On Not Negotiating with Terrorists

Source from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers

Early modern sieges were as much a matter of writing to/talking with the enemy as fighting them. Certainly a case can be made for Oliver Cromwell viewing at least a portion of the Irish as terrorists: "barbarous wretches, who have imbrued their hands with so much innocent blood." Yet, his letters include many to his besieged Irish enemies negotiating terms of surrender (Ross, etc.). In any case, this selection from the Edinburgh Evening Courant, 7 Jan. 1746, shows a studied refusal to negotiate/exchange hostages with rebels/terrorists, all the while, in fact setting up the terms for negotiating.


earlymodernengland by Newton Key.