6. The French attempted to foment insurrection among the Jacobite faction in Scotland
In 1702, William III died, opening the way to the British throne for the daughter of James II and VII, Anne. Anne served as the last monarch of the Stuart succession. Under Queen Anne the Act of Union (1707) brought together the thrones of Scotland and Ireland under a single monarch. The first years of Anne’s reign were marked by the European conflict known as the War of the Spanish Succession, which grew to be deadlocked by 1707. Both sides used internal conflicts within their enemies’ political sphere to foment insurrection, and Scottish resentment over British rule soon led France’s Louis XIV to approve attempts to use Jacobite rebellion to aid a French invasion of the British Isles through Scotland. As it would throughout the long history of the British nation and empire, the Royal Navy stood in France’s way.
The French fleet’s arrival was anticipated by Jacobite leaders in Scotland, who assembled with their clans ready to join the arriving French troops. In the aftermath of the French failure to land troops, choosing to instead evade the British fleet and possible defeat in battle, several prominent Jacobite leaders were arrested and imprisoned in British jails, including at Newgate. After transfer to Edinburgh they were charged with the crime of high treason; upon conviction the punishment could be hanging, taken down from the gibbet still alive, and the body drawn and quartered. They were found not guilty by their Scottish neighbors, their only crime having been toasting King James and the health of his daughter, Queen Anne. The attempted invasion of England by the French supported by the Jacobite faction was a dismal failure and increased suspicion and hostility among the British for the Scots.