Whig History and Lost Causes
The triumph of good guys over bad is still the popular picture of British history, invented by Whig historians in the nineteenth century. Liberty defeated tyranny and Protestants defeated Catholics in a predetermined victory that made Britain unique. Historical opponents of this inevitable triumph were sidelined as lost causes. Jeremy Black argues that history is more complex.
It is totally misleading to present history as if its course was inevitable. The past cannot be understood if the elements of chance and contingency are ignored. To assume that what happened was bound to happen – the teleological interpretation of history – is fundamentally misleading. This approach takes away the options facing individuals, groups and governments in the past. It is analytically suspect, and also morally suspect, because it is wrong to argue that the past belong to the victors. That is a version of the might is right approach, the criminals' charter of history, which reduces to impotence and inconsequence those who were, and are, weak or unsuccessful.
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