| Year
| Event
| Commentary
|
|---|
| 1721
| William is born 19 September in the parish of Borthwick, south
of Edinburgh; his father, William Sr., is a Church of Scotland
minister for Borthwick, and is a "kindly man, with an interest in
drawing, poetry, and historical research"; William Jr.'s mother is
a capable woman, but "more stern, even severe, than amiable".
| William received a strict, ecclesiastical upringing, including
denial of the theatre and other public places; he was educated
first at Borthwick parish school, and then Dalkeith Grammar
School, which enjoyed the reputation of being the finest school in
Scotland.
|
| 1733
| Father is translated to an Edinburgh church, and soon after
William Jr. enters Edinburgh University; a major influence
during this period is Wiliam's Edinburgh professor, John Stevenson,
who introduces his students to John Locke, values impartial
investigation, and illustrates his lectures with examples from
Greek, Latin, French, and English authors.
| Once again we see the familiar pattern of an important mentor
fostering greatness ... in this case a teacher who had an early
impact on his pupil (see Simonton, 1994, ch. 13).
|
| 1739
| William attends lectures of Charles Mackie, first professor of
civil history at Edinburgh; Mackie teaches general European
History (which would give important perspective to his provincial
Scottish students), and emphasizes the importance of archival
research; finally, William studied theology under John Goldie, and
his father encouraged him to read widely, cutting across divisions
in church doctrine.
| Notice the importance placed by these two teachers on
historiographical methods — lessons that
stands Robertson in good staid during his career as a historian;
further, notice the emphasis on tolerance by his teachers,
including his father.
|
| 1744
| With the patronage of the Earl of Hopetoun (who also support
Robert Adam), William earns his first ministerial appointment, in
Gladsmuir, 12 miles southeast of Edinburgh.
| William appreciates being close to Edinburgh, but shows
little zeal for pastoral ministry — instead, he devotes
considerable time and energy to individual study.
|
| 1745
| Sides with the government against the Jacobites; both parents
die of a fever — this personal crisis forced William to
assume care of his brother and six sisters, forced him to postpone
his marriage to Mary Nisbet until 1751, and probably encouraged
him to move up in the religious and educational establishment of
Scotland — an opportunity presented itself in the form of a
political crisis over patronage.
| In order to understand the crisis over patronage, we need to
do a little background:
- The Church of Scotland in the middle 18th century was (a)
Reformed — meaning that it was Calvinist in its theology, (b)
Presbyterian — meaning that it was democratic in its
organization, (c) Established — meaning that it was the
official, state church of Scotland, and (d) Parochial —
meaning that the country was divided into approximately 970
parishes, or administrative units.
- Patronage was a medieval property right that gave landowners
the right to appoint the ministers in the parishes of their lands;
the Glorious Revolution of 1688–9 eliminated patronage; the
Westminster Parliament of 1712 restored patronage in the Church of
Scotland (as a way to enforce British rule); the patronage laws
were extremely unpopular in Protestant Scotland, with several
disputes arising where a local Presbytery would not accept the
minister appointed by the landowner; by the time William Robertson
became active in the leadership of the Kirk, the patronage issue
had assumed crisis proportions.
|
| 1751
| William Robertson and John Home become spokesmen for the
government side — speaking out in the Church General Assembly
in favor of patronage, and against lenient treatment of the local
presbyteries; although they lose this time, they have assumed the
mantle of leadership for the government position, and attracted
the attention of powerful British leaders, including the Earl of Bute.
|
|
| 1752
| Robertson and his friends publish an influential paper —
the so-called "Moderate Manifesto" — in the
Scots Magazine presenting the case in favor of patronage;
following the moderates' lead, the General Assembly votes to deal
severely with rebellious presbyteries.
| Robertson's argument is based on two principles: (a) in order
for the Church (and State) to govern, they must be able to
establish and maintain civil order and discipline; (b) the
patronage system will yield, on average, a superior quality of
minister, which is necessary for the Church to have a role in the
cultural and religious improvement of the nation.
|
| 1754
| Robertson is a founding member of the Select Society, and with
Adam Smith and Hugh Blair, founds the Edinburgh Review;
also in this year he gives his only published sermon, The
Situation of the World at the Time of Christ's Appearance
— in which he presents his historical vision of (a) the role
of divine providence in the affairs of man, and (b) Christianity
as a progressive force in human history.
| Robertson by this time has gained a reputation for his
enduring (and endearing) traits: sound reasoning, impartiality,
consensus building, and tolerance.
|
| 1755–6
| The anti-patronage faction of the Scottish Church tries to
excommunicate two of Robertson close friends, Lord Kames and David
Hume; the effort was defeated by Robertson and his fellow
moderates, who argued against an inquisitorial role for the
Scottish Church.
|
William Robertson,
by Henry Raeburn
|
| 1757
| Robertson defends his friends, John Home and
Alexander Carlyle, in Church courts over the Douglas
affair; although Robertson is successful, the cost is great, for
Home leaves Scotland for England, and Carlyle's reputation is
damaged.
|
|
| 1759
| Robertson publishes his History of Scotland During the
Reigns of Queen Mary and James VI, which is an immediate
success; the book is well-received by David Hume and Horace
Walpole both.
|
|
| 1760–2
| Robertson is active in the militia movement, and a founding
member of the Poker Club; also about this time, Robertson is
translated to Greyfriar's Kirk, as pastor.
|
|
| 1762
| Robertson is appointed Principal of Edinburgh University, and
Historiographer Royal of Scotland (by virtue of the sponsorship of
the Earl of Bute); these positions also gained him permanent
membership on the Kirk's General Assembly, so he was its de
facto leader.
|
|
| 1762–80
| Britain's central government is distracted by crises in
America, India, and Ireland, so Robertson is left to run
Scotland's religious and educational establishment.
| During this time, the peak of Robertson's career, his
leadership style was in full view — tolerance coupled with a desire
for consensus:
- Robertson revived the University, which had been neglected,
transforming it into a major European center of research and
learning; significantly, part of Robertson's approach with the
University was to revive the faculty senate, which had been dormant.
- Robertson's leadership of the church was marked by continued
controversy over the patronage issue.
|
| 1769
| Robertson publishes his History of the Reign of the Emperor
Charles V, considered by historians to be his best work.
|
|
| 1777
| Robertson publishes his History of America.
|
Greyfriars Church, Edinburgh
|
| 1778
| Parliament passes the Catholic Relief Act, meant to give
Catholics living in the United Kingdom some relief from the
onerous laws currently on the books; Robertson speaks out in favor
of the Act.
|
|
| 1779
| The Catholic Relief Act, and Robertson support of it, provokes
a violent reaction in Scotland, and the infamous Edinburgh mob
takes to the streets; Robertson speaks out for tolerance, but the
government decides not to extend the Act to Scotland.
|
|
| 1780
| Robertson retires from ecclesiastical politics, which has
become too violent and too personal; he continues at the
University and at Greyfriars, and in the literary societies.
|
|
| 1782
| Robertson is a founding member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
|
|
| 1788
| Robertson assists William Wilberforce in his campaign against
the slave trade; Robertson begins what is to be his last work,
An Historical Disquisition Concerning Knowledge Which the
Ancients Had of India.
|
|
| 1793
| Robertson dies on June 4th, and is buried at Greyfriars.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Constant
| Analysis
|
|---|
| Story
| William Robertson's story is an outstanding example of what
Howard Gardner refers to as "inclusionary". Robertson
consistently preached an inclusionary vision, based on tolerance
and the impartial application of reason. Robertson's story was in
certain ways reflective of the enlightenment themes of his era,
including a faith in reason and social progress. However, there
were certain ways in which the literati of the
enlightenment went separate ways. One way was their stance on
religion, where some, such as David Hume and Voltaire, were avowed
atheists, and others, such as Adam Smith and William Robertson,
sought to bring reason to their faith. Another parting of the
ways had to do with civil action, where Voltaire, for example,
advocated a radical stance, and William Robertson, for example,
advocated a conservative stance.
|
| Audience
| Robertson's audience as a direct leader would have been the
educated leadership of the Church
of Scotland, whereas his audience as an indirect leader would have
been the intelligentsia of Europe and North America. His story
would have been well received by the literati of his day,
but it was not well received by his opponents — the
"Evangelicals"— in the Church of Scotland. His story would
not have even been heard by the uneducated mass of people who
worked the mines,
factories, or small of plots of land in eighteenth century
Europe.
|
| Organization
| For about twenty years Robertson was the indisputable leader
of the educational-religious establishment of Scotland. He
achieved this position in part through his abilities as a thinker
and a communicator, but also by creating a "party" — the
moderates — of like-minded and influential persons who
supported him in his agenda. One of the things that is striking
about William Robertson is how he exerted leadership in so many
different contexts, including the national church, his local
church, the university, and the various debating societies which
he helped start. Of course there were existing linkages between all of
these domains, but Robertson stands out for the way he took a
leading role in so many of them.
|
| Emodiment
| Robertson embodied his story in both his personal life and in
his professional life. His story, an inclusionary one of
tolerance and reason, is reflected in personal life because he
(a) was a responsible family man (recall his decision to forstall his
marriage when his parents died), (b) lived by the tenets of his
faith (e.g., he lived up to the promise he made his father not to
attend the theatre), and (c) he was a staunch supporter of his
friends, whether they were on his side of the issues or
not. Robertson's professional life reflected his story because he
consistently
|
| Direct or Indirect?
| Robertson was both a direct and an indirect leader. He
exerted his leadership directly, and effectively, through his
positions in the church and university. He exerted his leaderhip
indiretly through his historical writings, which were widely read,
and which reflected his vision of faith, reason, and social progress.
|
| Expertise
| Robertson's expertise was that of a skilled orator and
academic. Although not a warrior in the same sense as Robert the
Bruce, Robertson nevertheless was a man of character:
strong-willed, compassionate, and courageous. His expertise as an
academic was both a strength and a weakness: On the one hand, his
highly regarded
historiography gave substance and credence to his vision (or
story), but on the other, this work only reached an audience of
like-minded individuals. So Robertson was effective as a leader
only as long as his receptive audience, who would be sympathetic
to his story expressed both directly and indirectly, could
maintain control of the Scottish Church. As Robertson's stance on
the patronage issue became less and less popular, coupled with the
attraction of the
evangelical vision, Robertson's leadership faded, and his
expertise became less and less relevant.
|
The following texts are excellent introductions to Robertson's life
and work, as well as the broader historical context:
You may also find the following web sites useful resources about
William Robertson:
