Glencoe Massacre

Historical Context Essay

Nicholas Seager (University of Keele)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Domains

Massacres, purges

Dates

Date of occurrence 1692-02-13

Places

Scotland (Location)
England (Involved)

Resources

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The tardiness of a Highland chief in swearing an oath of allegiance to the new English and Scottish monarch William III led to the Glencoe Massacre in 1692. After the Glorious Revolution had swept aside James II (James VII of Scotland) in 1688, many Highland clans resolved to honour their oath to James, who was always planning invasions from exile in France. After the failure of a Jacobite uprising under Viscount Dundee (1689) and James’s defeat by William in Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne (1690), William offered all Highland clans a pardon for their part in the insurgence, as long as they pledged their allegiance to him before 1 January 1692. Death was threatened for non-compliance, yet it was not until December 1691 that James II freed the chiefs from their oath to him.

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639 words

Citation: Seager, Nicholas. "Glencoe Massacre". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=474, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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