Clan, King and Covenant: The History of the Highland Clans from the Civil War to the Glencoe Massacre

Clan, King and Covenant explores the turbulent history of the Highlands during the seventeenth century. The signing of the National Covenant in 1638 first challenged the powers of Charles I in Scotland, but it was only when Alisdair MacDonald joined Montrose in raising the Royalist clans that the country erupted into civil war. Central to the conflict was the ancient enmity between the MacDonalds and the Campbells, Earls of Argyll, as clan Donald attempted to reclaim their ancestral lands in Argyll. There followed a whirlwind year of spectacular victories for Montrose in the name of the King as the Highland clans emerged upon the national stage, before his campaign subsided into eventual defeat. However it was only after the Restoration of Charles II that a bitter and protracted struggle broke out between Church and Crown, after Bishops were reappointed to the national Church. Political and religious tensions mounted with the acession of James VII of Scotland (James II of England) as a Catholic king ruling over a predominantly Presbyterian people. It reached a climax in the outbreak of the Highland War, when Viscount Dundee won a devastating victory at Killiecrankie on behalf of James VII over the Presbyterian forces of Lowland Scotland, but at the cost of his own life. Subsequently the Crown imposed an uneasy peace upon the Highlands, after the cold-blooded plotting of 'murder under trust' culminated in the Glencoe Massacre. Condoned by William of Orange, few events in the blood-stained history of the Highland clans have quite the dreadful resonance of this act, carried out cynically as a matter of public policy.Also available by the same Lost Kingdoms and Feuds, Forays and Rebellions (both Edinburgh University Press)

Clan, King and Covenant explores the turbulent history of the Highlands during the seventeenth century. The signing of the National Covenant in 1638 first challenged the powers of Charles I in Scotland, but it was only when Alasdair MacDonald joined Montrose in raising the Royalist clans that the country erupted into civil war. Central to the conflict was the ancient enmity between the MacDonalds and the Campbells, Earls of Argyll, as Clan Donald attempted to reclaim their ancestral lands in Argyll. Political and religious tension mounted with the accession of James VII of Scotland (James II of England) as a Catholic king ruling over a predominantly Presbyterian people. It reached a climax in the outbreak of the Highland War, when Viscount Dundee won a devastating victory at Killiecrankie on behalf of James VII over the Presbyterian forces of Lowland Scotland, but at the cost of his own life.

Subsequently the Crown imposed an uneasy peace upon the Highlands, after the cold-blooded plotting of "murder under trust" culminated in the Glencoe Massacre. Cordoned by William of Orange, few events in the blood-stained history of the Highland clans have quite the dreadful resonance of this act, carried out so cynically as a matter of public policy.

"Clan, King and Covenant explores the turbulent history of the Highlands during the seventeenth century." "The signing of the National Covenant in 1638 first challenged the powers of Charles I in Scotland, but it was only when Alasdair MacDonald joined Montrose in raising the Royalist clans that the country erupted into civil war. Central to the conflict was the ancient enmity between the MacDonalds and the Campbells, Earls of Argyll, as Clan Donald attempted to reclaim their ancestral lands in Argyll. There followed a whirlwind year of spectacular victories for Montrose in the name of the King as the Highland clans emerged upon the national stage, before his campaign subsided into eventual defeat."--Jacket CONTENTS 6 Acknowledgements 8 Foreword 10 1 The Highlands before 1625 14 2 Prelude to Civil War 30 3 Clan Donald and the Earl of Argyll 44 4 Montrose and Alasdair MacDonald 63 5 Victory and Defeat 83 6 Campaigns in the Highlands 100 7 Montrose's Last Campaign 115 8 Cromwell and the Highlands 126 9 Restoration and Reaction 142 10 End of the Restoration Regime 165 11 Outbreak of the Highland War 187 12 End of the Highland War 208 13 'Murder under Trust' 226 14 An Uneasy Peace 253 Bibliography 260 Index 262 A 262 B 262 C 263 D 264 E 265 F 265 G 265 H 265 I 266 J 266 K 267 L 267 M 267 N 269 O 270 P 270 R 270 S 270 T 271 U 271 W 271 Y 271