Charles Stuart, the eldest
son of James Stuart, and the grandson
of James
II, was born
in Rome in 1720. His father had made several attempts to become king
of Britain.
In 1743 war broke out between
England and France. As France was a Catholic
nation, it had always supported the Stuarts' claim to the English
throne. King Louis XV realised that it would be in his interests if
the Stuarts made another attempt to regain the throne.
Louis XV informed James
Stuart in 1745 that if he invaded England he would supply him
with arms and ammunition. James was now fifty-seven years old and
was not keen on becoming involved in another military campaign. However,
Charles Stuart was more enthusiastic, and on 5 July he left France
with 700 men.
Once in Scotland, Charles
Stuart, who had been nicknamed Bonnie Prince Charlie, began building
up his army. He was especially successful at persuading Catholics
living in the Scottish Highlands to join him. In September, Charles
was ready to take action. His first move was to capture Holyrood,
the ancient palace of Scottish kings. The English army arrived soon
afterwards but Charles' army had an easy victory at the battle of
Prestonpans. Charles' 5,000 man army now marched into England and
by December he reached Derby.
Charles had hoped that
English Catholics would join his army. This did not happen. In fact,
in many of the towns that he marched through, the crowds showed great
hostility to Charles' army. Louis XV had promised Charles that 12,000
French soldiers would invade England in the autumn of 1745. However,
Louis XV did not keep his promise. Although Charles still wanted to
march on London, his military advisers
argued that without the support of the French they were certain
to be beaten. Reluctantly, Charles agreed to return to Scotland.
Another English army, this
time led by the Duke of Cumberland,
followed Charles back into Scotland. Completely outnumbered, Charles's
army were chased into the Scottish Highlands.
In April 1746, Charles
Stuart decided to turn and fight the English army. The two forces
met at Culloden Moor on 16 April. Cumberland's
army devastated the Jacobites and Charles
was forced to flee from the battlefield. A reward of £30,000
was offered for his capture, but Charles still had many loyal supporters
who were willing to hide him.
George
II gave the
Duke of Cumberland instructions that the Scots had to be punished
for supporting Charles. Many of those who had joined Charles' army
were executed and their land was given to those who had remained loyal
to George II. Scotsmen were also banned from wearing kilts and playing
bagpipes.
Charles Stuart escaped
to France. Later, as a result of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, it
was agreed that Charles Stuart should live in Avignon.
When James
Stuart died in 1766, Pope Clement XIII, keen to improve relations
with Britain, refused to accept Charles Stuart as king.
Charles Stuart married
Princess Louise of Stolberg in 1772 but produced no heirs and when
he died in 1788 the Stuart claim to the throne came to an end.
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