William Jones | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1726 Llangadfan, Wales |
| Died | 20 August 1795 Llangadfan, Wales |
| Nationality | Welsh |
| Occupation(s) | farmer, scholar |
William Jones (christened 18 June 1726 – 20 August 1795) was a Welsh antiquary, poet, scholar and radical. Jones was an ardent supporter of both the American and French Revolutions – his strong support of the Patriot and Jacobin causes earned him the nicknames "the rural Voltaire",[1] the "Welsh Voltaire",[2] and accusations of being, "a rank Republican and a Leveller". Despite his vocal support for foreign revolutions, however, Jones never advocated a violent Welsh republican uprising against the House of Hanover and instead encouraged the Welsh people to emigrate en masse to "The Promised Land"; in the newly founded United States.
Like many subsequent Welsh nationalists, however, Jones also held very strong anti-English sentiments. He often expressed an intense hostility to the completely Anglicised Welsh nobility, their policies of rackrenting, and their employment of land agents whom he considered, "destitute of the principles of justice [and] moral honesty". Similarly to Saunders Lewis, Jones was equally enraged by the increasing language loss among lower class Welsh people, which led to one contemporary to describe Jones as "the hottest arsed" Welshman he had ever met.
- ^ Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Menna, Baines; Lynch, Peredur I., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 434. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
- ^ Carruthers, Gerard (2003). English romanticism and the Celtic world. p. 83. Retrieved 23 April 2011.