6th September 1715. The Jacobite standard is raised as rebels plan to place a Stuart king back on the thrones of Scotland, England, and Ireland. One of the chief causes of the rebellion was the Act of Union.
As part of Union, the Act of Settlement stated that the monarch must be Protestant, effectively banning Stuarts from the throne. This angered Jacobite and Episcopalian supporters of the Stuart cause.
And there were other problems with Union: the economic benefits were slow to appear, and many Scottish merchants struggled with English competition and higher taxes, such as the hated “Malt Tax” of 1713.
Scotland had limited representation in a Parliament run from London, leading many Scots to feel disenfranchised.
The Union gave Westminster legal authority over Scottish appeals. English judges were now in charge of implementing Scots Law, which in some cases led to miscarriages of justice.
When Queen Anne died in 1714, George I of Hanover became king.
George was unpopular and many disaffected Scots turned to the Jacobite cause, seeing the return of a Stuart monarch as the best opportunity to end the Union.
Description
In 1715, opponents of the Treaty of Union and the Hanoverian success raised an army. Called Jacobites, they posed a serious threat to Scotland’s union with England.
