The Jacobite cause first began with the ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688, when King James II was deposed from the throne for his Catholic beliefs. However we need to turn the clock back a little in order to understand why this happened.

Since 1603 the Stuart family had been joint monarchs of both England and Scotland, which to all intents otherwise had remained separate kingdoms. This rule had been interrupted by the Civil Wars which tore the nation apart between 1642 and 1651, as King Charles I and his supporters fought against the forces of Parliament for control over the country politically, a war Charles lost. He was executed in 1649 and despite the best efforts of the Royalists the country was ruled as a republic for the next 11 years, firstly by Parliament, later by Oliver Cromwell directly. By this a principle had been established where it was seen to be more acceptable to question the monarch’s form of government and even religious views (in an age when Catholicism was regarded widely with fear, loathing and persecution in England and much of Scotland), and even remove them where necessary.

The monarchy was restored with Charles II in 1660 and Charles wisely steered a course of semi-religious toleration, keeping his own Catholic beliefs quiet. Towards the end of his reign though there were again fears of a Catholic take-over with the hysteria and fear of a ‘Popish plot’. This led to unsuccessful moves by Parliament to try and exclude Charles’ brother and heir James, who was an open Catholic, from the throne. In 1685 Charles died and James succeeded as King James II. Protestant fears in south-west England led to a short lived and failed rising led by the Duke of Monmouth, Charles’ illegitimate son.

At least initially fears about James seemed unfounded, but within a year of his accession he had started passing bills subverting anti-Catholic laws without Parliamentary consent and replacing men in significant government positions including the army, first in Ireland and then the rest of the country with his Catholic friends. Open rebellion was still dismissed by most as James was now aged and his heir was his daughter Mary, a Protestant herself and married to the Protestant champion of Europe, William of Orange. 1688 changed all this as James continued in his campaign of Catholic replacements with the ‘Declaration of Indulgence’ and then his wife unexpectedly produced a son - who would of course now take precedence over Mary in the line of succession and also be brought up a Catholic. This was too much for many and a deputation was sent to Holland to ask Mary and her husband to come to England and sort the situation out. William left with an army for England, landing at Torbay. Popular support rallied behind him and then as the British army began to desert to William, James fled to France. Within 6 months William III and Mary II (as they were titled) were proclaimed the joint monarchs of England and Scotland.

The Jacobites were therefore adherents to James who wanted to see him and his descendants restored to the thrones of Britain. Almost immediately after James was deposed, the first of the Jacobite Risings had started. James immediately appealed on his arrival in France to King Louis XIV, who seeing an opportunity to annoy his adversary William III immediately agreed to help James. James therefore arrived in Ireland soon after with a French army, which was rapidly added to by Catholic supporters in Ireland. By April 1689 he had subjugated all of Protestant (Williamite) Ireland, except Londonderry which he laid siege to. James had almost succeeded in starving the city into submission when his naval blockade was broken and supplies landed in the city, after which he was forced to raise the siege. For the next few months James conducted a titular government of Ireland from Dublin. In June 1690 William landed with an Anglo-Dutch army at Carrickfergus. On July 1st he caught up with James’ army along the line of the river Boyne. The battle ended with James’ army in disarray and James fleeing back to France shortly afterwards - a fact remembered by Protestant ‘Orangemen’ in Ireland even today, and being at the root of many of its recent troubles.

Meanwhile in April 1689 in Scotland James Graham, Viscount Dundee, or ‘Bonnie Dundee’ as he is perhaps better known, had raised James’ standard in Scotland and brought out a number of clans in his favour. This small army swept aside Government troops in a decisive Highland charge at the battle of Killiekrankie on July 27th, but at the cost of Dundee’s life. With no decisive leadership the rising in Scotland limped on another year, with small clashes with government forces at Dunkeld later in 1689, and Cromdale the following year. Soon after though it petered out.

James himself was to see no more active part in the Risings, thereafter the banner was taken up by his son, James Stuart, better known to history as ‘The Old Pretender’. Over the next 50 years there would be more attempts at risings, but only when there was serious discontent with the Williamite (and later Hanoverian) government and/or a foreign power wanted to use the Jacobites to get at or create a second front against the British government.

Up until 1707 there seemed to be no particular cause for this - after all it was a Stuart on the throne (Mary first, then after first she died in 1694 William carried on until he died in 1702, when Mary’s sister Anne became Queen). Few expected after James’ defeat in Ireland there would be another rising, although many notable people of the day such as John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, the great military hero of the time kept a secret correspondence going with the Jacobite court exiled at St. Germain in France (see picture below, illustration courtesy of Aberdeen university) - just in case there was a sudden change in government.

This all changed with the Act of Union in 1707 which made England and Scotland one country ruled from Westminster. Many people in the Lowlands of Scotland were pleased by this as they stood to make a great deal of money from it, but others particularly in the Highlands were incensed by their loss of sovereignty. James sought to capitalise on this and persuaded Louis - currently at war with Britain - to send troops to Scotland to spark off a rising. Duly 8000 men were sent, but on arriving at the Scottish coast were chased off by the Royal Navy before James arrived or a single man could be landed. Thus the 1708 rising was over before it even began.

Again Jacobite sympathy lapsed until 1714. This year saw the death of Queen Anne - with no Protestant Stuart successor. Accordingly Parliament invited a distant cousin of Anne’s, George the Elector of Hanover to come and be King. This infuriated many who had been pacified by the fact that there had been a Stuart on the throne, but now a distant German princeling, who although a Protestant couldn’t speak a word of English, was being invited to be King. Riots broke in many parts of the country in protest, culminating in a two-pronged Jacobite rising in 1715. A force of English and Scots Jacobites massed on the border then marched South through the North of England and into the county of Lancashire, an area known to have many Catholic families and pro-Jacobite sympathies. With tensions over the new government, some Catholic support and trade difficulties meaning many gentry were in debt, there was some support for a rising in northern England. Some 2,500 Jacobites marched into Preston, where soon after the town was surrounded by government forces. After a couple of days of fighting the town and the Jacobites were forced to surrender.

In the meantime a second Jacobite army of Highlanders had been raised and these 6000 men had marched south under the leadership of the Earl of Mar. They got as far south as Sherrffmuir, just outside Dunblane on November 15th 1715. They had intended to go on to try and link up with their forces in England - unaware of events there - but found their way blocked by government forces under the Duke of Argyll. Despite having lesser casualties during the battle, the incompetent leadership of the Earl of Mar caused the Highlanders to lose heart, and they had dispersed by the end of the battle. Soon after the 1715 rising fizzled out. James himself arrived in Scotland at the beginning of December, but hearing of the defeats and realising his cause was lost he took ship back to France again.

A further attempt was made in 1719, this time with Spanish support. Spanish troops were landed in Scotland and Highland forces joined them, but they were routed by Government forces with superior artillery at the battle of Glenshiel. After this there were various plots, attempts to try and get foreign powers involved - including Sweden, but most were hare-brained, and none came to anything.

Again it seemed to many that the Jacobite cause was lost once and for all, but in the years to come some pinned their hopes on the newly-born son of James - Charles Edward Stuart - ‘The Young Pretender’, or as he is better known ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’. James seemed to have lost heart now, his supporters in Britain were wearied, and France was no longer at war with Britain so had no interest in helping.

This had changed by 1744. The Jacobites had a charismatic leader in the shape of Charles who aimed to get the throne back for his father, and France was now at war with Britain again. As such the French proffered an invasion force and fleet in 1744, but it was wrecked by a storm days before it was to sail. Disappointed when the French were unable and unwilling to help him further because of this, Charles became determined to carry on alone - thus the ‘45 started. (See our page on the 1745 Rising for details on what happened next).