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William of Orange
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The massacre of the MacDonald's of Glencoe
is one of the most notorious acts of infamy in Scottish history
and is remembered even now with bitter distaste by many of
that clan.
In 1691 all Highland Clan Chiefs were
required to swear and sign an oath of loyalty to the new,
protestant King William III by no later than 1 January 1692.
The penalties against those who failed
to do so would be ferocious, and carried out with the full
backing of the law. These would include the forfeiture of
all lands, the destruction of their homes, the outlawing of
their entire families and even murder at will.
Faced with such a convincing argument,
the Clan chiefs, believing discretion to be the better part
of valour, practically queued to sign the oath by the appointed
time.
One who failed to do so was MacIain
of Glencoe, the elderly head of a small branch of MacDonalds.
His non-appearance, however, was not the deliberate and defiant
act of a rebel, but the simple result of unfortunate circumstance.
MacIain had set off in ample time to sign his allegiance,
but, misinformed, had gone to the wrong place. He then faced
a frightful, forty mile journey in mid-winter to Inveraray
near the head of Loch Fyne, where he arrived and swore the
oath around a day late.
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| Sir,
You are hereby ordered to fall upon the rebels,
the M'Donalds, of Glencoe and putt all to the sword
under seventy. You are to have special care that
the old fox and his sons doe upon no account escape
your hands. You are to secure all the avenues, that
no man may escape. This you are to putt in execution
at five o'clock in the morning precisely, and by
that time, or very shortly after it, I'll strive
to be att you with a stronger party. If I doe not
come to you att five, you are not to tarry for me,
but to fall on. This is by the King's special command,
for the good of the country, that these miscreants
be cutt off root and branch. See that this be putt
in execution without feud or favour, else you may
expect to be treated as not true to the king's government,
nor a man fitt to carry a commission in the king's
service. Expecting you will not faill in the fulfilling
hereof as you love yourself, I subscribe these with
my hand. Master of the Stair (John Dalyrmple) |
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His lateness, though, provided just
the excuse that certain parties in power were looking for
to teach the unruly and lawless highlanders a lesson. Hey,
a deadline's a deadline.
The plan was devised by no less a person
than the Secretary of State for Scotland, John Dalrymple of
Stair, who, to cover his own ass no doubt, secured the King's
signature for it.
On the 1st February a division of troops
from the Earl of Argyll's regiment arrived in Glencoe under
the command of Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon. The Campbells
had been the hereditary enemies of the MacDonalds for centuries,
but in spite of this the Highland tradition of refusing no
visitor hospitality was upheld and the Campbell troops were
invited into MacDonald homes where they were given food, drink
and quarters.
For four days the Campbells enjoyed
full MacDonald hospitality, while Captain Robert awaited his
superiors' orders.When those orders arrived, they left no
room for doubt. He was instructed to butcher everyone, man,
women and child, under the age of 70. There was to be no mercy
for any amongst this "sept of thieves."
On the evening of 5th February Captain
Robert dined with MacIain and his wife. At first light the
following morning his men fell upon the unsuspecting MacDonalds
and slaughtered 38 of them, a less than satisfactory result
in view of his explicit orders to spare none.
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| Glencoe |
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What makes Glencoe so chilling is that
it was no inter-clan affair but a deliberate, government sponsored
massacre, carried out by regular troops under proper military
command, carrying out a national policy.
It is this complicity at the highest
levels of government that makes Glencoe so notorious, and
it is hard to drive through this wild, haunting place even
today without the hairs standing up on the back of your neck.
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