Mutiny: Highland Regiments in Revolt, 1743-1804

by John Prebble, illustrated (Illustrator)

Highland soldiers were Britain's first colonial levies. first raised to police their own hills, then expended in imperial wars. The Gaelic people of the 18th century, three percent only of the population none the less supplied the Crown with sixty-five regiments. Contrary to romatic belief, the Highlander was rarely a willing soldier, his songs lament the day he put on the red coat. He was often recruited by threat, sold by the chiefs he trusted. Promises made to him were cynically broken. His pride was outraged by the lash, by contempt for his fierce attachment to his language and his dress. The family he hoped to protect by enlistment was frequently evicted in his absence and replaced by sheep. Mutinies were thus inevitable. This is the first account of them, much of it in the words of the soliders and their officers.

It begins with the noble revolt of the Black Watch at Finchley in 1743 and ends with the mutiny of the starving Fencibles on Glasgow Green in 1804. It is a subject that has been curiously overlooked by historians, John Prebble properly sees it as essential to an understanding of the destruction of the Highland clans, the story of which he began with Culloden, and continued in The Highland Clearances.

Genres: History, Scotland

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

John Edward Curtis Prebble, FRSL, OBE was an English/Canadian journalist, novelist, documentarian and historian. He is best known for his studies of Scottish history.

He was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, England, but he grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada, where his father had a brother. His parents emigrated there after World War I. Returning to England with his family, he attended the Latymer School. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain but abandoned it after World War II.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit I skipped over a lot because it's a bit dry, but it is an interesting piece of history. It is white people history and helps to understand the mind of the oppressor. Before white people invented race in order to be racist, we were racist against other white people. We've had a lot of time to learn of a better way of life for everyone. Nevertheless, even though we have squandered these centuries where we could have been building better systems than what we have, hierarchy was never inevitable and is not mandatory. A better world is possible...

[Angela MacRae Shanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for research, but it reads more like a novel and was surprisingly gripping and compelling. The Highland regiments were betrayed at every turn, the fate of those who mutinied heartbreakingly poignant. Recommended reading for those wondering why so many Highlanders, having risen in arms for their bonny prince, only a few years later pledged their allegiance to the Hanoverian crown. Prebble eloquently describes the situation presented to these clansmen turned tenants.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prebble provides an excellent and detailed review of the Highland regimental mutinies from the 42nd's through those of the 1790s and including those of the 77th, 78th, and 81st during the 1780s. The book is excellent, but the lack of footnotes is a stumbling block to using it as a bridge for further research.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched, but a rather dry read. It was written in 1975, and is one of those alternative histories that common in the 1970's.