The Jacobite Wars is a detailed exploration of the Jacobite military
campaigns of 1715 and 1745, set against the background of Scottish
political, religious and constitutional history.The author has written a
clear and demythologised account of the military campaigns waged by the
Jacobites against the Hanoverian monarchs. He draws on the work of
recent historians who have come to emphasise the political significance
of the rebellions (which had been dismissed by earlier historians),
showing the danger faced by the Hanoverian regime during those years of
political and religious turbulence.The Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and
1745 occurred within the context of the 1707 Act of Union, acquiring the
trappings of a national crusade to restore Scotland's independence.
James Edward Stuart promised consistently to break the Union between
Scotland and England if he became King. The rebellions also had great
religious significance: the Jacobite cause was committed to restoring a
Catholic dynasty to the throne and was therefore supported by the small
number of Catholics in the country, and also the Episcopalians, who were
together set against the Presbyterians. The failure of the rebellions,
culminating in the Battle of Culloden, coincided with the national
identity of Scotland becoming associated with Presbyterianism and North
Britain.John L. Roberts presents the view that the political
vulnerability of Hanoverians would explain the strength of Government
reaction to the 1745 rebellion, especially in the Scottish Highlands,
and the ferocity of its retribution, which has long been lamented in
popular Scottish culture.The Jacobite Wars will appeal to anyone with
an interest in the military history of this key period in Scotland's
past.
