|
|
Author: * Cinaedh Cruithni -
7 Posts
on this thread out of
507 Posts
sitewide.
Date: Jun 19, 2006 - 12:06
In 1701 James II and VII died. He was succeeded in his claims by his son, James Francis Edward Stuart. He was recognised as King James III of England and King James VIII of Scotland by the courts of France, Spain, and Modena, and by the pope; to his detractors he was eventually to be known as the Old Pretender.
After a brief peace, the War of the Spanish Succession renewed French support for the Jacobites and in 1708 James Francis set out with French troops, but the French fleet was chased away by the Royal Navy and retreated round the north of Scotland back to France.
Hanoverians
In March 1702 William died and the throne passed to Mary's sister Anne. Scotland's economy was faltering and the English parliament used trade sanctions to force the Scottish parliament towards union. One Scottish politician who thrived in these unpopular negotiations was the Earl of Mar who, despite his Episcopalian background, ably supported the Scottish Revolution interest and after being a signatory to the Act of Union of 1707 was rewarded by Queen Anne and rose in the new British parliament to a key role in running Scottish affairs, a position formalised in 1713 when the post of Secretary of State for Scotland was revived for him. In that year he was part of the ministry that negotiated the Treaty of Utrecht which ended hostilities between France and Britain, in a deal unpopular with Hanoverians and Whigs.
Widespread discontent gave the Jacobites increasing hopes of James Francis gaining power when the popular Anne died leaving no immediate successor. However, the Act of Settlement 1701 required the monarch to be Protestant while James Francis was a devout Catholic. In the event the Whigs were quick to bring in from Hanover George I, great grandson of James I of England and VI of Scotland, an uncharismatic German who spoke poor English. This unattractive foreign figure revived populist loyalism, still slow to transfer affection to the new regime while the old dynasty lived. His arrival in 1714 was greeted by a winter of riots in England. George favoured the Whigs, and in the spring of 1715 the Tories lost the General Election to the Whigs who then impeached Tory leaders for their part in the peace negotiations with France. Tory fears for themselves and for the High Church of England led to conspiracy for armed rebellion, but when the time came their leaders were paralysed with fear and indecision and an alerted government ordered the arrest of the major players. At the day for the rising in the south-west a large number of Tory gentry turned up for "a race meeting" at Bath, but on receiving a letter from their leader (who was in hiding) saying that all was lost, they went home.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobitism#Jacobite_community.2C_ideology_and_policy
|
|
The Old Pretender's attempted invasion
Modern Scotland
(- threads, 27 posts)
The Jacobites
(19 posts)
Declaration of the Scottish Assembly, April 11th 1689
