[kjellsbells]

Macaulay is essentially a ripping good yarn. That's the problem with the Whiggish style of history writing: it's so entertaining that you forget the awkward parts.

He would write something cheerful like, "the proud Scots demonstrated the excellence of their industry in the cities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, and in the Americas" and then you check the dates and realize that he's writing about the period of the Highland Clearances.

[billfruit]

One exact quote comes to my mind, "While Fairfax suppressed the risings in the neighborhood of the capital, Oliver routed the Welsh insurgents, and, leaving their castles in ruins, marched against the Scots. His troops were few, when compared with the invaders; but he was little in the habit of counting his enemies."