Expert: Mark Smith - 4/13/2004

Question
Im trying to find out what actions the British govenment took to combat the Jacobite threat in the period 1715-1745. I dont seem to be getting anywere because the time period is in between the two rebellions.Im not sure wheather this is to complex or not but help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Robert Bartlett  

Answer
Hello Robert. Most of the goverment's measures to counter the Jacobite threat after 1715 were taken in the first two years after the suppression of the Rebellion in 1716. The Whig government had in mind a political reshaping of the country, but the system dictated elections every three years which they decided was too risky to their plans. So in 1716 they passed the Septennial Act allowing for elections every seven years. So the election scheduled for 1718 was postponed to 1722. This was done so as to prevent any possibility of the (broadly) pro-Jacobite Tories from gaining power so soon after the Rebellion.
Also in 1716 two measures were taken aimed directly at the Scots. The Disarming Act; which forbade the Scottish Highlanders from carrying arms in public. And a Commission was established to facilitate the forfeiture of the lands and property of attainted Scots. The first measure had an obvious purpose, whilst the second was intended to weaken any potential rebel Scots.
In 1722 the government uncovered a Jacobite plot. It was in the early stages of planning and had not the slightest chance of success, but the PM, Robert Walpole, used the opportunity to exaggerate the Jacobite menace and whip up public animosity to Catholics and Scots even further. He also set up an extensive network of spies not only in Scotland and the continent, but amongst the Catholic community in England.
A riot in Glasgow in 1725 allowed him to extend the Disarming Act of 1716 into an Act demanding that all weapons be surrendered.
Finally on a military note a network of roads and forts were built across Scotland to allow for the rapid movement of troops to any trouble spots in the north. By 1730 the government felt that the Jacobite threat was all but dead. The 1745 Rebellion came as a nasty surprise.
Mark