April 16th 1746
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Elisabeth I had no descendant. At her death, the throne of the Tudors fell into the hands of the Stuarts, their traditionnal enemies.
The
Stuarts
who were Scottish Catholics
reigned over England for 100 troublesome years and were finally evicted when William of Orange ended Catholic rule over Great Britain at the Battle of the Boyne.
In 1707 the Union between England and Scotland was declared. However the "Jacobites" had not lost faith in the return of their champion James Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, who lived in exile in France and had the backing of the very Catholic French king Louis XIV. |
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James's son, Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, had the support of the French king and the Pope when he landed in Scotland in 1745 to claim the Stuart's throne.
Charles raised an army of highlanders and invaded England from the North. Poor organisation, lack of discipline and constant squabbles between the clans pleaged his army and he soon retreated to Scotland pursued by the Duke of Cumberland whose army he finally faced on April 16th 1746 at Culloden. The fight lasted 40 minutes during which 1000 highlanders were killed. Prince Charlie fled back to France and never set foot on British soil again. |