Jacobite rising of 1689
Jacobite rising of 1689 | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Nine Years' War and the Glorious Revolution | |||||||
The Battle of Dunkeld | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Scotland | Scottish Jacobites | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Hugh Mackay Thomas Livingstone |
Viscount Dundee † Ewen Cameron of Lochiel Alexander Cannon Thomas Buchan | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
5,000 – 10,000 (maximum) | 4,000 – 5,000 (maximum) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
2,000 – 2,500 (estimate) | 1,500 – 2,000 (estimate) |
The Jacobite rising of 1689 was a conflict fought primarily in the Scottish Highlands, whose objective was to put James VII back on the throne, following his deposition by the November 1688 Glorious Revolution. Named after "Jacobus", the Latin for James, his supporters were known as 'Jacobites' and the associated political movement as Jacobitism. The 1689 rising was the first of a series of rebellions and plots seeking to restore the House of Stuart that continued into the late 18th century.
Part of the wider European conflict known as the
Background
In February
The 1681 Scottish Succession and Test Acts made obedience to the monarch a legal obligation, 'regardless of religion'; in return, James swore to uphold the primacy of the Church of Scotland or kirk. By 1680, over 95 percent of Scots were members of the kirk; Catholics numbered less than 2% of the population and even other Protestant sects were barred.[2] Attempts to repeal the Scottish Test Act undermined his moderate supporters, while rewarding the dissident Presbyterians who backed Argyll in 1685.[3]
The perception that James was willing to ignore his commitments, his Coronation Oath and his own supporters seriously undermined his position in Scotland.
Two events turned dissent into a crisis, the first being the birth on 10 June of James' son,
Prior to 1685, many feared civil war if James were bypassed; by 1688, it seemed only his removal could prevent one.
The Scottish Convention
In March 1689, elections were held for a Scottish Convention to agree a settlement. Many of William's advisors were Scottish exiles like Argyll and Melville, who wanted to expel bishops from the kirk.[10] When the Convention assembled in March, the 125 delegates were split roughly 75:50 between Presbyterians and Episcopalians; only a tiny minority were loyal to James, the real debate being control of the kirk and the limits of Royal authority.[11]
On 12 March, James landed in Ireland; he sent the Convention a letter, which was read out on 16 March, demanding obedience and threatening punishment for non-compliance. Public anger meant some Episcopalians stopped attending meetings, claiming to fear for their safety, while others changed sides.[12] In addition, the Catholic Duke of Gordon held Edinburgh Castle for James, while his former military commander Viscount Dundee began recruiting troops. The effect was to bolster the Presbyterian majority in the Convention, which met behind closed doors guarded by its own troops.[13]
On 11 April, the Convention ended James' reign and adopted the Articles of Grievances and the
Jacobite rising
Dundee's uprising was intended to complement the Jacobite offensive in
Aware of the short-term nature of Highland warfare, Mackay avoided combat and when Dundee returned to Glenroy in late June, most of the clansmen went home, leaving him with less than 200 men.[16] His position was further weakened when Gordon surrendered Edinburgh Castle on 14 June, while Jacobite retreat from Ulster made resupply extremely difficult.[17] The only reinforcements received by Dundee was a contingent of 300 Irish soldiers under Alexander Cannon, who landed near Duart Castle on 21 July.[12]
Before returning to Glenroy, Dundee installed a Jacobite garrison at Blair Castle, a strategic point which controlled access to the Scottish Lowlands. Family seat of the Marquess of Atholl, it provides a good example of how many Scots tried to balance both sides. Atholl left for Bath, Somerset claiming ill-health, while his eldest son John Murray 'besieged' his ancestral home on behalf of the government. He was careful not to damage it, while its garrison was commanded by Patrick Stewart of Ballechin, a trusted Atholl family retainer.[18]
When reinforcements led by Dundee arrived at Blair on 25 July, Murray withdrew, while Mackay left Perth with around 3,500 men and moved north to support him. At Killiecrankie on 27 July, the Jacobites won a resounding victory, inflicting nearly 2,000 casualties on Mackay but nearly a third of their army were killed, including Dundee. Cannon assumed command but without siege equipment he could not capture a port, making resupply almost impossible, while lack of cavalry made his Highland levies vulnerable in the open. Time was on Mackay's side, so long as he avoided another ambush.[19]
After an assault on
Anxious to re-allocate resources to the war against France, in March 1690, Lord Stair offered the Jacobite chiefs £12,000 for swearing allegiance to William. They finally agreed to do so in the June 1691 Declaration of Achallader, although the war did not formally end until the Massacre of Glencoe in February 1692. Cannon and Buchan had been sheltered in the Highlands by Glengarry, and as part of the deal that ended the Rising received safe conduct to France in March 1692.[22]
Aftermath
Although William wanted to retain bishops, the Rising highlighted his reliance on Presbyterian support. In an attempt to preserve Episcopalianism, the Scottish bishops proposed Union with England, which was rejected by the English Parliament.[23] In October 1690, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland met for the first time since 1653; the 1690 Settlement eliminated episcopacy and created two commissions for the south and north of the Tay, which over the next 25 years removed almost two-thirds of all ministers.[24]
Acts of indulgence in 1693 and 1695 allowed many of these to return to the kirk, with others protected by the local gentry, such as Michael Fraser, minister at Daviot and Dunlichty. First appointed in 1673, he was still in office when he died in 1726, despite being evicted in 1694, as well as joining the 1715 and 1719 Jacobite Risings.[25]
However, a significant element of the Scottish political class remained outside the kirk, eventually forming the Scottish Episcopal Church, which was officially sanctioned in 1711. Particularly strong in Aberdeenshire and Perthshire, it would be a major source of Jacobite support in subsequent risings.[26]
References
- ISBN 978-0413652904.
- ^ Baker 2009, pp. 290–291.
- ^ Harris 2007, pp. 153–157.
- ^ Harris 2007, pp. 179–181.
- ^ Spielvogel 1980, p. 410.
- ^ Bosher 1994, pp. 6–8.
- ^ Harris 2007, pp. 235–236.
- ^ Wormsley 2015, p. 189.
- ^ Harris 2007, pp. 3–5.
- ^ Harris 2007, pp. 271–272.
- ^ Harris 2007, pp. 379–386.
- ^ a b Szechi 1994, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Lynch 1992, p. 302.
- ^ Coward 1980, p. 460.
- ^ Fritze & Robison 1996, pp. 68–70.
- ^ Macpherson 1775, pp. 357–358.
- ^ Macpherson 1775, pp. 360–367.
- ^ Kennedy 2016, p. 8.
- ^ Hill 1986, p. 73.
- ^ Lenman 1980, p. 37.
- ^ Chichester 2004.
- ^ MacConechy 1843, p. 77.
- ^ Lynch 1992, p. 305.
- ^ Lynch 1992, p. 304.
- ^ Lenman 1980, p. 56.
- ^ Mackie, Lenman & Parker 1986, p. 253.
Sources
- Baker, Derek (2009). Schism, Heresy and Religious Protest. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521101783.
- Bosher, JF (February 1994). "The Franco-Catholic Danger, 1660–1715". History. 79 (255): 5–30. .
- Chichester, H.M (2004). "Livingstone, Thomas, Viscount Teviot". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16810. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Coward, Barry (1980). The Stuart Age: England 1603–1714 (1994 ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-0582067226.
- Fritze, Ronald; Robison, William (1996). Historical Dictionary of Stuart England, 1603–1689. Greenwood. ISBN 0313283915.
- Harris, Tim (2007). Revolution; the Great Crisis of the British Monarchy 1685-1720. Penguin. ISBN 978-0141016528.
- Hill, James (1986). Celtic Warfare 1595–1763 (2017 ed.). Dalriada Publishers. ISBN 978-0-9708525-5-7.
- Kennedy, Allan (2016). "Rebellion, Government and the Scottish Response to Argyll's Rising of 1685" (PDF). Journal of Scottish Historical Studies. 36 (1): 40–59. .
- Lenman, Bruce (1980). The Jacobite Risings in Britain 1689–1746. Eyre Methuen. ISBN 978-0413396501.
- Lynch, Michael (1992). Scotland: a New History. Pimlico Publishing. ISBN 0712698930.
- MacConechy, James (1843). Papers Illustrative of the Political Condition of the Highlands of Scotland (2012 ed.). Nabu Press. ISBN 1145174388.;
- Mackie, JD; Lenman, Bruce; Parker, Geoffrey (1986). A History of Scotland. Hippocrene Books. ISBN 978-0880290401.
- Macpherson, James (1775). Original Papers: Containing the Secret History of Great Britain (2017 ed.). Hansebooks. ISBN 978-3-7434-3572-8.
- Miller, John (1978). James II; A study in kingship. Menthuen. ISBN 978-0413652904.
- Spielvogel, Jackson J (1980). Western Civilization. Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 1285436407.
- Szechi, Daniel (1994). The Jacobites: Britain and Europe, 1688-1788. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719037743.
- Wormsley, David (2015). James II: The Last Catholic King. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0141977065.