History and the culture wars

Sir, – Prof William Reville “Western civilisation is not the root of all evil” (Science, July 20th) and Prof Brian McGing (Letters, July 24) ably reveal a tension that not only divides academia but is fuelling a dangerous culture war in North America. It has also plagued Irish history. Zero-sum historical analysis can lead a modern reader to cheer the murder of a British soldier as revenge for Cromwell’s cruelty or of a Catholic as payback for the Portadown pogrom of 1641. If a moral question exists for historians, it must be how good people can live in a time of evil.

I have been considering the life of William King, born in Limavady in 1812. As a Presbyterian minister in the United States, he bought and owned slaves. His first teacher was an Irish-speaking hedge school master, who used brute force to teach the classics. This foundation, with help from James Bryce of Coleraine, allowed King to excel at the University of Glasgow. He was greatly influenced by the abolitionist MP Fowell Buxton. Eventually King became a headmaster in Louisiana. He inherited slaves upon the deaths of his father-in-law and wife. Appalled, he discovered that he could not simply emancipate his inheritance. He tried to convert the plantation into a cooperative but could not maintain its security. As part of an agreed plan to escape the slavery state, King purchased siblings and children to complete the enslaved families. Then they made the secret trip to Ohio, where they were now free but still threatened by pro-slavery legal acts. Finally, King arranged for the group to cross the border into the safety of British North America. King financed a settlement in Buxton, Canada, where the freed families thrived as a community and were able to offer a refuge to over a thousand more fugitives from slavery. King’s school at Buxton offered classical, as opposed to applied, education of such a standard that the white community also attended, making it one of the first “mixed” schools. King asked “no favour” for Buxton settlers, only “a level field”. Success of the Buxton community was cited by the US Congress during discussions for the 14th amendment of the US constitution (1868), providing formerly enslaved people with full citizenship and protection under law. King died in 1887.

Ireland has a rich history. As Prof Reville said, we need to consider all contributions. As Prof McGing implies, we should ask if we could contribute as Rev King did when he faced evil. – Yours, etc,

VIVIAN McALISTER,