Oh cool! Thanks for coming out. I don't know much about Jacobitism - was it all about restoring the House of Stuart to the English/Scottish throne, or were there other aspects of what it meant to be a Jacobite?

What sort of motivations were there for the rank-and-file within the Jacobite forces? What did some illiterate farmer from the outskirts of Inverness hope to gain, or see change, by a restoration of the Stuart line?

Also, any thoughts on the 1964 pseudo-documentary Culloden?

Hi! Thanks for coming out to answer our questions. I never hear much about Jacobitism in the British colonies in the West Indies and North America - was it at all influential in those far-flung outposts?

Hello Dr Layne, thank you for joining us for this AMA!

I'm an historian of Scotland as well, but my period of focus is the sixteenth century, with some bleeding into the seventeenth century, so I'm not as familiar with the Jacobite Risings or the legislation that was enacted in response to them. That said, I was wondering if you could talk a little about how the Act of Proscription compares to the Statues of Iona? Both were passed in an effort to "assimilate" the Highland clans; however, they seem to have approached the issue in different ways.

My knowledge of the Jacobites and Culloden has been primarily informed by the book (and now TV) series Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. If you’re familiar with it, How historically accurate is this show? Are there major things it gets right or wrong?

How well versed in the ideology were the majority of Jacobites? Not their leaders but the everyday people who considered themselves to be Jacobites who’s husbands and sons might fight for the cause? I’m really interested in how word spread before the internet- did pamphlets etc have a significant impact on the popularity of the movement?

Thank you for your time and knowledge! I recently read that a large number of members of Clan Davidson were transported to the American colonies for being Jacobites, but there wasn't any more information. Was this after a lost battle? Something else? If you have any additional information to share, I'd be very interested to hear it! Thank you!

The BBC Documentary Series "Battlefield Britain" has an episode about the Jacobite Rising of 1745, and essentially says that unless Prince Charles hadn't been lied to about the size of government forces by Dudley Bradstreet, the Jacobite army could have marched on London and been victorious. Is this accurate? Also, the same documentary makes Culloden out to be a knife's edge style battle, where it could have gone either way. Is this for dramatic effect or is it accurate?

Thanks for doing this AMA!

I have a question - I remember hearing a poem by Robbie Burns entitled “Ye Jacobites by Name” - sung by a folk music singer. I thought it was really good. But then, I read that it was written in the 1790s! Why would Robbie Burns be writing poems in the 1790s attacking the Jacobites? Was Jacobianism still a big deal at the time?

Hi Dr Layne! Thank you for doing this AMA!

Why was there such strong support of Jacobitism among Scottish Episcopal Church? Was such support common across both the leadership and the rank-and-file of the Church? Did Episcopal preachers actively call on churchgoers to support the Stuarts during their sermons?

Hello Dr, thanks for the AMA. I love your other posts on here. What kind of impact or influence did Jacobite have on how Scotland and England saw each other afterwards? Did it strain integration/unity? I'm not really sure what the best word would be for that.

Is John Prebble's work still decently regarded or badly discredited and out of date? I stumbled across it recently and enjoyed it for its use of language. However, I always worry when I'm reading something 50+ years old that it's badly out of sync with current understanding.

I’m glad to see you doing this, Dr. Layne! I had a question regarding the nature of the military struggle during the war of 1745-46.

A previous generation of historians often characterized the military struggle where the forces of the government conducted a modern war, while the Jacobites used older tactics based upon the highland charge with sword in hand. More recently, historians have pointed to weapons recovered at Culloden and the idea that the Jacobite Army both practiced and employed more modern fire tactics, such firing by rank.

My question is: do you think that the Jacobite Army was indeed a more forward thinking military organization, as Christopher Duffy has suggested in “Fight for a Throne”? Tactically, were the Jacobites still using the highland charge, just with bayonets rather than swords? Or was effective firepower something that Jacobite military leaders attempted to cultivate?

To what extent would you say that Jacobitism still resonates today, and is it different in Scotland vs. the diaspora? I'm in my thirties, on the West Coast of the US, and still remember my mom making a particular point of telling me that if we ever visited Scotland we could hold our heads high as our part of the clan only left after having been on the "right" side of every uprising, and we were hunted after supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Since that side of the family has been in the Americas since before the US was a thing, and my family has always been very patriotically "American", this always struck me as a trifle odd.

Hi there.

How would you define the conflict between those who joined the Stewart’s cause for a independent Scotland versus the leadership goal to restore the Stewart monarchy to both Scotland and England? (Edit- and Ireland too)

Would the difference in these aims have doomed Jacobiteism from the very start? Or merely postpone a problem?

Hi. This is a very naive question. To what extent, if any, were there English Jacobites? What were their motives and gains to be made from supporting the Jacobite cause?

Who in the world is Jacob and why was the movement called Jacobitism?

Hello! I'm a historian here in the US, with most of my experience focusing on the early, trans-Mississippi frontier. Slavery has become a central part of my research in the past year as well.

I know nothing of the Jacobites outside of Outlander. What was the role of African slavery during the revolution. Was there any abolitionist movement among the rebels who wanted freedom, as there was during the American revolution?

Also, heres a super niche question, but I work at a site where there was a tv show about the main figure in the 1960s. It DEFINITELY impacts the public's perception on the american frontier to thos day. How has Outlander affected your work, research, writing, etc?

Hello! Thank you for doing this AMA.

One thing I'm curious about is the strength of Jacobitism within the English Tories. I've read conflicting views on this: some seem to claim that the English Tories were mainly Jacobite sympathizers (at least between 1714 and 1745), while others seem to think that this phenomenon was highly exaggerated by the Whigs.

I was wondering what your thoughts are on this issue? Thanks again!

Hi! It seems to me that during the 1715 rising, there was much support of the rebellion in the north of England, while in 1745 this support appears to have largely dissipated. Is this perception correct, and if so what were the reasons for the support of jacobitism in northern England, and why did these reasons decline in the decades following the failure of the 1715 rebellion in England, but not in Scotland?

Maybe you'll know this since it had a role in the Jacobite rebellions...

Is it true that when constructing the Eilean Donan castle, they built the bridge last?

That's what the tour guide said but I think he may have been just pulling my leg.

Hello FunkyPlaid! Thanks for the fascinating AMA. I'm very curious, what drew you to this topic/part of history?

As a second question if you don't mind, why call it the Rising instead of an Uprising? I've heard both used pretty frequently but recently the emphasis seems to be on calling it a Rising instead.

Hello! Thanks for the AMA, Its always awesome to be able to learn more about lesser known parts of history!

So I'll pose two questions but feel free to only answer one if you don't have time, first

As I understand it, many of the Highlanders and the Stuart family were Catholic. So my question is, was there any attempt to gain any kind of support in Ireland? Seeing how much of the lowlands and northern England was Protestant, I always wondered if the Jacobites attempted to seek support from the Irish like they did the French.

My second question is, are there any resources to find out which Clans were and were not Jacobite? I've quite often wondered specifically what side many of the clans took if at all, and if those ever fit along feud or rivalry lines.

I've always been curious about the persistence of Jacobitism (down to occasionally encountering some very odd Facebook groups in the wild). As an ideology post-1745, how cohesive is it over time? Does it make sense to trace contemporary manifestations of Jacobitism back to 1745 in a direct(ish) line, or is the more modern phenomenon completely distinct from 18th/19th century forms?

Thanks for taking part in this AMA. What are your thoughts on the show Outlander and what do you think would have occurred had the rebellion been successful?

What happened to Jacobitism in the decades after The '45?

I ask, because I was recently reading a primary source (possibly Boswell) in which a group of Scotsmen in London in the 1770s were described as drinking to the health of Charles Edward Stuart and yet they were also giving a toast to King George III.

Did Jacobitism very quickly become a "safe" topic for sentimental discussion in polite society?

Hi Dr. Layne!

I've been interested in the history of Scotland for several years and have been lucky enough to see the Culloden battlefield, so I'm looking forward to checking out the resources you linked here.

I have several questions, so feel free to answer any or all:

1. From what I understand, the Jacobites under Bonnie Prince Charlie made it all the way to Derby. What caused them to stop and turn around there?

2. At the risk of venturing into counterfactual territory, what were their chances of actually 'winning'? Would the people of England have accepted another Stuart king?

3. Is there a good one-volume summary of the invasion of 1745-6 (a la 'Battle Cry of Freedom')? If not, what's a good starting point for someone who's not an academic but is interested in Scottish history?

Thank you very much!

Hello, I know I'm late to the party but I'm wondering if you have anything to say about the influence of the Jacobite uprising on the Scottish Enlightenment?