William Belsham (1752–1827) was an English political writer and historian, noted as a supporter of the Whig Party and its principles. He justified the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

in excusing Americans in their resistance to the demands of England, and he was an advocate of progressive political liberty.

Life

The brother of Thomas Belsham, and brother-in-law of the Unitarian minister

Timothy Kenrick Timothy Kenrick (1759–1804) was a Welsh Unitarian minister, biblical commentator, and dissenting academy tutor. Life The third son of John Kenrick of Wynn Hall in the parish of Ruabon, Denbighshire, by Mary, daughter of Timothy Quarrell of Ll ...

, he was born at

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

, the son of James Belsham (died 1770), a nonconformist minister. He died near

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

17 November 1827.

Works

Belsham wrote history as a radical Whig. He belonged to the anti-war group of historians, with

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled '' The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-ri ...

and Anthony Robinson. He began his career as an author by publishing ''Essays, Philosophical, Historical, and Literary'', two vols. 1789–91. He used the term "

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

" in a discussion of free will and in opposition to " necessitarian" (or determinist) views. In 1792 he published ''Examination of an Appeal from the Old to the New Whigs'', and in 1793 ''Remarks on the Nature and Necessity of Political Reform''. He also wrote on the Test Act, the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

, and the poor laws. In 1793 Belsham published, in two volumes, ''Memoirs of the Kings of Great Britain of the House of Brunswick-Luneburg'', and this was followed in 1795 by ''Memoirs of the Reign of George III to the Session of Parliament 1793'', in four volumes, a fifth and sixth volume appearing in 1801, bringing it down to 1799. In 1798 he published, in two volumes, ''A History of Great Britain from the Revolution to the Accession of the House of Hanover'', and in 1806 all the volumes were reissued, with two additional volumes, the twelve volumes appearing under the title, ''History of Great Britain to the Conclusion of the Peace of Amiens in 1802''. He engaged in controversy with

Herbert Marsh Herbert Marsh (10 December 1757 – 1 May 1839) was a bishop in the Church of England. Life The son of Richard Marsh (1709–1779), Vicar of Faversham in Kent, Marsh was born there and educated at Faversham Grammar School, the King's Schoo ...

on the responsibility for the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

, taking the

Foxite Whig Foxite was a late 18th-century British political label for Whig followers of Charles James Fox. Fox was the generally acknowledged leader of a faction of the Whigs from 1784 to his death in 1806. The group had developed from successive earlier ...

line and supporting German critics of Great Britain. An eight-volume set ''Memoirs of the Reign of George III from his Accession, to the Peace of Amiens'' was published in 1813.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Belsham, William 1752 births 1827 deaths 19th-century English historians English libertarians English political writers 18th-century English historians