History Migration

• Charles I died and left the throne to his brother James who was Catholic
• James II wanted to change the church back to Catholicism
• In 1687, James II dissolved Parliament which made up the members of the church of England
• James II first wife had two children, both girls who were protestant. His second wife was Catholic and she had a son. James now had a Catholic heir
• James II relationship with parliament in 1688:

  • He was a Catholic
  • He had good terms with France (England’s enemy)
  • His wife gave birth to a boy - clear Catholic heir
  • He wanted an absolute monarchy
• Why did Parliament think William of orange was a viable candidate for the English throne?

  • He was a Dutch prince
  • He was a protestant at war with France
  • He was married to James II daughter, Mary (claiming his reign would be legitimate)
  • He was an effective military leader and political operator
• Why did James flee to France in December 1688?

  • James lost many battles
  • His supporters began to desert him
• William of Orange was able to be crowned King because:

  • There was an agreement with parliament restricting powers of the monarch
  • The king and queen agreed to defend ‘ancient rights and liberties’
• Bill of Rights - 1689

  • Basically parliament was in control - nothing could be done without consent of parliament
• Early 1600s - Ireland:

  • James II planted Protestant settlers on lands of Gaelic lords
  • Plantations sold as commercial opportunities

  Plantations problems:

  • Huge number of Gaelic Irish tenants on land
  • Divide
  • Couldn’t get settlers to come from London because it wasn’t desirable
• Act of Settlement - Ireland

  • Catholic nobility exiled to poor regions
  • Catholic nobility lost land
  • New protestant ruling class installed
• Louis XIV supported James II:

  • After fleeing to France, James conspired with French king and prepared to invade William
  • Both interested in allies and expansion
• Williamite victory in Ireland:

  • Showed protestant supremacy
  • Offered generous terms to defeated Catholics
• Penal Laws:

  • Charter for defence of Protestant powers
  • Ensured Catholics would never be more powerful than Protestants
  • Significance was not religious, rather economic
  • Presbyterians were victims
• 1689 - War in Ireland

  William came to Ireland with large army

  1690 - Battle of the Boyne

  • Last time two crowned kings of England, Scotland and Ireland faced each other on battlefield
  • William won
  • French-Irish army escaped - James fled - ‘Flight of the Wild Geese’
• Before 1688 - Plantations

  • Large areas of land confiscated from Catholic landowners and handed to Protestants
  • Poor Irish people emigrated to America
• Before 1688 - The Pale

  • English controlled a small area called the Pale
  • Irish people outside the area were stereotyped as wild
  • Pale shrunk in area; English control weakened
• Highland and Lowland Scots:

  Highland -

  • Native, Gaelic-speaking
  • Own culture and strong warrior traditions
  • Supported James II

  Lowland -

  • Looked down on Highland Scots
  • Dominated Scottish parliament in Edinburgh
• Union of Crowns Arrangement:

  • England and Scotland ruled by the same king, however had their own parliament - 1603
• Battle of Killecrankie:

  1689 - Scottish parliament backed William in a ‘Claim of Right’ blaming James for troubles

  • Jacobites were angered and fought government troops at battle of Killecrankie
  • Jacobites won the battle

  Rebellion collapsed at the Battle of Dunkeld
• Glencoe Massacre - 1692:

  • William wanted to prevent a repeat of the rebellion
  • 1691 - announced clans who supported James would be pardoned if they came to swear allegiance
  • Chief of Glencoe arrived and took the oath, one day late
  • The king in London and representatives in Edinburgh wanted to make an example
  • ’Murder by trust’
• Darien Scheme -

  William Paterson (banker) had an idea of the Scottish forming a colony on a strip between north and south America to control trade between the two and between Atlantic and Pacific oceans

  • Failed because William didn’t want it interfering with negotiations he made with the Spanish
• ‘Parent’ impositions of the ‘child’ of Ireland
• Declaratory Act - 1720:

  • Parliament had the rights to make laws for Ireland
• English Woollen Act - 1699:

  • Made it illegal for Irish to export woollen cloth beyond British Isles
• Reasons Scots supports William and James:

  William:

  1. He was protestant, like most Scots, and James’s attempts to increase rights for Catholics was unpopular in Scotland
  2. Ruling with his wife Mary, who was James‘ daughter, therefore a stuart

  James:

  1. He was a stuart, from the ancient Scottish royal family
  2. He was legally king according to Scottish law
  3. Scotland had not been consulted about the invitation to become king from members of parliament to William of Orange
• How did Darien Scheme fail?

  • Got in the way of William’s negotiations with the Spanish
  • William stopped English ships and colonies from trading with settlers
  • William convinced Dutch investors to withdraw and refuse to sell ships to the company
  • East India Company saw the scheme as a threat to its profits
  • William and EIC got English investors to pull out
  • Scottish settlers surrendered to the Spanish
• 1701 - Act of Settlement: German Hanoverians would succeed to the English throne.

  Scotland refused. Pulled England and Scotland further apart

  Consequences:

  1703 - Scottish law allowing trade or wool with countries at war with England

  Act Anent Peace and War - only Scottish parliament (not monarch) could declare war on an enemy nation

  1705 - English Aliens Act threatened to punish Scotland with a ban on exports to England
• 1700s, English politicians wanted a full union with Scotland, under one parliament (military and security reasons)

  Wanted to end the threat of war with Scotland at a time when England was facing the possibility of a French invasion.
• English Union with Scotland:

  For -

  • High position in London parliament for Scottish politicians
  • Greater security and protection from enemies
  • Guaranteed Protestant rule
  • Free trade and improved economy

  Against -

  • Most Scottish people were against union
  • Loss of Scottish identity and independence, and domination by England
  • Rule by foreigners
  • Increased taxation
• 1706 - England and Scotland agreed a Treaty of Union
• 1707 - Under Act of Union, Scotland and England became one country (Great Britain)
• 1715 Rebellion - A German nobleman became King George II

  • Jacobites rose up in attempt to put the son of James II, known as the ‘Old Pretender’
  • Uprising failed and James Edward was forced to leave
• Impact on Scotland of Act of Union -

  Military control:

  • English government held responsibility for law and order in Scotland
  • English kept a standing army in north of Scotland

  Political advancements:

  • New career opportunities for leading Scottish politicians and other wealthy people
  • With no Scottish parliament, government was even more distant from the lives of ordinary Scottish people, particularly Highlanders who felt they were being ruled by a colonial power
• Impact on Scotland of Act of Union:

  Economic benefits:

  • Those who had lost in the Darien Scheme got their money back with added interest
  • Exports of grain and oatmeal more than doubled between 1707 and 1722. Agricultural techniques improved
  • Scottish merchants set up profitable businesses in London

  Economic problems:

  • No sudden prosperity and many industries (ie. paper) struggled
  • After 1710, taxes and customs duties were heavily increased

  Social change:

  • Regular protests against union
  • Malt Tax (1725) led to riots
  • Higher standard of living for Lowlanders, greater poverty for Highlanders
• Reasons for emigration:

  Jacobites - Banishment, 1715 Jacobite uprising

  Destination: Shipped to America to live sentence as labourers

  • Shipped to America to live sentence as labourers
  • Sold as field workers
  • Some set free by people sympathetic to their cause
• Reasons for emigration:

  Convicts: Convict transport

  Destination:

  • Across Atlantic
  • Many worked on tobacco plantations
  • Worked 7 years and were freed
• Reasons for emigration:

  Indentured servants: Volunteer indentured servants

  Destination: St Kitts, Jamaica

  • St Kitts, Jamaica
  • Death rate high
  • Most didn’t survive period of indenture
• Reasons for emigration:

  Ulster Scots: Took advantage of what Ireland had to offer, persuaded by English government

  Destination:

  • Ireland
  • Result of the treaty of Limerick (1691)
• Reasons for emigration:

  Adventurers: Looking for opportunities to trade across Asia and Caribbean

  Destination:

  • Asia and Caribbean
  • Many served as Mercenary soldiers in European wars