Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
command of the Duke of Argyll, but Mar dithered and lost the military advantage. he
Battle of Sheriffmuir
in November was indecisive, but by the time the Old Pretender
arrived the following month six thousand veteran Dutch troops had reinforced Argyll.
he rebellion disintegrated and James slunk back to exile in France in February 1716.
he
Jacobite uprising of 1745
, led by James's dashing son, Charles Edward Stewart
(known as “
Bonnie Prince Charlie
”), had little chance of success. he Hanoverians had
consolidated their hold on the English throne and Lowland society was uniformly
loyalist. Despite early successes which allowed him to march as far south as Derby,
Charles was ultimately forced to retreat and finally met his match at the
Battle of
Culloden
, near Inverness, in April 1746, the last set-piece battle on British soil.
Outnumbered and outgunned, the Jacobites were swept from the field, with more than
BONNIE PRINCE CHARLIE
Prince Charles Edward Stewart - better known as
Bonnie Prince Charlie
or “The Young
Pretender” - was born in 1720 in Rome, where his father, “The Old Pretender”, claimant to the
British throne (as the son of James VII), was living in exile with his Polish wife. At the age of 25,
with no knowledge of Gaelic, an imperfect grasp of English and a strong Catholic faith, the
prince set out in disguise for Scotland with two French ships. He arrived on the Hebridean
island of
Eriskay
(see p.521) on July 23, 1745, with just seven companions, and was
immediately implored to return to France by the clan chiefs, who were singularly unimpressed
by his lack of army. Charles was unmoved and went on to raise the royal standard at
Glenfinnan
(see p.443), thus signalling the beginning of the
Jacobite uprising
. He only
attracted fewer than half of the potential 20,000 clansmen who could have marched with him,
and promises of support from the French and English Jacobites failed to materialize.
Nevertheless, after a decisive victory over government forces at the
Battle of Prestonpans
,
near Edinburgh, Charles made a spectacular advance into England, getting as far as Derby.
London was in a state of panic: its shops were closed and the Bank of England, fearing a run on
sterling, slowed withdrawals by paying out in sixpences. But Derby was as far as Charles got.
On December 6, threatened by superior forces, the Jacobites decided to retreat to Scotland,
against Charles's wishes. Pursued back to Scotland by the Duke of Cumberland, he won one
last victory, at Falkirk, before the final disaster at
Culloden
(see p.418) in April 1746.
The prince spent the following five months in hiding, with a price of £30,000 on his head,
and literally thousands of government troops searching for him. He certainly endured his fair
share of cold and hunger whilst on the run, but the real price was paid by the Highlanders
themselves, who risked their lives (and often paid for it with them) by aiding and abetting the
prince. The most famous of these was 23-year-old
Flora MacDonald
, whom Charles first met
on South Uist in June 1746. Flora was persuaded to convey Charles “over the sea to Skye”,
disguised as an Irish servant girl by the name of Betty Burke. She was arrested just seven days
after parting with the prince in Portree, and held in the Tower of London until July 1747.
Charles boarded a ship back to France in September 1746, but, despite his promises - “for all
that has happened, Madam, I hope we shall meet in St James's yet” - never returned to
Scotland, nor did he ever see Flora again. After a string of mistresses, he eventually got married
at the age of 52 to the 19-year-old
Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern
in an effort to
produce a Stewart heir. They had no children, and she fled from his violent drunkenness; in
1788, a none-too-“bonnie” Prince Charles died in the arms of his illegitimate daughter in Rome.
Bonnie Prince Charlie became a romantic legend but the real consequence of 1745 was the
virtual annihilation of the Highland way of life.
1692
1695
1698
1707
Glencoe massacre: 38 members
of the MacDonald clan murdered
by anti-Jacobite Campbells.
Bank of Scotland
is established.
1200 Scots leave in
order to establish a
colony in Panama.
The Act of Union
unites the kingdoms of
Scotland and England.
