Jacobite Stories

Neil Wilson Publishing, 2007, 260 pp.
ISBN 978 1903238868
£9.99

The Jacobite period in Scottish history is often romanticised. The tales of Bonnie Prince Charlie hiding among the heather and having romantic dalliances are simply not borne out by the records. In this book, which details the main Jacobite risings of 1689, 1715 and 1745, we discover that it was a bloody time, when Scots fought Scots, and both sides were responsible for destroying the lives of many innocent people. The Jacobites were responsible for ethnic cleansing in parts of Perthshire, and the Hanoverians carried out similar tactics when they harried the homes of those who had taken part in the Battle of Culloden, the last battle to be fought on British soil.
But what exactly was the Jacobite era? In 1688 the Glorious Revolution saw the arrival of William of Orange at Torbay in Devon to claim the throne of Great Britain for the protestant cause. The previous king, James VII of Scotland (and II of England) had converted to Roman Catholicism. It was feared that he was planning to restore that faith as the established religion in England and Scotland. James had to flee to France thus forfeiting the throne. His followers became known as Jacobites.
James's son, James Francis Edward Stuart, was his heir and attempted to reclaim the crown soon after his father's death. Known as the 'Old Pretender', he tried on various occasions to claim the crown, but in 1716 fled for Rome, never to return again.
His son took the reins of the cause and so commenced the last and most serious Jacobite challenge in 1745. 'Bonnie' Prince Charles Edward Stewart landed in the Western Isles and commenced a campaign that nearly saw the return of the Stuarts to the throne of Great Britain. It has often been speculated that had the Jacobites not given up their march on London at Derby, they might well have won the crown. History records, however, that the Jacobites seem to have suffered numerous lost opportunities and this was one of the greatest. The Highlanders returned north and were eventually defeated at Culloden.
Charles spent months in hiding in the highlands and islands, meeting folk who have become celebrated in Scots history, like Flora MacDonald, before escaping abroad.
In this unique account of all the Jacobite risings, Dane Love recounts the tales of all the main characters, as well as many of the lesser-known Jacobites who played their parts. As an introduction to a complex period of Scottish history, this book is indispensable.