Jacobite Uprisings (17th and 18th Centuries)

Although it is the '45 uprising that tends to get most attention Jacobitism can be said to have begun on 4th April 1689. On that date a convention parliament declared that James VII had forfeited the Scottish throne. Prior to this William of Orange had landed in the south-west of England on 5th November 1688. By the end of the year William was provisionally installed in London and James, with his baby son, had fled to France. Scotland was close to chaos at this point, Edinburgh suddenly found the Covenanters of the south-west in the city and the Highlands were becoming restive. Because of the Covenanters, who were quite willing to commit 'godly murder', the Jacobites left the Parliament in Edinburgh. This left the Parliament free to produce the famous Claim of Right - the statement of the offences of James. The three main elements of this statement that were important for the future were: James had forfeited the Crown: no 'Papist' could be king: and 'Prelacy and the superiority of any office in the Church above Presbyters, is, and hath been a great and insupportable grievance and trouble to this Nation'. Although the Jacobites had left Parliament to the Presbyterians Scotland north of the Tay was largely Jacobite territory and the majority of the existing clergy would not support William. In April 1689 John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, raised the standard of James VII on Dundee Law. His support came from among the Catholic Highland Clans and on 27th July he defeated a superior Government army under Mackay in the Pass of Killiecrankie near Pitlochry. Although the battle was won Dundee himself was killed and the Jacobite chances of success died with him.

The Young Pretender, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. Portrait by Louis Blanchet.

In 1690 the Revolution settlement ignored the accomodations put forward by Archbishop Robert Leighton for bishops together with presbyteries and from then on Presbyterianism became the established Church. By 1707 it was guaranteed by the Act of Union.

Jacobite sympathies continued, however, and on the death of Queen Anne in 1714 and the succession of George I the Earl of Mar began the '15. By the end of September the Highlands were under his control and his numbers, mostly clansmen, had risen to over 5000. He made his base at Perth and even though there was little activity there were over 10,000 men with him by early November. On the 13th November Mar met Argyll at Sheriffmuir near Dunblane and after a indecisive battle the Jacobites went back to Perth. An anonymous song succinctly says it all -

The Old Pretender himself had left Dunkirk on 16th December and landed at Peterhead six days later, he spent six unhappy weeks in Scotland before Mar persuaded him to leave before he was captured by the advancing army led by Argyll.

This cottage was the only building to survive Culloden

The survivors of the Rising of 1715 had joined the Old Pretender (James VIII) in conspiracies around the Courts of Europe. Some help was obtained from Spain and led by Earl Marischal the Jacobites fought an engagement at Glenshiel on June 10th and 11th, they were beaten by General Wightman. A nearby mountain still bears the name Sgurr nan Spainteach - the peak of the Spaniards. The uprising of 1719 shows that Jacobitism was more than a local dispute, both Spain and France were involved and the cause waxed and waned depending on the interest shown by these two nations. In the aftermath of the Risings of 1715 and 1719 Major General George Wade was appointed to investigate conditions in the Highlands and especially the effectiveness of the Disarming Act of 1716. The main results of this were the building of better roads, so troops could move more easily, and the building of major forts at Fort Augustus and Fort William.

On 23 July 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stewart landed on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides and two days later he reached the mainland with the Seven Men of Moidart. Just over a year later he would leave from Loch nam Uamh, close by to Moidart. To begin with though things went well, some clans were won over and his standard was raised at Glenfinnan on the 19th August. Less than a month later he was in Edinburgh without meeting any serious resistance. Problems immediately appeared, however, the Edinburgh residents showed little enthusiasm and French assistance failed to appear. The first major battle of the rising was at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh, where the Jacobites defeated General Cope despite him calling them 'a parcel of rabble, a parcel of brutes'. The Jacobite army included of regiments of Clanranald, Keppoch, MacGregor, Cameron, Robertson and Athollmen. Cope's army had a large amount of raw recruits in it and was easily outmanouvered.

Holyrood, Edinburgh where Prince Charles stopped on his way south

The battlefield at Culloden

Charles then crossed the border and although he could expect no more support from Scotland he hoped to attract more men in England. He was disappointed in this hope but due to good advice from Lord George Murray he did manage to reach Derby which is only 135 miles from London. In one of the most famous decisions of the '45 his advisors persuaded Charles to turn back instead of marching on the panicked capital of England. On 19th December the freezing and demoralised army reached the Border and split up to confuse the army following them. The main part went to Glasgow and on the 3rd January they left to head for Stirling. At Falkirk the Jacobites defeated a government force under Hawley but the rebels started to deteriorate and Charles found that he could not take Stirling, instead he headed over the Highland line.

On April 16th Charles chose to give battle at Culloden. The half starved and exhausted clansmen were routed by a vastly superior force under the command of Cumberland, who earned the nickname 'the butcher' for his atrocities on and off the field of battle. For five months Charles was a hunted man and it was during this time that Flora MacDonald helped him, finally he was taken aboard a French ship in September. Following the battle a whole way of life was taken apart as the government made a concerted effort to destroy the Clan system in Scotland - even to the extent of proscribing Highland arms and dress. Only a generation later sheep farmers and absentee landlords destroyed what was left after the massacre at Culloden. Statue of Flora MacDonald outside Inverness House

Flora MacDonald and 'Betty Burke' This image is available to purchase as a print from Scottish Realms

History Books on the Jacobites:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Aikman, Christian & Alastair Livingstone, Betty Stuart Hart (eds.)	No Quarter Given	2001	£15.99	Amazon.co.uk
A historical record compiled from the rolls made by the Hanoverian army of the Duke of Cumberland after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. Every Scottish regiment present at the battle has been recorded.
Black, J.	Culloden and the '45	1993	£10.99 or $28.95	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
There is little doubt that the 45 rebellion was the greatest challenge to the eighteenth-century British state. The battle of Culloden in which it culminated was certainly one of the most dramatic of the century. This study, based on extensive archival research, examines the political and military context of the uprising and highlights the seriousness of the challenge posed by the Jacobites. The result is an illuminating account of an episode often obscured by the perspectives of Stuart romance.
Craig, Maggie	Damn Rebel Bitches: The Women of the '45	1997	£9.99 or $19.95	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
A look at the lives of the women involved in the last Jacobite uprising - an aspect which has often been ignored by historian until now. The many fascinating stories are drawn from original documents and letters of the period.
Donaldson, W.	Jacobite Song: Political Myth & National Identity	1988	£5.99 or $23.95	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Douglas, H.	Private Passions of Bonnie Prince Charlie	1998	£11.99	Amazon.co.uk
Charles Edward Stuart lives on as a romantic hero for millions of Scottish descent, despite his historical image as a charismatic self-seeker. The author re-examines the life of the Scottish hero whose flawed character and a lack of success in love influenced his relations with the Royal courts of Europe and played an important part in his role in the history of Scotland and England -- perhaps contributing as much to the defeat of the Jacobite cause as "Butcher" Cumberland's musket fire at Culloden. As well as the torrid affair with the young Duchesse de Montbazon in Paris and the tragic tale of Celmentine Walkinshaw, which resulted in a child, the author looks at the Prince's other relationships with women, from the formative on with his mother, to his disastrous late dynastic marriage to Louise de Stolberg, in which he was left a lonely, elderly cuckold.
Douglas, H.	Flora MacDonald: the Most Loyal Rebel	1995	£7.99	Amazon.co.uk
A meticulously researched and well rounded biography of the woman who has gone down in history for helping Charles Edward Stuart escape "over the sea to Skye".
Grove, D. & Tabraham, C. J.	Fortress Scotland and the Jacobites	1995	£15.99	Amazon.co.uk
Lenman, B.	Jacobite Risings in Britain, 1689-1746	1995	£14.95	Amazon.co.uk
Maclean, F.	Bonnie Prince Charlie	1998	£6.99	Amazon.co.uk
McLynn, F. J.	Jacobite Army in England, 1745-46: the Final Campaign	1998	£16.00	Amazon.co.uk
National Library of Scotland	The Forty Five: Last Jacobite Rebellion	1995	£12.95 or $22.50	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
National Museums of Scotland (Marshall, Rosilind K. )	Bonnie Prince Charlie	1988	£8.50 or $15.95	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Prebble, J.	Culloden	1996	£8.95	Amazon.co.uk
A reconstruction of the events of the Battle of Culloden, the carnage of the immediate aftermath, and the months of brutal suppression of the Highlands which followed. Told in Prebble's informed and sympathetic style. 1. The March from Nairn. 2. Drummossie Moor. 3. Inverness. 4. Fort Augustus. 5. The Prisoners. 6. The Sharp Rock. 7. The Last Victory.
Pittock, Murray G.H.	The Myth of the Jacobite Clans	1995	£12.95 or $25.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
250 years after the '45 this book strip away the myths surrounding the Jacobite Rising to reveal as much a lowland movement as a highland rebellion.
Ross, David R.	On the Trail of Bonnie Prince Charlie	2000	£7.99 or $14.95	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Part of a series of guides on key figures and themes, this book follows the life of Charles Edward Stuart, the young pretender. The author sets out on his motorbike on the trail of Bonnie Prince Charlie from England to Scotland and the Isle of Skye, the locations shown with maps and drawings.

History Books on this time period

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Ferguson, William	The Edinburgh History of Scotland: Vol 4 1689 to the Present	1975	£16.99	Amazon.co.uk
The four-volume Edinburgh History of Scotland is the most important project in Scottish historical writing for more than half a century; each volume is written by an expert on the period who brings to his work the direct acquaintance with original sources on which authoritative historical writing can alone be based. This, the fourth volume, originally covered the history of Scotland from the Revolution of 1689 to 1967. The paperback edition was updated to include a brief review of the ten years to 1977. Political, ecclesiastical, economic, social and cultural developments all receive consideration, and the interaction of these factors is stressed throughout. But the treatment varies. For the 18th century, separate chapters are devoted to specific themes, thus enabling the reader to appreciate the background to ecclesiastical, social and economic movements. Then, on the ground so established, after 1832 the various factors at work in any given period are synthesised in a unified narrative. The result is the most comprehensive and substantial volume on modern Scotland. It incorporates the findings of recent research, including the author's own work, and challenges many accepted verdicts. The book is fully referenced and, as a guide to further reading, has a detailed critical bibliography.v
Mitchison, Rosalind	Lordship to Patronage: Scotland 1603-1745	1990	£9.95 or $20.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Drawing on political, constitutional, religious, economic and social studies, Professor Mitchison outlines the growing bonds between England and Scotland, beginning with James VI's succession and culminating in the Act of Union in 1707. She argues that the union of the two states has had a distorting effect on Scottish history, constantly prompting comparisons of the constitutions and achievements of the two countries, rather than placing Scotland in a European context. This book attempts to redress the balance. First published as part of the New History of Scotland series this is a highly readable and straightforward introduction to early modern Scotland.
Lenman, B.	Integration, Enlightenment and Industrialization: Scotland 1746-1832	1993	£9.95 or $20.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
This is a study of Scottish politics and society from the defeat of the last Jacobite rebellion at Culloden in 1746 to the passing into law of the Scottish Reform Bill in July 1832. It is a period when the Scottish Enlightenment reached and perhaps passed its peak, but if the earlier decades saw the rise of some of the most influential thinkers of the contemporary world, the latter part of of the period saw a flourishing of imaginative literature. Economically, the period saw quite unprecedented changes in the lowlands. In the Highlands the transformation produced by integration with more advanced areas of the British Isles proved incompatible with an ancient culture and way of life. First published in 1981 as part of The New History of Scotland series, Bruce P. Lenman's highly readable account catches the hey-day of the Ancien Regime in Scotland.
Shaw, John Stuart	The Political History of Eighteenth-Century Scotland	1999	£12.50	Amazon.co.uk
A fresh look at the actions and motivations of Scotland's political leaders during the time of the Union of Parliaments, and whether they did, as is often assumed, sell out their country for personal gain, or whether they were in fact intent on securing a place for Scotland at the centre of power which London had by that time become.

Historical Fiction Books on the Jacobites

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From:
Morrison, Oonagh	For Promised Joy	2001	£9.99	Amazon.co.uk
Based on the life of our own Flora MacDonald, this historical novel sweeps the heroine from her home in Skye to the Carolinas of Revolutionary America. The young girl who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie evade his pursuers is now a mature woman who takes the bold decision to seek a new life across the ocean. Carefully researched and beautifully written this is a tale as romantic and stirring as that of her early life - the hardships and dangers of the voyage, the privations and political intrigue of their new home and of a Scotswoman's courage and determination as she fights for the rights of her family. It is also the story of the emerging American nation.
Tranter, Nigel	Highness in Hiding	1996	£5.99	Amazon.co.uk
Bonnie Prince Charlie's wanderings and eventual escape after the defeat at Culloden.