The Jacobite Rebellions - Key PeopleThere were many important people involved with the Jacobite Rebellions. Discover more about the people that made history.
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, studio of Alexis Simon Belle (c.1712) NPG 348 © National Potrait Gallery, London
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, by Nicolas de Largillière (1691) PG 2191 © National Galleries of Scotland
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart; Princess Louisa Maria Theresa Stuart (1695) NPG 976 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, by Alexis Simon Belle (1700) PG 1215 © National Galleries of Scotland
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, after Alexis Simon Belle (c.1712) NPG 273 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, by E Gill (1725-28) PG 1836 © National Galleries of Scotland
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, attributed to Anton Raphael Mengs (1740s) NPG 433 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, by Louis Gabriel Blanchet (1741) NPG 5573 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince James Francis Edward Stuart, by or after Francesco Ponzone (c.1741) NPG 4535 © National Portrait Gallery, London |
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King George I, by Georg Wilhelm Lafontaine (c.1720-27) Royal Collection © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
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King George I, studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (c.1714) NPG 4223 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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King George I, studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (1714) NPG 544 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Left: A 1718 quarter-guinea coin from the reign of George I, showing him in profile. |
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King George II after Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt oil on canvas, (1716) NPG 205 © National Portrait Gallery, London |
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William III Landing at Brixham, Torbay, 5 November 1688, by Jan Wyck BHC3095 © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
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Memorial to William III, 1702 |
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General Hugh MacKay, after Sir Godfrey Kneller (c.1690) NAM 7806 © National Army Museum, London
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Lord George Murray
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Lord George Murray (1694-1760) "My life, my fortune, my expectations, the happiness of my wife and children, are all at stake (and the changes are against me), and yet my duty to Scotland in which my Honour is too deeply to withdraw, this matter of principles outweighs everything" |
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Left: "The Battle of Glenshiel 1719" by Peter Tillemans. Figures probably include Lord George Murray, Rob Roy MacGregor, and General Joseph Wightman |
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Field-Marshal George Wade, by Johan van Diest (c.1731) PG 2416 © National Galleries of Scotland
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George Wade, attributed to Johan van Diest (c.1731) NPG 1594 © National Portrait Gallery, London Scotland's Military Roads
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Elegant five-arched road bridge over the River Tay, designed and built by William Adam at the order of Lieutenant-General George Wade for the Board of Ordnance in 1733. The finest of the 40 Wade military bridges
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Surveying in the Highlands, a view near Loch Rannoch by Paul Sandby (1749) © The British Library Board (K.Top.50.83.2) |
On the 21st June 1746, an incident occurred which changed the course of Flora MacDonald's life and turned her into one of the most popular, romantic heroines of Scottish history. Neil MacEachen brought Prince Charles Edward Stuart, defeated in battle at Culloden in April of that year and hunted by Hanoverian troops, from the mainland to the Hebrides to her South Uist home. Flora, born in 1722, was the daughter of a tacksman, a substantial tenant, of the chief, MacDonald of Clanranald, and therefore a member of a staunchly Jacobite clan. On his death, her mother married a MacDonald of Sleat from Skye, and Lady Clanranald herself effectively adopted Flora. The situation meant that Flora had relatives in both Skye and South Uist and was ideally placed to act as a cover for the Prince's flight back to the former island. The story of the journey from Benbecula to Portree with Charles disguised as Flora's Irish maid, Betty Burke, is one of the best known tales of the Scottish past. The journey was perilous but brief and Charles eventually left the mainland for France, never to return. Flora, when her part in the escape became known, was arrested but even the vengeance of the Hanoverians was tempered by the popular appeal of the courage and ingenuity shown by the young woman. During imprisonment on board ship and in the Tower of London, she was well treated and even feted. Release came fairly quickly and by 1750, Flora had returned to the life from which she came with marriage to a relative, Allan MacDonald of Kingsburgh in Skye. She remained, however, an object of curiosity and was in 1773 visited by Dr Johnson and James Boswell during their well-documented tour of the Hebrides. Like so many Scots at their time and later, Flora and her husband emigrated to the American colonies. In 1774, they were in North Carolina seeking a better fortune than post-Culloden Scotland could offer them and the family's final reconciliation to the British crown was perhaps illustrated by Allan MacDonald's enlistment as a Brigadier-General in the army opposing the 'American War of Independence'. He and their son, Alexander, were captured, and after his release, the family attempted unsuccessfully to settle in Canada. Flora returned to Scotland in 1779, to be followed by Allan in 1784. All former colonists were able to file claims against the loss of their property in North America but the returns were disappointing for the MacDonalds and they lived a simple existence at Kingsburgh until Flora's death in 1790. She was buried in the churchyard of Kilmuir at the north end of Skye and her funeral cortege was reported to have been more than a mile in length with people from Skye and adjacent islands.
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The Prince, disguised as Betty Burke, by J. Williams (after 1746) NPG D34735 © National Portrait Gallery, London |
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Flora Macdonald. Jacobite heroine, by Richard Wilson (1747) PG 1162 © National Galleries of Scotland
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Flora Macdonald with miniature of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, after I. Markluin NPG D5656 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Ramsay, Allan (1713 - 1784), Flora Macdonald WA1960.76 © 2006 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum Statue of Flora MacDonald at Inverness Castle MUSIC
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Sir Godfrey Kneller, John Erskine, 22nd or 6th Earl of Mar GAC 0/137 © Crown Copyright, Government Art Collection John Erskine, who was variously entitled the 6th or 11th Earl of Mar, was born on the Erskine estates at Alloa, Clackmannanshire in 1675. He succeeded his father as Earl in 1689. Politically, Mar began his career as a Whig and was one of the leading architects of the 'Act of Union' between Scotland and England in 1707. Alongside the Earl of Loudoun, Mar held the office of Secretary of State, but found himself dismissed in 1709. By 1711, he was already doubting the worth of the union. When Queen Anne died in 1714, Mar was snubbed by the new Hanovarian King, George I. As a result, Mar was quick to join the Jacobite cause. Heading north from London, he raised the standard at Braemar for the 'Old Pretender', Prince James Francis Edward Stewart and was joined by many landowners from north-east Scotland. James was proclaimed king in his absence at the Mercat Cross in Aberdeen. However, Mar was no soldier and deployed his support poorly. A part of his force moved into England, but was forced to surrender at Preston, Lancashire, while Mar himself met the Duke of Argyll in battle at Sheriffmuir. Technically a stalemate, Mar was the moral loser of this battle because he was forced to withdraw from his position. James himself now belatedly arrived and was crowned as James VIII at Scone. However, by February 1716, he was on his way back to France with Mar at his side. As a result, the 1715 Rebellion was over before it had hardly started and John Erskine, the Earl of Mar, or 'Bobbing John' as he came to be called, was much ridiculed for his part in its failure and for his ability to change sides. Mar's position, however, was not entirely of his own making. The aftermath of the 'Act of Union' had been a particularly confusing spell in Scottish politics. Discontent with the economic and political consequences of the union came to focus on the Stewarts as champions of Scottish liberty. Mar's flexibility of allegiance was not in the context unusual or surprising. The Rising itself nevertheless had failed to attract much support from the highland clans, and the English Jacobites, although loyal, had refused to move into Scotland. In addition, the Scots had lost their expected French support when Louis XIV died only a few days before the outset of the rebellion. In France, Mar was made a Duke by Prince James but lost his enthusiasm for the Jacobite cause and may even have been prepared to betray it on one occasion. He died in 1736 at Aix-la-Chapelle. Mar seems to have taken a genuine interest in architecture and formal gardens, suggesting the need for the development of Edinburgh's New Town and also for a canal in central Scotland between the Rivers Forth and Clyde. It seems that he may have been more successful in pursuits other than politics and warfare. |
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John Erskine, 22nd or 6th Earl of Mar by John Smith, (1703) NPG D11580 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Sir Godfrey Kneller, John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, 1675-1732 PG 110 © National Galleries of Scotland |
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Prince Charles Edward Stuart. By William Mosman (c.1750). © PG 1510 National Galleries of Scotland
Above: "Flora MacDonald's Introduction to Bonnie Prince Charlie" by Alexander Johnston (1846-1860). © National Museums Liverpool |
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The Baptism of Prince Charles Edward Stuart by Antonio David (painted in 1725) PG 2511 © National Galleries of Scotland
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Prince Charles Edward Stuart, studio of Antonio David (c.1729) NPG 434 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince Charles Edward Stuart, by Louis Gabriel Blanchet (1738) NPG 5517 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince Charles Edward Stuart in Edinburgh, 1745 by William Brassey Hole CAC1978/112 © City of Edinburgh Council
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"Portrait of Prince Charles Edward Stuart", Studio of Antonio David, 1740 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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The Prince, disguised as Betty Burke, by J. Williams (after 1746) NPG D34735 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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Prince Charles Edward Stuart, by Hugh Douglas Hamilton (c.1785) NPG 376 © National Portrait Gallery, London "I am come home" FULL NAMECharles Edward Louis MUSIC
THE LONG MARCHExplore a map of Prince Charlie's |
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William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, by David Morier (c.1745-50) Royal Collection © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
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William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, by Charles Jervas (c.1728) NPG 802 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, attributed to Christian Friedrich Zincke (c.1743-1745) NPG 6285 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, studio of David Morier (c.1748-1749) NPG 537 © National Portrait Gallery, London
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William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, after Sir Joshua Reynolds (c.1758) NPG 229 © National Portrait Gallery, London FULL NAMEWilliam Augustus Hanover
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William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds (c.1758-1760) NPG 625 © National Portrait Gallery, London |
The Jacobite Rebellions - EventsHere you can fnd out more about the key events of the Jacobite Rebellions. See Events on a Map See Events on a Timeline View Battlefield Maps Scotland's Military RoadsAfter the Battle of Culloden, Bonnie Prince Charlie took flight to escape the Redcoats.
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