Fifteen, the

Jacobite rebellion of 1715, led by the ‘Old Pretender’James Edward Stuart and the Earl of Mar, in order to place the former on the English throne. Mar was checked at Sheriffmuir, Scotland, and the revolt collapsed.

Events
Mar raised the standard in Scotland on 6 September 1715, and eight days later he captured Perth. The rebellion was also supported by risings in the Lowlands of Scotland and the north of England, and by a naval attack on Plymouth. In England, ‘German George’ was not liked, and the revolt hoped to gain from the hatred in Scotland of the Act of Union.

However, the rebellion was badly organized. Mar waited in Perth for nearly two months, allowing the government forces, led by the Duke of Argyll, to seize Stirling. He then failed to co‐ordinate his moves with the rebellions in the Lowlands and the north of England. In November, the attack on Plymouth failed, the rebellion in the north of England was defeated at Preston, and Muir's army of 12,000 failed to defeat Argyll's 3,000 soldiers at the battle of Sheriffmuir. Also, by that time it was clear that the hoped‐for French troops were not going to arrive. When James Edward Stuart arrived on 22 December 1715, he found that he was too late – the rebellion collapsed.