ROBERTSON, WILLIAM. – Historian, born at Borthwick (Midlothian) in Scotland on 19 Sept. 1721, died at Grange House (Edinburgh) on 11 June 1793.
A Presbyterian minister, he gained wide recognition for his History of Scotland, which earned him the post of Principal of the University of Edinburgh (1768).
In every work of his there is a continuous effort at understanding, often a notable penetration, always dignity of style and accuracy of preparation. In his cultural formation there undoubtedly converge the most widespread motifs of the Enlightenment (his debt to Voltaire and Montesquieu, for certain approaches to problems and interpretative criteria, is evident), but his religious faith, his political stance, and above all the environment of the Select Society (which included, among others, A. Smith and D. Hume) had a far more significant influence. His works are: The history of Scotland during the reigns of queen Mary and of king James VI until his accession to the Crown of England (2 vols., London 1759), which established his reputation as a historian and was much debated, being considered too lenient by some and too harsh by others regarding Mary Stuart; The history of the reign of the emperor Charles V (3 vols., ibid. 1769), which was placed on the Index on 31 Jan. 1777 for its Protestant view of Catholicism and the Roman Pontificate; its introduction (View of the progress of society in Europe from the subversion of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the sixteenth century) is the first vigorous attempt at a coherent view of the Middle Ages, though seen essentially as a slow and obscure preparation for modern Europe; The history of America (2 vols., London 1777), limited to Spanish and Portuguese expansion, expanded with the history of the first English colonies in the posthumous edition of 1796; An historical disquisition concerning the knowledge which the ancients had of India (ibid. 1791). Complete edition of his works edited by D. Stewart, 12 vols. (ibid. 1817).