II of Spain,'' the latter monograph showing insight and independence of view.
Next year Hume succeeded
Pascual de Gayangos
Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (June 21, 1809 – October 4, 1897) was a Spanish scholar and orientalist.
Life
Born in Seville, he was the son of Brigadier José de Gayangos, intendente of Zacatecas, in New Spain (Mexico). After completing his p ...
at the
Public Record Office
The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...
as editor of the ''Spanish State Papers,'' and did sound work in this capacity. However, his official duties did not absorb all his energies. In 1898, he published ''The Great Lord Burghley,'' a readable study, and ''Spain, its Greatness and Decay, 1479–1789,'' a useful historical outline, which he completed in the following year by the publication of ''Modern Spain, 1788-1898'' (1899 ; new edit. 1906).
He was appointed Commander of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic
The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
by King
Alfonso XIII
Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alfo ...
in 1902.
Hume never married. He died on 1 July 1910, at his sister's house at
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross.
The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...
.
Works
His principal works were:
*
The Year After the Armada: And Other Historical Studies' (1896)
* ''The Courtships of Queen Elizabeth'' (1896; revised edition, 1904)
*
Philip II of Spain' (1897)
*
Sir Walter Ralegh: the British dominion of the West' (1897)
*
The Great Lord Burghley' (1898)
*
Spain: Its Greatness and Decay, 1479–1789' (1898; revised by Armstrong, 1913)
*
Modern Spain, 1788-1898' (1899; new edition, 1906)
*
The Spanish People' (1901)
*
The Love Affairs of Mary Queen of Scots' (1903)
*
Spanish Influence on English Literature' (1905)
*
Queens of Old Spain' (1907)
*
The Court of Philip IV: Spain in Decadence' (1907)
* ''Through Portugal'' (1907)
*
Two English Queens and Philip' (1908)
* ''Queen Elizabeth and her England'' (1910)
*
True Stories of the Past' (1910, published
posthumous
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ...
ly)
Notes
References
*
* at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharp, Martin
19th-century English historians
1847 births
1910 deaths
20th-century English historians