Catherine Macaulay
Encyclopedia
Catharine Macaulay (2 April 1731 – 22 June 1791) was an English
historian.
. John was a landed proprietor from Wye, Kent
, whose ancestors were Warwickshire
yeomanry.
Her education was entrusted to a governess. Catharine Macaulay later said to her friend Benjamin Rush
that "she was a thoughtless girl till she was twenty, at which time she contracted a taste for books and knowledge by reading an odd volume of some history, which she picked up in a window of her father's house".
On 18 June 1760 she married a Scottish physician, Dr. George Macaulay (1716–1766), and they lived at St James's Place, London. They were married for six years until his death in 1766. They had one child together, Catheraine Sophia
possessed freedom and equality with representative institutions, lost at the Norman Conquest
. The history of England, in Macaulay's view, was the story of the struggle of the English to win back their rights that were crushed by the "Norman yoke
". Whigs welcomed the first volumes of the History as a Whig answer to David Hume
's "Tory" History of England.
during the Wilkesite controversy of the 1760s and closely associated with the radical Society for the Supporters of the Bill of Rights. Her works were critically acclaimed, financially successful and politically influential in her own period.
The Tory Samuel Johnson
was a critic of her politics:
did in 1792, that the apparent weakness of women was due to their mis-education.
and then Binfield
in Berkshire
. Her histories continued to be popular in America. They provided an interpretation of British history as a constant struggle for virtue and liberty not yet achieved, and played a significant role in the formation of revolutionary ideology.
with George Washington
and his family in 1785; the two continued to correspond about the organisation of the ideal government for the remainder of her life.
She died in Binfield on 22 June 1791 and was buried in All Saints' parish church
there.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
historian.
Early life: 1731 – 1763
Catharine Macaulay was a daughter of John Sawbridge (1699 – 1762) and his wife Elizabeth Wanley (died 1733) of OlantighOlantigh
Olantigh is a property one mile north of Wye in Kent, southeast England. It includes a garden of 20 acres . The hamlet in which the property stands is Little Olantigh....
. John was a landed proprietor from Wye, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, whose ancestors were Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
yeomanry.
Her education was entrusted to a governess. Catharine Macaulay later said to her friend Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a Founding Father of the United States. Rush lived in the state of Pennsylvania and was a physician, writer, educator, humanitarian and a Christian Universalist, as well as the founder of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania....
that "she was a thoughtless girl till she was twenty, at which time she contracted a taste for books and knowledge by reading an odd volume of some history, which she picked up in a window of her father's house".
On 18 June 1760 she married a Scottish physician, Dr. George Macaulay (1716–1766), and they lived at St James's Place, London. They were married for six years until his death in 1766. They had one child together, Catheraine Sophia
The History of England: 1763 – 1783
Between 1763 and 1783 Macaulay wrote, in eight volumes,The History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line. She believed that the Anglo-SaxonsAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
possessed freedom and equality with representative institutions, lost at the Norman Conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
. The history of England, in Macaulay's view, was the story of the struggle of the English to win back their rights that were crushed by the "Norman yoke
Norman yoke
The Norman yoke is a term that emerged in English nationalist discourse in the mid-17th century. It was a shorthand phrase, useful for attributing the oppressive aspects of feudalism in England to the impositions of William I of England, his retainers and their descendants.- History :The medieval...
". Whigs welcomed the first volumes of the History as a Whig answer to David Hume
David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
's "Tory" History of England.
Politics
Macaulay was one of the leading political activists of her day, and was involved in various reforming groups. She was an active supporter of John WilkesJohn Wilkes
John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives...
during the Wilkesite controversy of the 1760s and closely associated with the radical Society for the Supporters of the Bill of Rights. Her works were critically acclaimed, financially successful and politically influential in her own period.
The Tory Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
was a critic of her politics:
Sir, there is one Mrs. Macaulay in this town, a great republican. One day when I was at her house, I put on a very grave countenance, and said to her, “Madam, I am now become a convert to your way of thinking. I am convinced that all mankind are upon an equal footing; and to give you an unquestionable proof, Madam, that I am in earnest, here is a very sensible, civil, well-behaved fellow-citizen, your footman; I desire that he may be allowed to sit down and dine with us.” I thus, Sir, shewed her the absurdity of the levelling doctrine. She has never liked me since. Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves. They would all have some people under them; why not then have some people above them?
Letters on Education
She wrote in 1790 in her Letters on Education, as Mary WollstonecraftMary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft was an eighteenth-century British writer, philosopher, and advocate of women's rights. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book...
did in 1792, that the apparent weakness of women was due to their mis-education.
Marriage to William Graham
The increasingly radical nature of her work and her scandalous marriage to William Graham in 1778 (she was 47, he was 21) damaged her reputation in Britain, where she lived in Bath, LeicestershireLeicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and then Binfield
Binfield
Binfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest borough of Berkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 7,475...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. Her histories continued to be popular in America. They provided an interpretation of British history as a constant struggle for virtue and liberty not yet achieved, and played a significant role in the formation of revolutionary ideology.
Later life
She was personally associated with many leading figures among the American Revolutionaries. She stayed at Mount VernonMount Vernon (plantation)
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...
with George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and his family in 1785; the two continued to correspond about the organisation of the ideal government for the remainder of her life.
She died in Binfield on 22 June 1791 and was buried in All Saints' parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
there.
Legacy
Her status as a somewhat scandalous woman writer with a damaged reputation has allowed her to be forgotten or disregarded by later historians of eighteenth-century literature and politics. However, her significance as a writer and political thinker is increasingly recognised. Her work has been the focus of a growing number of recent studies, a trend which seems set to continue.Works
- The History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line:
- Volume I (1763).
- Volume II (1765).
- Volume III (1767).
- Volume IV (1768).
- Volume V (1771).
- Volume VI (1781).
- Volume VII (1781).
- Volume VIII (1783).
- Lose Remarks on Certain Positions to be found in Mr. Hobbes's ‘Philosophical Rudiments of Government and Society’, with a Short Sketch of a Democratical Form of Government, In a Letter to Signor Paoli (1767).
- Observations on a Pamphlet entitled ‘Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents’ (1770).
- A Modest Plea for the Property of Copyright (1774).
- An Address to the People of England, Scotland and Ireland on the Present Important Crisis of Affairs (1775).
- The History of England from the Revolution to the Present Time in a Series of Letters to a Friend. Volume I (1778).
- Treatise on the Immutability of Moral Truth (1783).
- Letters on Education with Observations on Religions and Metaphysical Subjects (1790).
- Observations on the Reflections of the Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke, on the Revolution in France (1790).
Further reading
- L. M. Donnelly, ‘The celebrated Mrs Macaulay’, William and Mary Quarterly, 6 (1949), pp. 173–207.
- Bridget Hill and Christopher Hill, ‘Catharine Macaulay's History and her “Catalogue of tracts”’, Seventeenth Century, 8 (1993), pp. 269–85.
- T. P. Peardon, The Transition in Historical Writing (1933).