Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites

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Sep 23, 2001

Jacobite was the name given to supporters of King James VII of Scotland and II of Britain who fled from the country in 1689 to escape an invading army led by William of Orange (also known as King Billy). There was fear throughout Britain that James would re-instate Catholicism as the national religion so the parliaments invited his daughter Mary and her Protestant husband William to take over the throne. The decisive battle of the Boyne in Ireland saw James completely defeated and he left the British Isles. His son was born in 1688, James Francis Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) was to have been James III of Britain. However the flight of his father meant that he grew up in exile. He took part in the aborted invasion of 1708 with French assistance and went on to lead the 1715 uprising which also ended in failure. Although brave and honourable James was largely ineffectual and continually suffered from bad luck earning him the nickname 'Old Mr. Misfortune'.

The Old Pretender had two children, Charles and Henry. Charles went on to become known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, while Henry became a Cardinal in the Catholic Church. Both were raised in Rome and protected and supported by the pope, particularily in their later years. The Stuart's Catholicism prevented many would-be supporters who were Protestant from joining the cause. Although some Protestants did become Jacobites the fear in Britain that the Stuarts would re-introduce Catholicism as the official faith dealt a blow to their restoration efforts. The Jacobite court settled in Rome in 1719 and was protected and partially funded by the pope from then until the death of Henry in 1807.

Many countries wanted to support the Jacobite cause and return the Stuarts to the throne so they would be treated favourably by Britain, or because they disliked William of Orange. The Stuarts always looked to France first for aid as it was the strongest Catholic power, it had a long rivalry with England and it was close. Louis XIV of France supported James VII until 1713 when he repudiated the Jacobites and expelled the Old Pretender. Once again in the 1740's the French prepared to invade but were prevented by poor weather and the 1745 rising failed. Charles fled to France after the defeat but was expelled so the French could make peace with Britain. King Charles XII of Sweden also proposed to help the Jacobite campaign by providing 10,000 troops, however negotiations broke down in 1718 because the Swedish king died. Sweden remained on good terms with the Jacobites and even sent a secret regiment for unacknowledged service in Scotland in 1745. Other offers of help from Spain and Russia broke down due to problems in negotiations and the weather prevented the Spanish armada from assisting the 1719 rising. Many of these negotiations for foreign support were not helped by the manners of Bonnie Prince Charlie. He was a heavy drinker and became angry when things did not go his way. The Prussians withdrew support after Charles had become extremely drunk and insulted them publicly.

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