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A
uthor and
Historian Simon Hill writes for Scottish History Online about Bonnie Prince
Charlie and his Jacobites
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Culloden
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Bonnie
Prince Charlie and the Jacobites
By: Simon Hill
(SHO)
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Jacobite was the name given
to supporters of King James VII of Scotland and II of Britain who fled from
the country in 1689 to escape an invading army led by William of Orange
(also known as King Billy). There was fear throughout Britain that James
would re-instate Catholicism as the national religion so the parliaments
invited his daughter Mary and her Protestant husband William to take over
the throne. The decisive battle of the Boyne in Ireland saw James completely
defeated and he left the British Isles.
His son was born in 1688,
James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) was to have been James III
of Britain. However the flight of his father meant that he grew up in exile.
He took part in the aborted invasion of 1708 with French assistance and went
on to lead the 1715 uprising which also ended in failure. Although brave and
honourable James was largely ineffectual and continually suffered from bad
luck earning him the nickname 'Old Mr. Misfortune'. The Old Pretender had
two children, Charles and Henry. Charles went on to become known as Bonnie
Prince Charlie, while Henry became a Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Both
were raised in Rome and protected and supported by the pope, particularly in
their later years.
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Prince James Francis Edward
Stuart
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'The Old Pretender',
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The Stuart's Catholicism
prevented many would-be supporters who were Protestant from joining the
cause. Although some Protestants did become Jacobites the fear in Britain
that the Stuarts would re-introduce Catholicism as the official faith dealt
a blow to their restoration efforts. The Jacobite court settled in Rome in
1719 and was protected and partially funded by the pope from then until the
death of Henry in 1807. Many countries wanted to support the Jacobite cause
and return the Stuarts to the throne so they would be treated favourably by
Britain, or because they disliked William of Orange. The Stuarts always
looked to France first for aid as it was the strongest Catholic power, it
had a long rivalry with England and it was close. Louis XIV of France
supported James VII until 1713 when he repudiated the Jacobites and expelled
the Old Pretender. Once again in the 1740's the French prepared to invade
but were prevented by poor weather and the 1745 rising failed.
Charles fled to France
after the defeat but was expelled so the French could make peace with
Britain. King Charles XII of Sweden also proposed to help the Jacobite
campaign by
providing 10,000 troops, however
negotiations broke down in 1718 because the
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Swedish king died. Sweden
remained on good terms with the Jacobites and even sent a secret regiment
for unacknowledged service in Scotland in 1745. Other offers of help from
Spain and Russia broke down due to problems in negotiations and the weather
prevented the Spanish armada from assisting the 1719 rising.
Many of these negotiations
for foreign support were not helped by the manners of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
He was a heavy drinker and became angry when things did not go his way. The
Prussians withdrew support after Charles had become extremely drunk and
insulted them publicly. Jacobites had their own material culture and an
underground society. They wore secret symbols to illustrate their allegiance
to the Stuarts and often met in Jacobite taverns to sing seditious songs or
to drink to the king over the water. Many songs were popular amongst the
Jacobites and some have survived through to the modern day, 'The Bonnie
Banks of Loch Lomond' for example. People would wear a white rose to
celebrate the Old Pretender's birthday or a white cockade on their hat to
show their support of Jacobitism. Jacobites are also often associated with
tartan; of course the Highlanders who fought for the Stuarts were mostly
clad in their clan tartans.
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Also in the 1740's another
way of displaying Jacobite sympathies was to wear a tartan waistcoat. A
prominent English Jacobite had an entire tartan suit made and it can now be
seen on display at the National Museum of Scotland, in Edinburgh. The
traditional kilt was banned for a time after the defeat of the Jacobites
because of its rebel associations. There were several military campaigns in
Britain in support of the Jacobites but all of them were flawed either in
planning or execution and sometimes in both. Risings took place in 1715,
1719 and most famously in 1745, not to mention the aborted rising planned in
1708. The earlier risings included Highland and Lowland Scots, English and
French but in 1745 the Jacobite force was almost exclusively made up of
Highlanders. Prince Charles landed on the small island of Eriskay and
gathered the loyal clan Chiefs before advancing on Edinburgh.
The Jacobite army took
Edinburgh without much resistance and defeated a government army at
Prestonpans by cleverly sneaking across a marsh in the
mist
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Prince Henry Benedict Stuart
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later Cardinal York
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and surprise attacking
them. The Highlanders only wanted to take Scotland, but Prince Charles was
greedy for the English throne and convinced the army to push on southwards.
He lied and told them that English Jacobites would meet up with the
Highlanders further south, in fact the English Jacobites had decided not to
join the uprising. They advanced to Carlisle then Manchester, and eventually
as far south as Derby. It was here with three armies lining up to fight them
that they discovered Charles had been lying and made the long retreat home.
A sulky Bonnie Prince Charlie accompanied them home, drinking and moaning
all the way.
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Prince Charles E.Stuart
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'Bonny Prince Charlie'
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Eventually the weary
Highlanders were cornered at Culloden and slaughtered as Charles made his
escape.
The Jacobite struggle has
been romanticised ever since and helped create the image of the Highlander
as the loyal and brave soldier. Much of the romanticisation of the Jacobite
uprisings especially in 1745 is unjustified. There are several
misconceptions surrounding this area of history. Firstly the Jacobite cause
was not about Scotland versus England there were people of each nationality
on either side. Secondly Bonnie Prince Charlie, although highly charismatic,
was no hero, he could be viewed as a spoilt alcoholic aristocrat who had no
problem leading loyal men to their graves for his own personal ambitions.
Thirdly Jacobitism did not really stand for a noble cause, it sought to put
the Stuarts back on the throne and they stood for the 'divine right of
kings' which meant they believed the king was chosen by god and should have
absolute authority.
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The Stuarts also advocated
the Catholic religion (which many Scots were against). Ultimately it seems
strange that the Jacobites have been immortalised on shortbread tins as a
symbol of Scotland. Whatever the reason, the Jacobite cause has been
remembered by Scots, and appropriated as a nationalist symbol. The memorial
at Culloden on the anniversary of the battle still attracts huge crowds
today.
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Acknowledgements:
Prince
Charles Edward Stuart, portrait by John Pettie, copyright Royal Collection.
Culloden, by David Morier, copyright Royal Collection. Prince
Henry Benedict Stuart, later Cardinal York, by Blanchet, copyright Royal
Collection. Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, 'The Old
Pretender', copyright Blairs College. Author: Simon Hill, Edinburgh for
Scottish History Online
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