Sir James Mackintosh
FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist,
Whig politician and
Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a
doctor
Doctor or The Doctor may refer to:
Personal titles
* Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree
* A medical practitioner, including:
** Physician
** Surgeon
** Dentist
** Veterinary physician
** Optometrist
*Other roles
** ...
and
barrister, and worked also as a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
,
judge, administrator,
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
,
philosopher and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
.
Early life
Mackintosh was born at
Aldourie, 7 miles from
Inverness, the son of Captain John Mackintosh of Kellachie (Kyllachy, near
Tomatin,
Inverness-shire
Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...
). His mother was Marjory MacGillivray, a daughter of Alexander MacGillivray and his wife Anne Fraser, who was a sister to Brigadier-General
Simon Fraser of Balnain. Both his parents were from old Highland families. His mother died while he was a child, and his father was frequently abroad, mainly due to the
Seven Years War – being wounded in 1761 at the
Battle of Villinghausen
The Battle of Villinghausen (or Vellinghausen, also known as the Battle of Kirchdenkern) was a battle in the Seven Years' War fought on the 15th and 16 July 1761 in the western area of present-day Germany, between a large French army and an An ...
.
James was raised by his grandmother, and schooled at Fortrose Seminary academy. At age thirteen he proclaimed himself a Whig, and during playtime he persuaded his friends to join him in debates modelled on those of the House of Commons.
He went in 1780 to
King's College,
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
, where he made a lifelong friend of
Robert Hall, later a famous preacher. In 1784, he began to study
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
at
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
. He participated to the full in the intellectual ferment, became friendly with
Benjamin Constant, but did not quite neglect his medical studies, and took his degree in 1787.
In 1788, Mackintosh moved to London, then agitated by the trial of
Warren Hastings and the first lapse into insanity of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
. He was much more interested in these and other political events than in his professional prospects. He was also a founder member of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (later the
RSPCA
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...
).
French Revolution
Mackintosh was soon absorbed in the question of the time, 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
. In April 1791, after long meditation, he published his ''Vindiciae Gallicae: A Defence of the French Revolution and its English Admirers'', a reply to
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">N ...
's ''
Reflections on the Revolution in France
''Reflections on the Revolution in France'' is a political pamphlet written by the Irish statesman Edmund Burke and published in November 1790. It is fundamentally a contrast of the French Revolution to that time with the unwritten British Const ...
''. It placed the author in the front rank of European publicists, and won him the friendship of some of the most distinguished men of the time. The success of the ''Vindiciae'' finally decided him to give up the medical for the legal profession. He was called to the bar in 1795 and gained a considerable reputation there as well as a tolerable practice.
''Vindiciae Gallicae'' was the verdict of a philosophic
liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
on the development of 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
up to the spring of 1791. The excesses of the revolutionaries compelled him a few years later to oppose them and agree with Burke, but his earlier defence of the
rights of man
''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...
is a valuable statement of the cultured Whig's point of view at the time. Mackintosh was the first to see Burke's ''Reflections'' as "the manifesto of a counter revolution".
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-riv ...
singled out Mackintosh's book as that which did most justice to the French Revolution, and he preferred it over Burke and
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
. After Paine's ''
Rights of Man
''Rights of Man'' (1791), a book by Thomas Paine, including 31 articles, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard the natural rights of its people. Using these points as a base it defends the ...
'', Mackintosh's book was the most successful reply to Burke and Burke's biographer
F. P. Lock considers it "one of the best of the replies to Burke, in some respects superior to ''Rights of Man''".
The poet
Thomas Campbell claimed that had it not been for Mackintosh's book, Burke's anti-revolutionary opinions would have become universal amongst the educated classes and that he ensured that he became "the apostle of liberalism".
Mackintosh wrote to Burke on 22 December 1796, saying that "From the earliest moments of reflexion your writings were my chief study and delight...The enthusiasm with which I then embraced them is now ripened into solid Conviction by the experience and meditation of more mature age. For a time indeed seduced by the love of what I thought liberty I ventured to oppose your Opinions without ever ceasing to venerate your character...I cannot say...that I can even now assent to all your opinions on the present politics of Europe. But I can with truth affirm that I subscribe to your general Principles; that I consider them as the only solid foundation both of political Science and of political prudence". Burke replied that "As it is on all hands allowed that you were the most able advocate for the cause which you supported, your sacrifice to truth and mature reflexion, adds much to your glory". However, in private Burke was sceptical of what he considered Mackintosh's "supposed conversion". Burke invited Mackintosh to spend Christmas with him at his home in Beaconsfield, where he was struck by Burke's "astonishing effusions of his mind in conversation. Perfectly free from all taint of affectation...Minutely and accurately informed, to a wonderful exactness, with respect to every fact relative to the French Revolution".
When Mackintosh visited Paris in 1802 during the
Peace of Amiens, he responded to compliments from French admirers of his defence of their revolution by saying: "Messieurs, vous m’avez si bien refuté".
Lawyer
As a
lawyer his greatest public efforts were his lectures (1799) at
Lincoln's Inn on the law of nature and nations, of which the introductory discourse was published and ran to several editions; the resulting fame helped open doors for him later in life. Mackintosh was also famed for his speech in 1803 defending
Jean Gabriel Peltier, a French refugee, against a
libel suit instigated by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
– then
First Consul (military dictator) of France. Peltier had argued that Napoleon should be killed at a time when Britain and France were at peace. In front of an audience of ambassadors, it took only one minute for the jury to convict Jean-Gabriel, but the sentence was never applied as it was decidedly a political trial. J-G Peltier was no more satisfied with the judgment than Napoleon.
The speech was widely published in English and also across Europe in a French translation by
Madame de Staël, who became a friend of Mackintosh. In 1803, he was knighted.
Judge of Bombay
Upon being knighted, he was appointed Recorder (chief judge) of
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...
, taking up the post in 1804. Within a few months he had established the Bombay Literary Society at his home, where a circle of intellectuals and friends would meet to discuss the history, geography, zoology and botany of the sub-continent as well as its peoples and languages, customs and religions. The group would later evolve into the
Asiatic Society of Mumbai
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai (formerly ''Asiatic Society of Bombay'') is a learned society in the field of Asian studies based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on 26 November 18 ...
.
He was however not at home in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, where he became ill, was disappointed by his literary progress with the mooted ''History of England'', and was glad to leave for England in November 1811.
Member of Parliament
Mackintosh declined the offer of
Spencer Perceval
Spencer Perceval (1 November 1762 – 11 May 1812) was a British statesman and barrister who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1809 until his assassination in May 1812. Perceval is the only British prime minister to ...
to resume political life under the wing of the dominant
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
party, despite prospects of office. He entered
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
in July 1813 as a Whig. He was the member for
Nairn until 1818, and afterwards for
Knaresborough, till his death.
In London society, and in Paris during his occasional visits, he was a recognized favourite. On
Madame de Staël's visit to London he was able to keep up in talk with her. A close friend was
Richard Sharp MP, known as "Conversation Sharp". and both men belonged to the Whig social group, the
King of Clubs
The king of clubs is a playing card in the standard 52-card deck.
King of Clubs may also refer to:
* King of Clubs (Whig club), a Whig conversation club, founded in 1798
* ''King of Clubs'' (album), the debut solo album by Paul Gilbert
* ''Kin ...
.
Mackintosh's parliamentary career was marked by his liberalism: he opposed reactionary measures of the Tory government; he supported and later succeeded
Samuel Romilly in his efforts to reform the criminal code; and took a leading part both in
Catholic emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...
and in the
Reform Bill
In the United Kingdom, Reform Act is most commonly used for legislation passed in the 19th century and early 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...
.
Professor
From 1818-24, he was professor of law and general politics in the
East India Company's College at Haileybury. While there, on 12 August 1823, Mackintosh wrote a two-sheet letter from Cadogan Place, London to
James Savage asking for source material for Savage's edition of ''The History of Taunton'' by
Joshua Toulmin
Joshua Toulmin ( – 23 July 1815) of Taunton, England was a noted theologian and a serial Dissenting minister of Presbyterian (1761–1764), Baptist (1765–1803), and then Unitarian (1804–1815) congregations. Toulmin's sympathy for b ...
.
In the midst of the attractions of London society and of his parliamentary avocations Mackintosh felt that the real work of his life was being neglected. His great ambition was to write a history of England; he also cherished the idea of making some worthy contribution to philosophy. It was not till 1828 that he set about the first task of his literary ambition.
This was his ''Dissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy'', prefixed to the seventh edition of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
''. The dissertation, written mostly in ill-health and in snatches of time taken from his parliamentary engagements, was published in 1831. It was severely attacked in 1835 by
James Mill
James Mill (born James Milne; 6 April 1773 – 23 June 1836) was a Scottish historian, economist, political theorist, and philosopher. He is counted among the founders of the Ricardian school of economics. He also wrote ''The History of Brit ...
in his ''Fragment on Mackintosh''. About the same time he wrote for the ''Cabinet Cyclopaedia'' a ''History of England from the Earliest Times to the Final Establishment of the Reformation''.
A
privy councillor since 1828, Mackintosh was appointed Commissioner for the affairs of India under the Whig administration of 1830.
''History of the Revolution in England in 1688''
His history of the
Glorious Revolution, for which he had done considerable research and collected a large amount of material, was not published till after his death. Mackintosh only completed it to the time of
James II's abdication. However his voluminous notes on the Glorious Revolution came into the possession of
Thomas Babington Macaulay, who used them for his own ''
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
'' of the Revolution. Mackintosh's notes stopped in the year of 1701, where Macaulay's ''History'' also ends.
[Christopher J. Finlay]
Mackintosh, Sir James, of Kyllachy (1765–1832)
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, January 2010; accessed 16 September 2010.
Mackintosh's work was published in 1834 and in his review of it, Macaulay said that he had "no hesitation" in proclaiming the book as "decidedly the best history now extant of the reign of James the Second" but lamented that "there is perhaps too much disquisition and too little narrative". He went on to praise Mackintosh: "We find in it the diligence, the accuracy, and the judgment of
Hallam, united to the vivacity and the colouring of
Southey. A history of England, written throughout in this manner, would be the most fascinating book in the language. It would be more in request at the circulating libraries than the last novel".
Freemasonry
He was Initiated into Scottish Freemasonry in Lodge Holyrood House (St. Luke's), No.44, (
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
) on 28 November 1785.
Death
Sir James Mackintosh died at home, 15
Langham Place, London
Langham Place is a short street in Westminster, central London, England. Just north of Oxford Circus, it connects Portland Place to the north with Regent Street to the south in London's West End. It is, or was, the location of many significant ...
at the age of 66. A chicken bone became stuck in his throat, causing a traumatic choking episode. The bone was removed, but he died a month later on 30 May 1832. He was buried in
Hampstead on 4 June.
Legacy
A ''Life'', by his son R. J. Mackintosh, was published in 1836. An edition of his works, in three volumes, (apart from the ''History of England'') was published in 1846, containing his ethical and historical dissertations, a number of essays on political and literary topics, reviews, and other contributions to periodical publications, and speeches on a variety of subjects delivered at the bar and in parliament.
The
Mackintosh River in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
was named in his honour, by Henry Hellyer in November 1828.
[Peter McGillivray (article) ''Mackintosh in Tasmania'' (Journal o]
the Clan Chattan Association
Vol. VIII – No. 3, 1985), page 162
Works
*''Arguments Concerning the Constitutional right of Parliament to Appoint a Regent'' (1788).
*''Vindiciæ Gallicæ: A Defence of the French Revolution and its English admirers against the accusations of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, including some strictures on the late production of Mons de Calonne'' (1791).
*''A Letter to the Right Honourable William Pitt'' (1792).
*''A Letter from Earl Moira to Colonel McMahon'' (1798).
*
*''The Trial of Jean Peltier for Libel against Napoleon Buonaparte'' (1803).
*''Proceedings at a General Meeting of the Loyal North Britons'' (1803).
*''Plan of a Comparative Vocabulary of Indian Languages'' (1806).
*''Dissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy'' (1830
online(
archive.org
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, ...
))
*''The Life of Sir Thomas More'' (1830).
*''The History of England'' (1830–1832, 3 vols.).
*''History of the Revolution in England in 1688, prefaced by a notice of the Life, Writings and Speeches of Sir James Mackintosh'' (1834).
*''Memoirs'' (edited by Robert James Mackintosh, 1835, 2 vols.
Vol. IVol. II
*''Inaugural Address'' (edited by J. B. Hay, 1839).
*''Speeches'', 1787–1831 (1840).
Family
In 1789 Mackintosh married Catherine Stuart, whose brother Daniel later edited the ''
Morning Post
''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''.
History
The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...
''. His wife's prudence counteracted Mackintosh's own unpractical temperament, and his efforts in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
became fairly profitable. They had a son, who died in infancy, and three daughters:
* Mary Mackintosh (1789–1876) married
Claudius James Rich
* Maitland Mackintosh (1792–1861), married
William Erskine
* Catherine Mackintosh (1795-18??) married Sir William Wiseman, 7th Baronet (1794–1845), and was the mother of
Sir William Wiseman, 8th Baronet.
In 1797 Catherine died, and next year Mackintosh married Catherine Allen (died 6 May 1830), sister-in-law of
Josiah II and
John Wedgwood, through whom he introduced
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...
to the ''Morning Post''. They had two sons, one of whom died in infancy, and two daughters:
* Frances Emma Elizabeth Mackintosh (Fanny) (1800–1889), married
Hensleigh Wedgwood
Hensleigh Wedgwood (21 January 1803 – 2 June 1891) was a British etymologist, philologist and barrister, author of '' A Dictionary of English Etymology''. He was a cousin of Charles Darwin, whom his sister Emma married in 1839.
Early life
We ...
.
* Robert Mackintosh (1803), died in infancy.
* Bessy Mackintosh (1804–1823)
*
Robert James Mackintosh (1806–1864), colonial governor.
Notes
References
*
*
Further reading
*J. G. A. Pocock, 'The Varieties of Whiggism from Exclusion to Reform: A History of Ideology and Discourse', ''Virtue, Commerce and History'' (1985).
*R. B. Sher, ''Church and University in the Scottish Enlightenment: The Moderate Literati of Edinburgh'' (1985).
*Donald Winch, ''Riches and Poverty: An Intellectual History of Political Economy in Britain, 1750–1834'' (1996).
*Tugdual de Langlais, ''L'armateur préféré de Beaumarchais Jean Peltier Dudoyer, de Nantes à l'Isle de France'', Éd. Coiffard, 2015, 340 p. ().
* Hélène Maspéro-Clerc, ''Un journaliste contre-révolutionnairre Jean-Gabriel PELTIER (1760–1825)'', Paris, Sté des Études Robespierriestes, 1973.
External links
*
*
Grand Lodge of Scotland
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