Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites - Who were they? What did they want?

this is collod and mirror and on the 16th of April 1746 a battle took place here that would decide the future of Scotland and of England and Ireland it would be the Last Stand of the Jacobite cause and the last pitch battle fought on UK soil it would also be the beginning of the end for a way of life but where did it all begin welcome to Scotland unplugged and the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie and the 45 uprising I've wanted to come here since I was 12 when I first got interested in history when I first heard of the place on a holiday in this pretty spectacular part of the world it's obviously not the only Battlefield I've ever been to and maybe not even the most significant but it is the most haunting [Music] a lot of people get slightly confused about this one they have the impression it was about Scotland versus England this was as much about Highland versus lowland Stewart versus Hanover Catholic versus Protestant Presbyterian versus Episcopalian and even that's oversimplified a kind of bubble gum version of History so who were the jacobites the Stuart Dynasty ruled in Scotland from 1371 when Robert II took the throne Robert was the son of Walter Stewart and his wife Marjorie Bruce daughter of Robert the Bruce so the stewards could trace their line right back to the man himself they ruled England and Ireland from 1603 right up until Queen Anne in 1714 with a slight speed wobble when Charles the first got his head lopped off and Oliver Cromwell stepped in for a bit when Queen Anne died in 1714 there was a succession issue she had a half brother James who would have been here but he was living in Exile and forbidden for being King their father James VII of Scotland and James II of England and Ireland just to confuse you had been crowned King in 1685. Scotland and England were both Protestant countries they'd both seen enough grief about that over the years although they had and have very different churches there was some popular support for James even though he was actually Catholic many believed his daughter Mary a Protestant would inherit the throne soon enough anyway no big deal but then James started to make some changes like suspending parliament in Scotland and England and ruling my personal decree then he had a son also James who displaced me in his ear and then a group of protestant Bishops were prosecuted for sedacious libel and well some people thought it might be time for a spot of light regime change Mary was married to William of Orange a Protestant King from the Netherlands who was also her first cousin a coalition of English soldiers politicians and religious leaders wrote to William inviting him and Mary to just come and take over William landed in Devon with his troops and James legged it to France Mary died and then William died and the throne passed a Mary's sister and following me so far James VII was long dead by this point and you might think the throne was at risk of going to his son James but no there was paperwork under the terms of the act of settlement and was to be succeeded by the Protestant descendants of Sophia The electors of Hanover which when she died made George Ludwig of the House of Hanover who went on to become George the first he was actually James the first slash James VI great grandson meanwhile James the would-be eighth was living in Exile in Italy and he wasn't happy added to this and had overseen the union of Scottish and English parliaments in 1707. the unpopularity of that on both sides of the Border meant a lot of people wanted James and his wig collection on the throne the word Jacobite actually comes from Jacobus the Latin for James Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stewart to give him his Sunday names was born on the 31st of December 1720 in the Palazzo Mitty in Rome the Stewart Court still carried on there an exile Pope Clement XI recognized James as King on account of his being a good Catholic and had given him a resonance to use there had already been a Jacobite Uprising in 1715 but that failed and James simmered on for another 30 years with smaller attempts that came to nothing Charles traveled through Europe and had seen some combat experience from a distance from the age of about 13. growing up he began to enjoy the good life with tastes and outfits that heftily outweighed his allowance and a growing liking for the baby by the end of 1743 having been brought up being told he was a rightful Heir he was increasingly obsessed with the idea of launching a rebellion and taking back what he believed was his the stewards believed in the divine right of kings that they were put there by God or maybe in this case that they'd be put back there by God James wasn't in any fit state to travel to Britain so made Charles Prince Regent giving him full authority to act in his name in 1744 he traveled to France the pair thought they had renewed support from the French government they were wrong but it turned out to be very a convenient the French were fighting the war of Austrian succession and really wanted to take Breton out of it Charles traveled to Dunkirk ready to accompany the French Fleet on an invasion it didn't happen the fleet was scattered by storms in the Spring Equinox he was undeterred and went on the campaign Trail raising money for his invasion even using his great granddad's crown jewels as security his great-granddad had been John III of Poland European royalty well in terms of family trees there's really just one big one he'd raised a bit of cash and he used it to buy and fit out two ships he sat sail for Scotland on the 5th of July but things didn't really go to plan they were fired on by the British ship HMS lion as they sailed North through the Celtic Sea the Elizabeth the more heavily armed ship was sent to deal with light but in the end she had to sail back across the channel taking most of Charlie's weaponry and supplies with her on the 23rd of July the prince landed with seven men who would later become known as the seven men of moydart on the island of Escape if he expected a warm Hero's welcome it didn't happen he contacted the clan Chiefs but a lot of them told them he should just go back to France he'd made promises to turn up with military support from France and he hadn't exactly delivered it was beginning to look like he was talking a good game but he wasn't put off that easily and sailed to the mainland and then he met Donald Cameron of lockhill head of Clan Cameron an astonished Jacobite Donald agreed that he'd support Charles as long as he provided security for the full value of his estate if it all went wrong about having your cake and eating it Charles agreed and from there on other Clan Chiefs fell like Dominoes on the 19th of August Charles raised his father's standard at Glenfinnan and a force arrived that was big enough to allow him to march to Edinburgh the 45 Uprising had begun but Charles had his sight set on London and as always others would pay the price

Channel: Scotland Unplugged

Views: 13,691

Keywords: Scotland, History, Scotland history tours, Thoughty2, scottish history, secret history, things to do in Scotland, Scottish travel, Hoof GP’s Brother, Hoof GP, Edinburgh, Funny, Funny History, historic landmarks, beautiful Scottish scenery, Scottish scenery, 1745, Culloden, Charles Edward Stuart, Jacobite, Jacobite Rebellion, Battle of Culloden, Battle of Prestonpans, Outlander, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Stuart Dynasty, Scottish Independence, 7 men of moidart, James Stuart, Hanoverian

Id: SdzPFHChHpM

Length: 9min 4sec (544 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 06 2023