The Union and Highlanders

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In 1707 the Treaty of Union made the countries of Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and Wales property of England. Queen Anne, William of Orange’s daughter, passed the Test Act barring Catholics, Presbyterians, and Reformists from civil and military employment. George I was coronated in 1714 and there was an uprising. General Wade was sent to the Highlands to maintain control.

George I and II starved the people and exported their crops to England under armed guard. In 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of James, came to ask the Jacobites for military aid to regain his throne. Charles and the Jacobites were defeated by the British Army at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Jacobites and Highland chiefs were massacred and the survivors of the battle were sold into slavery in Barbados. £ 5 was paid for the head of each man. The Duke of Cumberland was chosen as the Final Solution to the Scottish problem. His nickname was The Butcher. (1, 2, 3, 8, 10)