Prince Charles Edward Stuart, from the National Library of Scotland
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In the middle of the eighteenth century, England and Scotland were united under king George II. Nonetheless, there were major political and religious differences between these two areas. These differences proved a source of conflict and led a Roman-Catholic nobleman named Charles Edward Stuart, whose grandfather had been king of England and Scotland, to rise against the rule of the Protestant king George II. This revolt is now called the Scottish Uprising or the Jacobite Rising of 1745. In the summer of 1745, Charles Edward Stuart marched south from Scotland with an army of loyal Scottish supporters (called “Jacobites”) and won victories across northern England. However, when an English army opposed Stuart and his forces, the Jacobites were defeated and the revolt promptly squashed. Although this rebellion lasted less than a year, its impact was significant. The British government executed or imprisoned a number of prominent Jacobites and passed laws to ensure that Scottish lands came into the domain of the English government. At the same time, though, supporters of Scottish independence movement today celebrate the 1745 rebellion for showcasing the spirit and fortitude of the Scottish people.
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