Pardon Me for Being an Historian

Abstract What are the origins of recent calls for a retrospective pardon for Harry “Breaker” Morant and two other Australians found guilty of murder during the Boer War of 1899–1902? Who's behind the calls, what course have they taken, and what success might they find? Whatever the calls' result, historians should resist the underlying rejection of evidence and imagination in favour of patriotic platitudes and narrow legalism.