From punk to shortbread to picnic rugs, the influence of Highland culture is everywhere – so how did it go from a hated sign of rebellion to a worldwide symbol of Scottish heritage?
Words CATHERINE CURZON
In 1746, the House of Hanover was facing one of the greatest threats to its British rule. Within a year, a legend would be outlawed, a duke would be fêted and hated, and tartan would be banned. So why does the chequered history of Highland culture owe a debt to two British monarchs and a romantic Scottish novelist?
Ever since the Act of Settlement handed the throne to George I ahead of over 50 Roman Catholic heirs, there had been rumblings north of the border. Uprisings in 1715 and 1719 had been put down but, in 1746, they had grown louder than ever. The Jacobites were mustered behind a new leader, and he meant business.
This Young Pretender was Charles Edward Stuart, better known to history as Bonnie Prince Charlie. Set on winning the throne for his father, a series of clashes marked milestones on the road that led to an infamous battle in April 1746, where Jacobite forces faced those of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, on the field of Culloden. The result was a crushing defeat for the Stuart army and the end of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s hopes of wresting back the crown.
The defeat laid waste to the Stuart cause, but worse was to come. At the end of the battle, Cumberland was asked for his orders regarding surviving Jacobites and he decreed that no rebel would be left unpunished. The wounded were slaughtered where they lay, and over the following months the pacification of the Highlands made its brutal way across the land. Jacobites who hadn’t fought were dragged from their homes, tried and sentenced to execution or transportation.
Reviled in the Highlands, Cumberland was an English hero who was rewarded with a rich allowance and the nickname ‘Sweet William’. Those who hated him called him the far less flattering ‘Butcher’ and he revelled in the notoriety that Culloden had given him.
Part economic imperative and part ethnic cleansing, the pacification of the Highlands was intended to stamp out any trace of the Jacobites who had dared to challenge the British crown. Clans were forced from their territory and many emigrated overseas rather than face famine at home. Common clan land was divided up among landowners and ancient communities were destroyed. The clan-based way of life, traditions and culture were about to be wiped off the face of the Highlands and with it the symbolic tartan.
Tartan wasn’t a fashion statement or reserved for celebrations – it was battle dress. The hard-wearing plaid was an emblem of the Highlanders’ fierce resistance to the English. It suggested a primal ferocity that was contrary to the ordered, uniformed soldiers of their opponents. What better way
