History Commons^™

Unmasking Murder: Reconciling The Twin Depictions Of Viscount Castlereagh, Robert Warrick

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Viscount Castlereagh is typically depicted in one of two ways. The traditional depiction is of a repressive, anti-liberal demon while the modern depiction is of a Machiavellian chess master who only adopted certain values to ensure his goal of British security. This thesis argues that the modern depiction has gone too far in removing ideology from Castlereagh's diplomacy. While he certainly desired British security, he was motivated by a fear of groups he considered to be "radical."