The story of the Jacobite Rebellions really began in 1534, when King Henry VIII changed the official religion of England from Catholic to Protestant. The narrative then continued through turbulent times of civil war and religious and political strife, leading to tensions and discontent boiling over when the Catholic King James II came to the throne in 1685; whereupon he was immediately beset by a Protestant rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth, which set a chain of events in motion, resulting in William III and Mary II being crowned as Joint Monarchs after a bloodless coup.

It was James’ removal from the throne which created the spark for his supporters to orchestrate a series of revolts, known as the Jacobite Rebellions; the name coming from the Latin for James – Jacobus. These uprisings, which included the rebellions from the Highlands of Scotland, and the Williamite Wars in Ireland, also formed part of the wider picture of a European war, known as the Nine Years War; the War of the Grand Alliance; or the War of the League of Augsburg (1688-1697). During which, King Louis XIV of France strived to realise his expansionist plans while enforcing the Catholic religion and continuing to promote the Jacobite cause for his own ends.

Later, King Louis XIV was instrumental in initiating another conflict in Europe; the Spanish War of Succession 1701-1714, which led the French to continue to support, Jacobite risings in Scotland during the same period and beyond, ultimately leading to Bonnie Prince Charlie’s audacious bid for the British throne in 1745.

The ‘45 rebellion was eventually put down in the crushing military defeat at Culloden in 1746 when the last pitched battle on British soil finally sounded the death knell for the Catholic and Stuart monarchy. However, the legend of the dashing prince, who came so near, but yet so far in his bid to win the throne back for the Stuarts, is still very much alive in Scotland, especially as he continued to frustrate an enormous government manhunt to capture him, amidst a savage backdrop of reprisals being wreaked on the Highland Jacobites.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 A Background to the Religious Tensions that Existed in the British Isles Prior to the Ascendancy of James II in 1685
• Chapter 2 The Coronation of the Catholic King James II (R. 1685–1688) Leading to Protestant Rebellion and Ascendancy
• Chapter 3 The Williamite Wars in Ireland (1689–1691)
  • Chapter 4 The 1689 Jacobite Rebellion and the Subsequent Events that Led to a Further Jacobite Rebellion in 1715
  • Chapter 5 The 1715 and 1719 Scottish Jacobite Rebellions and Further Jacobite Activity until 1737
  • Chapter 6 The Build Up to the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion Against the Backdrop of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748)
  • Chapter 7 The 1745 Jacobite Invasion Force Sets Sail
  • Chapter 8 The Early Exchanges of ‘The 45’ and the Battle of Prestonpans
  • Chapter 9 The Jacobite Foray into England and the Subsequent Retreat back into the Highlands
  • Chapter 10 Culloden
  • Chapter 11 The Prince on the Run
  • Chapter 12 Women of the Jacobite Rebellions
  • Chapter 13 The Pacification of the Highlands
  • Chapter 14 Further Nails in the Jacobite Coffin
  • Chapter 15 The Highland Clearances 1750–1880
  • Chapter16 The Last Vestiges of Jacobitism
  • Chapter 17 The Legacy of the Jacobite Williamite War of 1689–1691 as a Major Factor in the Sectarian Division of Northern Ireland and the Troubles of 1968–1998
  • Chapter 18 Current Issues
  • Notes
• Bibliography
• Plates