Charles Edward Stewart 1625 - 1688
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Charles, reared in England and a devout Anglican and Episcopalian, had no love for the Kirk. When he went north for his Scottish coronation, his subjects were scandalized by the Popish practices he brought with him. He authorized the revision of the English prayer book in an attempt to produce one for Scotland that might replace extempore prayer. This act produced violent opposition, riots and protest. Important men and nobles rebelled against the enforcement of the use of the new prayer book. Thousands flocked to Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh in February 1638 to sign the National Covenant, a document that condemned all Catholic doctrines and upheld the 'True Religion'. Copies of the Covenant were carried all over the Lowlands and signed amidst strong national feeling. The Covenant, however, was somewhat ambivalent: its signatories swore, not only to uphold the True Religion, but also to be loyal to a king who demanded the Episcopacy they shunned. Thus, loyal subjects of the crown found themselves torn between obedience to the king and obedience to their new religion.
When civil war broke out in England, the Covenanting Scots agreed to go to the aid of the English Parliamentarians, on condition that Presbyterianism was adopted throughout England and Ireland, as well as Scotland. |
In 1649, Charles I was defeated by Cromwell and executed. The Scots grasped this opportunity to advance their quest for stability and invited his exiled son, Charles II, to Scotland where he was crowned king, on the condition that he supported the Covenant. Furious, Cromwell invaded Scotland. Charles went back into exile and Cromwell ruled both countries until the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660.
Charles II now ignored all the promises he had made, and sought to reintroduce Episcopacy. In 1670, these religious meetings were declared to be treasonable, and there then followed the Killing Times, when thousands of fanatical Covenanters were slaughtered, retaliating with brutal reprisals.
Charles II died of apoplexy in 1685 and was succeeded by his brother, James VII/II, Scotland’s first Catholic sovereign for 120 years. He was deposed in 1688 by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. He fled to France and William and Mary were crowned King and Queen.
Some Scots, mostly Highlanders, remained true to James, however. The Jacobites,
rose, under Graham of Claverhouse and almost annihilated William’s army in a savage baffle at Killiecrankie in 1689. But Claverhouse was killed, leaderless, and they lost heart and returned to their Highlands.
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