Christopher Hill (historian)
Encyclopedia
John Edward Christopher Hill (6 February 1912 – 23 February 2003), usually known simply as Christopher Hill, was an English
Marxist historian
and author of textbooks.
Hill was born into a prosperous middle class
family — his father was a solicitor
— of Methodists in York
. He attended St Peter's School, York
. When he sat his entrance examination at Balliol College, Oxford, the two history tutors from Balliol College, Oxford University recognised Hill's ability and offered him a place to forestall any chance he might go to Cambridge.
Before he went up to Oxford in 1931, Hill had a prolonged holiday in Freiburg
, Germany
, where he witnessed the rise of the Nazi Party; he later said it contributed significantly to the radicalisation
of his politics. In 1932, Hill won a first-class honours degree and won an All Souls Fellowship
two years later. Whilst at Balliol, Hill became a committed Marxist and joined the Communist Party of Great Britain
. In 1935, he undertook a prolonged trip to the Soviet Union
, where he learnt Russian
and studied Soviet historical scholarship, particularly that relating to Britain. After returning, he accepted a teaching position at Cardiff University
.
Hill attempted to join the International Brigade and fight in the Spanish Civil War
, but was rejected. Following the outbreak of the Second World War
, he joined the British Army
, initially as a Private
in the Field Security Police
. He was soon afterwards commissioned as an officer in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
, in 1940. That same year, he took part in a debate among many Marxist historians. At around this time, Hill started to publish his articles and reviews about 17th century English history. Later in the war he transferred to the Intelligence Corps.
In 1946, Hill and many other Marxist historians formed the Communist Party Historians Group
. However, Hill soon became discontented with the lack of democracy in the Communist Party. He left the party in 1956, with many other intellectuals, after the Soviet invasion of Hungary when one of his reports was rejected.
After 1956, Hill's career ascended to new heights. His studies on 17th century English history were widely acknowledged and recognised. These were based on the study of printed sources accessible in the Bodleian Library
and on the secondary works produced by other academic historians rather than on research in the surviving archives. In 1965, Hill was elected the master of Balliol. He held the post from 1965 to 1978, when he retired (he was replaced by Anthony Kenny
). Among those of his students at Balliol who went on to develop our understanding of the English Revolution was Brian Manning
.
Many of Hill's most notable studies focused on 17th century English history. His books include Economic Problems of the Church (1955), Puritanism And Revolution (1958), Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution
(1965 and revised in 1996), The Century of Revolution (1961), AntiChrist In 17th-century England (1971), The World Turned Upside Down (1972) and many others.
However, the intellectual tide later turned in favour of the so-called revisionism
, which rejected the analyses of Marxist and socialist historians of Hill's generation and advocated, as an alternative to them, more detailed study of the constitutional and political, cultural and intellectual history of the early to mid-17th centuries. Hill's later works showed that he continued to work within the parameters of his earlier preoccupations and consequently lost influence upon younger historians. Even so, he was prolific in his publications until the mid-1990s even if he no longer occupied the intellectual centre-stage.
Hill died in 2003, 17 days after his 91st birthday. He was married and had three children.
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...
Marxist historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and author of textbooks.
Hill was born into a prosperous middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
family — his father was a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
— of Methodists in York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. He attended St Peter's School, York
St Peter's School, York
St Peter's School is a co-educational independent boarding and day school located in the English City of York, with extensive grounds on the banks of the River Ouse...
. When he sat his entrance examination at Balliol College, Oxford, the two history tutors from Balliol College, Oxford University recognised Hill's ability and offered him a place to forestall any chance he might go to Cambridge.
Before he went up to Oxford in 1931, Hill had a prolonged holiday in Freiburg
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where he witnessed the rise of the Nazi Party; he later said it contributed significantly to the radicalisation
Political radicalism
The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...
of his politics. In 1932, Hill won a first-class honours degree and won an All Souls Fellowship
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
two years later. Whilst at Balliol, Hill became a committed Marxist and joined the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. In 1935, he undertook a prolonged trip to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where he learnt Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and studied Soviet historical scholarship, particularly that relating to Britain. After returning, he accepted a teaching position at Cardiff University
Cardiff University
Cardiff University is a leading research university located in the Cathays Park area of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It received its Royal charter in 1883 and is a member of the Russell Group of Universities. The university is consistently recognised as providing high quality research-based...
.
Hill attempted to join the International Brigade and fight in the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, but was rejected. Following the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, initially as a Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the Field Security Police
Royal Military Police
The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
. He was soon afterwards commissioned as an officer in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The regiment was formed as a consequence of Childers reforms, a continuation of the Cardwell reforms, by the amalgamation of the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 52nd Regiment of Foot , forming the 1st...
, in 1940. That same year, he took part in a debate among many Marxist historians. At around this time, Hill started to publish his articles and reviews about 17th century English history. Later in the war he transferred to the Intelligence Corps.
In 1946, Hill and many other Marxist historians formed the Communist Party Historians Group
Communist Party Historians Group
A subdivision of the Communist Party of Great Britain , from 1946-1956 the Communist Party Historians Group formed a highly influential cluster of British Marxist historians, who contributed to "history from below." Famous members included such leading lights of 20th-century British history as...
. However, Hill soon became discontented with the lack of democracy in the Communist Party. He left the party in 1956, with many other intellectuals, after the Soviet invasion of Hungary when one of his reports was rejected.
After 1956, Hill's career ascended to new heights. His studies on 17th century English history were widely acknowledged and recognised. These were based on the study of printed sources accessible in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
and on the secondary works produced by other academic historians rather than on research in the surviving archives. In 1965, Hill was elected the master of Balliol. He held the post from 1965 to 1978, when he retired (he was replaced by Anthony Kenny
Anthony Kenny
Sir Anthony John Patrick Kenny FBA is an English philosopher whose interests lie in the philosophy of mind, ancient and scholastic philosophy, the philosophy of Wittgenstein and the philosophy of religion...
). Among those of his students at Balliol who went on to develop our understanding of the English Revolution was Brian Manning
Brian Manning
Brian Manning was a leading British Marxist historian, particularly of the English Civil War of the 17th century. A student of Christopher Hill, his best known work was The English People and the English Revolution....
.
Many of Hill's most notable studies focused on 17th century English history. His books include Economic Problems of the Church (1955), Puritanism And Revolution (1958), Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution
Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution
Intellectual Origins of the English Revolution is a book by John Edward Christopher Hill. It is an influential Marxist text with chapters on the following:* London Science and Medicine* Francis Bacon and the Parliamentarians* Raleigh* Sir Edward Coke...
(1965 and revised in 1996), The Century of Revolution (1961), AntiChrist In 17th-century England (1971), The World Turned Upside Down (1972) and many others.
However, the intellectual tide later turned in favour of the so-called revisionism
Historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of orthodox views on evidence, motivations, and decision-making processes surrounding a historical event...
, which rejected the analyses of Marxist and socialist historians of Hill's generation and advocated, as an alternative to them, more detailed study of the constitutional and political, cultural and intellectual history of the early to mid-17th centuries. Hill's later works showed that he continued to work within the parameters of his earlier preoccupations and consequently lost influence upon younger historians. Even so, he was prolific in his publications until the mid-1990s even if he no longer occupied the intellectual centre-stage.
Hill died in 2003, 17 days after his 91st birthday. He was married and had three children.
Selected works
- The English Revolution, 1640 (1940, 3rd ed. 1955), ISBN 0-85315-044-3 (1987 reprint) (On-line text at Marxists.org)
- Lenin and the Russian Revolution (1947), ISBN 0-14-013535-9 (1993 reprint)
- Economic Problems of the Church: From Archbishop Whitgift to the Long Parliament (1956), ISBN 0-586-03528-1 (1971 reprint)
- Puritanism and Revolution: Studies in Interpretation of the English Revolution of the 17th Century (1958), ISBN 0-7126-6722-9 (2001 reprint)
- The Century of Revolution, 1603–1714 (1961, 2nd. ed. 1980), ISBN 0-17-712002-9
- Society and Puritanism in Pre-Revolutionary England (1964), ISBN 0-7126-6816-0 (2003 reprint)
- Intellectual Origins of the English RevolutionIntellectual Origins of the English RevolutionIntellectual Origins of the English Revolution is a book by John Edward Christopher Hill. It is an influential Marxist text with chapters on the following:* London Science and Medicine* Francis Bacon and the Parliamentarians* Raleigh* Sir Edward Coke...
(1965, rev. 1997), ISBN 0-19-820668-2 - Reformation to Industrial Revolution: A Social and Economic History of Britain, 1530–1780 (1967, rev. ed. 1969), ISBN 0-14-020897-6
- God's Englishman: Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution (1970), ISBN 0-297-00043-8
- Antichrist in Seventeenth-Century England (1971, rev. ed. 1990), ISBN 0-86091-997-8
- The World Turned Upside Down: Radical Ideas During the English Revolution (1972), ISBN 0-85117-025-0
- Change and Continuity in Seventheenth-Century England (1974, rev. ed. 1991), ISBN 0-300-05044-5
- Milton and the English Revolution (1977), ISBN 0-571-10198-4
- The World of the Muggletonians (1983), ISBN 0-851-17226-1
- The Experience of Defeat: Milton and Some Contemporaries (1984), ISBN 0-571-13237-5
- The Collected Essays of Christopher Hill (3 vols.)
- Writing and Revolution in 17th Century England (1985), ISBN 0-7108-0565-9
- Religion and Politics in 17th Century England (1986), ISBN 0-7108-0507-1
- People and Ideas in 17th Century England (1986), ISBN 0-7108-0512-8
- A Turbulent, Seditious, and Factious People: John Bunyan and His Church, 1628–1688 (1988), ISBN 0-19-812818-5 -- published in the United States as A Tinker and a Poor Man: John Bunyan and His Church, 1628-1688 (1989), ISBN 0-394-57242-4
- A Nation of Change and Novelty: Radical Politics, Religion and Literature in Seventeenth-Century England (1990), ISBN 0-415-04833-8
- The English Bible and the Seventeenth-Century Revolution (1992), ISBN 0-7139-9078-3
- Liberty Against The Law: Some Seventeenth-Century Controversies (1996), ISBN 0-1402-4033-0
External links
- Oliver Cromwell and the English Revolution – In Honor of Christopher Hill 1912–2003
- "Christopher Hill: Obituary at The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, February 26, 2003. - Hunt, Tristram. "Back when it mattered", The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, March 5, 2003. - Linebaugh, Peter.Peter LinebaughPeter Linebaugh is an American Marxist historian who specializes in British history, Irish history, labor history, and the history of the colonial Atlantic. He is a member of the Midnight Notes Collective.-Education:...
"An American Tribute to Christopher Hill" at the CounterPunchCounterpunchCounterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
, May 17, 2003. - Manning, BrianBrian ManningBrian Manning was a leading British Marxist historian, particularly of the English Civil War of the 17th century. A student of Christopher Hill, his best known work was The English People and the English Revolution....
. The legacy of Christopher Hill, International Socialism (2003)