Thread by @AndrewBrunatti

In my last thread for #Castlereagh200, I looked at how #ViscountCastlereagh's final weeks in 1822 linked to 19thC writing on what we now recognize as #MentalHealth.

Now let's return to the framework of individual risk factors for chronic stress. 1/

#twitterstorians #ParlHist

Labour intensity (the volume, pressure, and complexity of work), and working time (length and unpredictability of working hours) are well-recognized in biographies of Castlereagh, so I'll zero in on a specific element: the consistent pressure on Castlereagh over a long period. 2/

It's difficult to capture the total demand on Castlereagh, but it is possible to establish a representative picture. I graphed the volume of contributions made by Castlereagh in the #HouseofCommons during each session from 1803-22. (full graph will be in the article) 3/

We can clearly see the dramatic increase in his contributions beginning in 1812, the year he was appointed Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons (last green bar), with notable spikes through 1815-16 (war and post-war strategy, economy, etc) 4/

More important--when we look at the broad trend, we can see that from 1812-22 Castlereagh maintained a rate of contributions that was, on average, 3x higher than before 1812. On top of this, we can layer the length/unpredictability of parl hours, and ministerial business. 5/

In both the Irish (pre-1800) and British (post-1800) parliaments, debates frequently lasted well into the night, and sometimes for 18 or 20 hours. 4 or 5am was not an uncommon time for debates to conclude, and speeches often lasted for hours. 6/

Huskisson later recounted that some members of Parliament resorted to drugs to help get through arduous parliamentary debates; he noted that Castlereagh and Liverpool would take Ether as an “excitement” before speaking (Img: 'Ether Frolics' 1808). 7/

To capture other demands on Castlereagh over the same timeline, I layered a chronology of key events onto the same graph, showing events that necessitated significant additional policy or administrative work, cabinet meetings, travel, or diplomatic management. 8/

In diplomacy, Castlereagh was a victim of his own success. The congress system placed more burden on him directly, and the frequency of meetings increased. After 1815, there were no meetings for 3 years, but from 1818-22 there was nearly 1 congress each year.9/

This diplomacy also resulted in more travel. Even for a cabinet minister, the travel was long/uncomfortable. Castlereagh recounted in 1814: “The roads for the last 40 miles have been dreadfully bad […] The last 20 English miles took us 10 ½ hours...” (Img: Reeve, 1827) 10/

When at home, Castlereagh usually used his weekends for diplomacy, often reserving Sundays for in-person discussions with ambassadors etc either at his townhouse in St James Square or at the country home at North Cray. (Img: Higham, 1822, BM Collection) 11/

The key here is not just that Castlereagh was exposed to this tempo of work, but that these conditions existed for at least a decade, arguably longer. The cumulative effect of this exposure would have placed Castlereagh’s mental health at significant risk. 12/

In the next #Castlereagh200 thread, I'll look at structural factors in govt that contributed to chronic stress. Stay tuned. 13/13

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