The Jacobite cause came into being after The Glorious Revolution of 1688. The reigning monarch, James II of England and VII of Scotland, was extremely unpopular due to a combination of being Catholic and harbouring absolutist ambitions. Fear of Catholicism, which was the religion of the traditional enemies France and Spain, and James II’s tendency towards absolutism pushed several Protestant nobles to invite Mary, the eldest daughter of James II, and her husband, James’s nephew William of Orange, to take the crown. When William invaded England mass defections and little resistance to William’s cause forced James II and his wife to flee to France, where they became guests of his cousin Louis XIV. In March 1689, James attempted to reclaim his throne by landing in Ireland with 6000 troops, but was soundly defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in July of that year, forcing him to flee back to France where he died in 1701. In Scotland itself, a force lead by Viscount Dundee was also defeated. William did his best to placate the Scottish clans as he needed troops for the Nine Years war against France. Any further support for the Jacobites was brutally suppressed, the Glencoe Massacre in February 1692 was one example of this. In 1702, William was succeeded by his sister-in-law Anne, who was to be the last of the Stuarts. She united England and Scotland to form Great Britain with the Acts of Union in 1707, but when she died childless in 1714 the dispute over the succession was rekindled. George Louis, the protestant Elector of Hannover and cousin to Anne, was chosen to succeed her after the Catholic James’s right had been removed by the Act of Settlement in 1701. The monarch’s power became more restricted under the Hanoverians than under it had been under the Stuarts.
Who were the Jacobites?
The Jacobites were supporters of the exiled Stuart king James II (Latin: Jacobus) and his descendants after he was ousted in the Glorious Revolution in 1688. The supporters of the Stuarts included both highland and lowland Scots, who were predominantly protestants. By 1745 only 1% of Scots were Catholics, but many were Episcopalians, also known as Anglicans, meaning they were in favour of bishops. Episcopalians were especially numerous in north-east Scotland. This meant that in contrast to the initial rising by James II very few Jacobites were Catholic. Some supporters wanted the dissolution of the Union between Scotland and England, presenting themselves as liberators of Scotland. Others opposed the attack on the divine right of kings. The clan system in the Highlands allowed leaders bolster their ranks with large numbers of men recruited both willingly and unwillingly. The failure of the Darien scheme in the 17th century and the 1707 Act of Union failed to better the conditions of the Scots, which together with famine fuelled resentment against the Government and further increased discontent. The Jacobites found open support from the French and Spanish until the end of the Spanish War of Succession in 1714 and the death of the French king, Louis XIV, in 1715. Clan rivalries also played a part in the conflict, especially after the Glencoe Massacre with many Scots remaining loyal to William, thus creating a civil war scenario in Scotland.
The 1715 campaign
The uprising, known as ‘The Fifteen’ or Bliadhna Sheumais in Scottish Gaelic was initially successful. The rebellion was declared on 27th August by the Earl of Mar and a band of about 600 men at Braemar in Aberdeenshire. Inverness, Aberdeen, and Perth were quickly captured by the rebels and their forces soon amounted to some 20,000 men. The Jacobite army failed to take Edinburgh Castle, where the government stored arms for up to 10,000 men and the sum of £100,000, which had been paid to Scotland when she entered the union with England in 1707. Mar was too hesitant, which allowed the British time to bring in reinforcements and later at the battle of Sheriffmuir on 13th November, this made it possible for the inferior British force under the Duke of Argyll to withdraw intact. The Scots were soon joined by English Jacobites, but were defeated at Preston on 14th November. The demoralized Jacobites lost the support of the French and Spanish with end of the Spanish War of succession. On 22nd December 1715, James Stuart, nicknamed ‘The Old Pretender’ arrived at Peterhead in Scotland but possessed insufficient money and arms to be effective, forcing him to flee back to France along with Mar. The rebellion in Scotland swiftly collapsed and all hope was lost when George I landed 3000 Dutch troops in England to deal with the revolt.
The aftermath
The Indemnity Act of July 1717 pardoned many of those who had taken part in the Rising. George I showed considerable leniency with the harsher punishments reserved only for the leaders. Many of those arrested were transported to the colonies, and there were a few executions for treason, such as that of Henry Oxburgh, who was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on 14th May 1716 with his property additionally being seized. Also those who had previously served in King George’s army were tried and shot. The Habeas Corpus Suspension Act of 1715 confiscated the land of rebelling Jacobite landlords in favour of their tenants who supported the London government. The Stuarts were ejected from France after a peace treaty was signed between Britain and France. Pope Clement XI gave James money and a palace in Rome, where a Jacobite court was established. A Spanish supported uprising was put down at Glen Shiel in 1719. The final uprising in 1745 under Charles Stuart, known as ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ was defeated at Culloden on 16th April 1746. This time, no mercy was shown to the defeated Jacobites and the ensuing repression put an end to the traditional Scottish clans. Charles Stuart was unable to ever rekindle the Jacobite cause again.
You can find historical documents related to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 on the UK National Archives website. If you would like to find out more about the background to the Jacobite cause, watch the informative, but lengthy video Inglorious Revolutions: Explaining the Jacobite Cause by Utopia Planitia Studios.
For those interested in the music of the time, you can find out more and listen to the Jacobite song Cam ye o’er frae France?.