SIR ROGER CASEMENT
is born in Kingston, Ireland (d: 1916). A former British diplomat he
was knighted for his services to the crown after exposing the horrible
working conditions of worker in British colonies in the Congo and in
South America. This made him a hero to workers suffering from colonial
hardship throughout the British empire.
However, the
Ulster Protestant became an ardent Irish nationalist and was captured
and tried for treason after returning from a trip to secure Germany's
aid for the Irish Revolution of 1916. What sealed his doom was the
admission into evidence of Casement's diaries where he meticulously
detailed the names and descriptions of his numerous sexual partners.
That he was on trial for treason and not for buggery did not matter.
When he was found
guilty, protest was world-wide. Among the voices William Butler Yeats
and George Bernard Shaw spoke out in his defense. But then the British
government leaked word of the contents of Casement's "black diaries,"
all protest suddenly stopped. Typically, the diaries were examined and
re-examined looking for "proof" of the man's sexuality. The case against
him was shaky – as his alleged treason had taken place in Germany and
not the UK – and in the end, his guilt was determined by the placement
of a comma in the Treason Act of 1351, which was written in Norman
French. Casement famously wrote later that he was to be ‘hanged on a
comma’.
Putting aside how
difficult it is to prove the negative, the historical presumption that
someone is, of course and by default, heterosexual unless proof certain
is obtained otherwise, assumes that to come to that decision is a de facto smear on the man. In this era, it was, of course. And it proved critical in the undermining of his wide public support.
No less a supporter than Mario Vargas Llosa presented a mixed account of Casement's sexuality in his 2010 novel, The Dream of the Celt,
suggesting that Casement wrote partially fictional diaries of what he
wished had taken place in homosexual encounters. Dudgeon suggested in a
2013 article that Casement needed to be "sexless" to fit his role as a
Catholic martyr in the nationalist movement of the time. Dudgeon
writes, "The evidence that Casement was a busy homosexual is in his own
words and handwriting in the diaries, and is colossally convincing
because of its detail and extent."
Research published in 2016 again casts doubt on the Black Diaries. In The Casement Secret, it is argued there
is no evidence of the existence of the diaries during Casement's
lifetime since only typescript pages – allegedly copies – were
circulated; no-one was shown the diaries now in the National Archives.
An official memorandum by the British Secretary of State dated March 6,
1959 states: "There is no record on the Home Office papers of the
diaries or the copies having been shown to anyone outside the Government
service before Casement's trial".
This argument
reflects the question raised in 1955 by Bertrand Russell concerning
their existence at the time of Casement's trial. The argument proposes a
paradigm shift – the diaries were fabricated after Casement's execution
as forged versions of the original typescripts. Anatomy of a Lie, another
research essay, purports that the homosexual dimension was largely the
invention of British Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Mansfeldt Findlay in Christiania, Norway (now Oslo) in a false
memorandum on October 29, 1914. The rarely-seen document containing the
first innuendo has never been analyzed before and is unmentioned by all
Casement authors save one. It is posited that, in the following months
Findlay amplified his allegations because he feared exposure of his
written bribe through a threatened lawsuit against him by Casement; a
subsequent diplomatic scandal which might have destroyed his career.
Such a lot of
bother. Roger Casement was hanged on August 6, 1916. A good man who'd
been knighted for his service to humanity had become a martyr to men who
love men everywhere.
Esteemed historian Martin Duberman has a "biographical novel" about Casement Luminous Traitor: The Just and Daring Life of Roger Casement being released on October 1 of this year. It promises to be a real pleasure read.