Jacobitism

This article is not about the Jacobite Orthodox Church, nor is it about Jacobinism or the earlier Jacobean period.

Religion, politics and adventurers

While Jacobitism was closely linked with Roman Catholicism from the outset particularly in Ireland, elsewhere in Britain Catholics were in a tiny minority by 1689 and the bulk of Jacobite support came from other groups.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholicism - 1689

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Catholics formed about 75% of the population of Ireland, but in England only around 1% and in Scotland about 2%.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Irish support for James II was mostly from Catholics, though he was taking the French side against the League of Augsburg and William's elite force the Blue Guards had the Papal Banner with them. The war in Ireland was predominantly a Catholic nationalist uprising and after its defeat in 1691 their only significant contribution to Jacobite support came from the Irish Brigade of the French army.

Related Topics:
League of Augsburg - Blue Guards - Papal Banner - 1691 - Irish Brigade

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In lowland Britain the Catholics tended to come from the gentry and formed the most ideologically committed supporters, drawing on almost two centuries of subterfuge as a minority persecuted by the state and rallying enthusiastically to Jacobite armies as well as contributing financial support to the court in exile. Some Scottish Highland clans such as the Macdonalds of Clanranald remained Catholic, but they were exceptions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Just as much dedicated support in England came from the Nonjuring Anglicans, which started with Church of England clergy who refused on principle to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary while James still lived, and developed into an Episcopalian schism of the church with small congregations in all the English cities.

Related Topics:
Nonjuring - Anglican

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Scottish Episcopalians provided over half of the Jacobite forces in Britain, and although Dundee's rising in 1689 came mostly from the western Highlands, in later risings Episcopalians came roughly equally from the north-east Scottish Lowlands north of the River Tay and from the Highland clans. They too were described as Nonjurors. As Protestants they could take part in Scottish politics, but were in a minority and were repeatedly discriminated against in legislation favouring the established Church of Scotland. However many Episcopalians were quiet about any Jacobite sympathies and were able to accommodate themselves to the new regime. About half of the Episcopalians supporting the Jacobite cause came from the Lowlands, but this was obscured in the risings by their tendency to wear Highland dress as a kind of Jacobite uniform.

Related Topics:
Episcopalian - 1689 - Scottish Lowlands - River Tay - Church of Scotland

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To the Highland clans the conflict was more about inter-clan politics than about religion, and a significant factor was resistance to the territorial ambitions of the (Presbyterian) Campbells of Argyll.

Related Topics:
Presbyterian - Campbells - Argyll

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another source of Jacobite support came from those dissatisfied with political developments. Some Whigs, most obviously the Earl of Mar, reacted to political disappointments by joining the Jacobites, but while others were courted from 1692 onwards and indicated support, mostly this was just reinsurance in case the Jacobites came out on top. Some Whiggish Scots patriots such as the 10th Earl Marischal and the Master of Sinclair supported the Jacobites after 1707 in the hopes of freeing Scotland from English domination.

Related Topics:
Whig - Earl of Mar - 1692 - Earl Marischal - Master of Sinclair - 1707

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Tories were a more likely source of support given their commitment to church and king, but many were reluctant to trust the Church of England to a Catholic king. At times such as 1715–1722 when the Hanoverians appeared to be dismantling Anglican dominance and 1743–1745 when Whig dealings denied the Tories parliamentary victory they would coalesce and turn to the Jacobites, but they were fainthearts when it came to serious action. Nevertheless this gave hopes that large numbers of Tories would support a Jacobite rising with a serious prospect of winning, particularly when helped by foreign intervention.

Related Topics:
Tories - Church of England - 1715 - 1722

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Other Jacobite recruits could be described as adventurers — desperate men who saw the cause as a solution to their (usually financial) problems. Although small in number and varying from unemployed weavers looking for excitement to impoverished gentry like William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock who served Charles as a colonel and became a general after the Battle of Falkirk, they contributed significantly to the daring that brought the Jacobites a prospect of success in their campaigns. However, other such mercenaries often became spies and informers.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~