Thomas Muir of Huntershill
Thomas Muir (born August 24, 1765 in Glasgow , Scotland ; † January 26, 1799 in Chantilly near Paris ), also known as Thomas Muir the Younger of Huntershill or Father of Democracy in Scotland , was a lawyer and political reformer. He was one of five so-called Scottish martyrs who campaigned for civil rights and against the monarchy. In doing so, he came into conflict with the authorities. In court he was sentenced to 14 years of deportation as a convict in Australia for sedition. From there he managed a long and eventful escape in 1796.
Early life
Thomas Muir was the son of James Muir, who was married to Margaret, nee Smith. The family had another child, a daughter named Janet. Thomas Muir went to school in Glasgow and was enrolled as a student at the University of Glasgow at the age of 12 . Originally based on church ideas, he later developed liberal views under the influence of John Millar (1735–1801), a university professor of law. In 1783, Thomas Muir organized a petition against the dismissal of Professor John Anderson. He was then expelled from the University of Glasgow. With the support of Millar, he was able to continue studying at Edinburgh University , graduating in 1787. He then got a job at the law school .
Political life
In the course of the French Revolution he radicalized and advocated reform of parliament and the constitutions. In October 1792 he was elected Vice President of the newly formed Glasgow Associated Friends of the Constitution and of the People . When the Scottish Societies of the Friends of the People met for their General Assembly in Edinburgh, he gave a speech for the United Irishmen of Dublin . This speech and a leaflet he had written with Thomas Paine brought him into arrest in January 1793. After depositing a guarantee, he first traveled to France. After his return to Edinburgh he was declared illegal and banned from practicing law.
Muir had a French passport and wanted to seek refuge in the United States . Before he left, he was arrested in Belfast and sentenced to 14 years of deportation on 23 August 1793. The four reformers Thomas Muir, Thomas Fyshe Palmer , William Skirving and Maurice Margarot were transported together on the Surprize to the Australian convict colony. Joseph Gerrald came there later. These five reformers who advocated civil rights were later called the Scottish Martyrs .
Convict Colony Australia
Muir arrived in Sydney in October 1794 after a six-month voyage by ship . As a political convict, he did not have to do the usual convict work. Political prisoners were believed to be educated and he could live in a farmhouse above Sydney Cove . There he ran a small farm and prepared writings that were supposed to prove his innocence and that of those convicted with him.
Escape
When the American ship Otter docked in Sydney with the ship's captain Ebenezer Dorr on their voyage to the northwest coast of America in 1796, Dorr helped him in his escape project. On the night of February 17, Thomas Muir and two helpers left Sydney Harbor on a small boat. They reached the otter , which was a few miles offshore. There are unsubstantiated assumptions that President George Washington arranged his escape. The otter crossed the Pacific and reached the Nootka Sound . There he switched to the Spanish gunboat Sutil because he suspected that an English ship was waiting for him nearby to be captured. In June 1796 he reached Monterey in what was then California , Spain , where the governor granted him hospitality rights. From there he wrote to Washington.
He was allowed to travel by ship to the San Blas Islands and from there to Mexico City and Vera Cruz . When he reached Havana in November 1796 , war broke out between England and Spain and he was imprisoned for four months. Only then did he reach Philadelphia , the original destination of his escape.
When he was sailing to Spain on the frigate Ninfa , she was attacked by the English. Muir was injured in the face and lost his left eye. The English did not recognize him and he was taken to a hospital in Cadiz . In December 1797, through the mediation of the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, he reached Paris , where he initially enjoyed great public interest. There he wrote two volumes about his experiences in exile and on his flight. He offered these documents to France in return for secure accommodation and financial support, because he wanted to recover from his exertions and heal his wounds. His request went unanswered. Neglected by friends and exhausted, he fell into poverty and oblivion. He died in 1799.
Honors
The Political Martyrs' Monument , a 27 meter high obelisk made of sandstone , which refers to the Old Calton Burial Ground on Calton Hill in Edinburgh situated shall, together with the four other so-called Scottish martyrs his name. This is also the case on a metal memorial in Huntershill Village .
There is a permanent exhibition about Thomas Muir in the library of Bishopbriggs . A street in Greenock is named after him and in Bishopbriggs there was Thomas Muir High School , founded in 1981 and renamed in 2003 due to a merger. Since 2016 there has been a school in Bishopbriggs called Thomas Muir Primery .
On his 250th anniversary in 2015, his work and achievements were extensively praised in both English and Scottish newspapers.
The Thomas Muir Cairn in Huntershill Village
Gate with names of the Scottish Political Martyrs in Huntershill Village
Political Martyrs' Monument , Old Calton Burial Ground, Edinburgh
Individual evidence
- ↑ Phill Miller: Epic trial of Thomas Muir, 'father of Scottish democracy', to be restaged , August 1, 2016, on heraldscotland.com. Retrieved November 1, 2016
- ↑ a b c John Earnshaw: Muir, Thomas (1765-1799) '' , from adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved November 1, 2016
- ↑ Thomas Muir , on spartcus-eductional.com. Retrieved November 1, 2016
- ↑ Thomas Muir of Huntersville (1765-1799). Father of Scottish Democraty on thomsmuir.co.uk. Retrieved November 1, 2016
- ↑ Thomas Muir Primery , on eastdunbarton.gov.uk. Retrieved November 1, 2016
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Muir of Huntershill, Thomas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Muir, Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English reformer and prisoner |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 24, 1765 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glasgow , Scotland |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 26, 1799 |
| Place of death | Chantilly , Paris |