History - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 408

If some of the Lowland lords were still inclined to see religious affiliation as a
negotiable tool in the quest for power and influence, the loyalty - if not, perhaps,
the piety - of many of the Highland chiefs to both their monarch and the Catholic
faith was much more solid.
James VI (1567-1625), who in 1603 also became James I of England, disliked
Presbyterianism because its quasi-democratic structure - particularly the lack of royally
appointed bishops - appeared to threaten his authority. In 1610 he restored the
Scottish bishops, leaving a legacy that his son, Charles I (1625-49), who was raised in
Episcopalian England, could not handle. He provoked the National Covenant , a
religious pledge that committed the signatories to “labour by all means lawful to
recover the purity and liberty of the Gospel as it was established and professed”.
Charles declared all the “ Covenanters ” to be rebels, a proclamation endorsed by his
Scottish bishops. The Covenanters, well financed by the Kirk, assembled a proficient
army under Alexander Leslie. In desperation, Charles summoned the English
Parliament, the first for eleven years, hoping it would pay for an army. But the decision
was a disaster and Parliament was much keener to criticize his policies than to raise
taxes. In response Charles declared war on Parliament in 1642.

The Civil War
The major conflicts of the ensuing Civil War were mostly confined to England. In
Scotland, the English Parliamentarians made an uneasy alliance with the
Covenanters, who ruled over Scotland until 1650. During this period, the power of
the Presbyterian Kirk grew considerably: laws were passed establishing schools in
every parish and, less usefully, banning trade with Catholic countries. The only
effective opposition to the theocratic state came from the Marquis of Montrose ,
who had initially supported the Covenant but lined up with the king when war
broke out. Montrose was a gifted campaigner whose army was drawn from the
Highlands and Islands, where the Kirk's influence was still weak, and included a
frightening rabble of islanders and Irishmen under the inspiration of Colonsay chief
Alasdair MacDonald, or Colkitto , whose appetite for the fray was fed by Montrose's
willingness to send them charging into battle at the precise moment they could
inflict most damage. For a golden year Montrose's army roamed the Highlands
undefeated, scoring a number of brilliant tactical victories over the Covenanters,
but the reluctance of his troops to stay south of the Highland Line made it
impossible for him to capitalize on his successes and, as the clansmen dispersed
with the spoils of victory back to their lands, Montrose was left weak and exposed.
Unfailingly loyal to a king who was unwilling to take the same risks for his most
gifted general, Montrose was eventually captured and executed in 1650.
Many English Parliamentarians suspected the Scots of hankering for the return of
the monarchy, a suspicion confirmed when, at the invitation of the earl of Argyll,
the future Charles II came back to Scotland in 1650. To regain his Scottish kingdom,
Charles was obliged to renounce his father and sign the Covenant, two bitter pills
taken to impress the population. In the event, the “Presbyterian restoration” was
short-lived. Cromwell invaded, defeated the Scots at Dunbar and forced Charles into
exile. Until the Restoration of 1660, Scotland was united with England and governed
by seven commissioners.

1513 1560 1567

The Scots are defeated by
the English at the Battle of
Flodden Field

The Scottish Church
breaks with the Roman
Catholic Church

Abdication of Mary, Queen
of Scots, and accession of
James VI (aged 1)