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Dr. Alexander Hewat (or Hewatt) (1739–1824; b. Roxburgh, Scotland) was the first historian of South Carolina and Georgia,〔 best known for his two volume work "''An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia''".〔 He remained loyal to the King during the American Revolution, and as a result his property was seized and he was expelled in 1777.〔 ==Life and work== Hewat(t) was a Presbyterian minister〔〔 who officiated in Charleston, South Carolina from 1763 to 1777. After the publication of his History in 1779, he was awarded an honorary DD doctorate degree by Edinburgh University.〔 His character may be illustrated by one of his Sermons cited by Smollett.〔 ''Gold is the idol of every traitor, and he that proves faithful to his king and country for a great reward only, will betray them both for a greater. What was the method Constantius Chlorus took to try the souls of his public servants, both civil and military? Being friendly disposed towards the Christian religion, and sensible how hard it was to know the human heart, we are told, that he assembled his officers and judges, and proposed to them this condition, either to sacrifice to demons, or leave the court and their places to others, giving each liberty of choice. By this device he divided his servants into two parties, into men of principle, and men of the world.'' (p. 347) Hewat believed that Religion was important for the cohesion of society, where every man should do his duty according to the station in life that Providence had allocated to him. In a 1794 sermon on ''The Duty of Man in Perilous Times'' cited by ''The English Review'' he warned: ”''Let the superior ranks beware how they introduce into society an irreverence for God, and a distaste for religion; for they cannot do so but at their peril.” The lower ranks are taught their duty, and warned against: the dangers of civil convulsion, with equal propriety.'' 〔 Hewat's History of South Carolina and Georgia includes observations of the peoples of the area, so although its account of early history may be inaccurate to a degree and his historical interpretation of the events of the times no longer in fashion, his observation of facts continues to be cited, especially his accounts of slaves 〔 and Native Americans. Hewat may have been only a “gentleman historian” but he had the advantage of first-hand observation, with the ability, time, and local contacts required for a remarkably dispassionate account of pre-revolutionary Carolina. Hewat's history, one author said, “''is the basis — in fact the substance — of Ramsay's history,〔 which quotes him copiously (without acknowledgement) and follows him blindly.''"〔 A less strident assessment is that Ramsay "''shows a disposition to follow slavishly in the footsteps of Hewat.''"〔 Contemporaneous resident of Charleston, but on the Revolutionary side, Congressman David Ramsay acknowledged his extensive use of Hewat's History, writing in his 1808 Preface: “''Dr. Hewat's historical account of the rise and progress of the colonies of South Carolina and Georgia, was read with much more advantage — on it greater reliance was placed — and of it more use has been made, than of all the histories which had preceded. To him every Carolinian ought to be obliged for preserving many useful facts which otherwise would before this day have been forgotten. His valuable work was written shortly before the American Revolution, when tradition went further back and was more recent than at present.''” 〔 Hewatt Square, in Charleston, South Carolina, was named for him.〔 Hewat's History is still a respected account of Colonial American history, has been transcribed by Project Guttenberg, and is still in print. Incidentally, the "Hewatt" spelling was apparently introduced after his book was published anonymously; manuscript letters (below) show that he himself spelled his name "Hewat". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alexander Hewat」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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