Vol. 2: Ward, Robert E.

Type: Notes

Ward, Robert E. ‘A Letter from Ireland: A Little-Known Attack on David Hume’s History of England’, Eighteenth-century Ireland/Iris an dá chultúr, Vol. 2 (1987), pp 196-197.

This article discusses a letter written in 1762 by Charles O’Conor of Belanagare, historian and catholic activist, complaining about David Hume’s History of England. The letter, which was published in The Gentleman’s Museum, objects to and refutes Hume’s view in his History that the Irish were ‘savage’ people, and that English culture was inherently superior to Irish culture.