The Jacobite Risings of 1715 and 1745-46
It could be said that the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745-46 were the two most serious threats to the Hanovarian Crown. Although there were numerous smaller attempts to restore the Stewarts to the throne, the 1715 and 1745-46 remain the closest to succeeding. This essay will examine the several factors pertaining to the failures of these risings.
According to Lenman the 1715 rising is one that was - “the result of a private decision taken by one man because of his personal circumstances. The man was John Erskine Earl of Mar, and the circumstances were simply the complete collapse of his political career.” (Lenman, 1980, p.126)
Mar had originally been in favour of the Union of 1707 which had been the catalyst for the abortive invasion and was also far from popular within the Jacobite community. Moreover, Mar had also been appointed secretary of state in 1714 with a special responsibility for Scotland. However - “Mar’s reputation had in fact been destroyed in the eyes of George I by Whig slanders about his secret Jacobite sympathies. With characteristic rudeness George I literally turned his back on the erstwhile Secretary of State when he appeared at Court and thereby turned a depressed man into a desperate one.” (Lenman, 1980, p.126)
Lenman then further discusses Mar’s fateful strategy - “What Mar then did is highly revealing. He did not set about consulting with the Pretender. Mar did not even have commission from the Pretender when he raised the Jacobite standard and was reduced to using what some historians with a tact worthy of a public relation officer, have called ‘anticipatory draft’. Mar’s rebellion was really on behalf of the man Mar cared for most in this world – himself.” (Lenman, 1980, pp.126-127)
Mar was able to gather approximately 10,000 foot and horse to fight against only 4,000 in the government army. In particular, Devine suggests that - “from a Jacobite perspective, the prospect for the rising of 1715 was bright indeed. But
According to Lenman the 1715 rising is one that was - “the result of a private decision taken by one man because of his personal circumstances. The man was John Erskine Earl of Mar, and the circumstances were simply the complete collapse of his political career.” (Lenman, 1980, p.126)
Mar had originally been in favour of the Union of 1707 which had been the catalyst for the abortive invasion and was also far from popular within the Jacobite community. Moreover, Mar had also been appointed secretary of state in 1714 with a special responsibility for Scotland. However - “Mar’s reputation had in fact been destroyed in the eyes of George I by Whig slanders about his secret Jacobite sympathies. With characteristic rudeness George I literally turned his back on the erstwhile Secretary of State when he appeared at Court and thereby turned a depressed man into a desperate one.” (Lenman, 1980, p.126)
Lenman then further discusses Mar’s fateful strategy - “What Mar then did is highly revealing. He did not set about consulting with the Pretender. Mar did not even have commission from the Pretender when he raised the Jacobite standard and was reduced to using what some historians with a tact worthy of a public relation officer, have called ‘anticipatory draft’. Mar’s rebellion was really on behalf of the man Mar cared for most in this world – himself.” (Lenman, 1980, pp.126-127)
Mar was able to gather approximately 10,000 foot and horse to fight against only 4,000 in the government army. In particular, Devine suggests that - “from a Jacobite perspective, the prospect for the rising of 1715 was bright indeed. But