Grasping the Thistle: A Scottish Series

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Ghazghkull

Ghazghkull

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A Series By Ghazghkull​

Welcome all to Grasping the Thistle, an independent Scotland-focused series and timeline.

This is a series I have been playing about with for a little while now, and I've peppered posts on the forum around this theme from time to time, but now I want to turn it into a fully fledged project. The premise behind Grasping the Thistle is simple: 'What if Scotland had not signed the Act of Union in 1707?' The beginning Point of Divergence for the series is that Scotland's early attempts to colonise Nova Scotia actually prove successful, with the Scots turning back the French, gaining North American colonial possessions for themselves and avoiding the disaster of Darien.

My intent is for Grasping the Thistle to sit at a midway point between a Type I and Type II series on the Sliding Scale of Alternate History Plausibility. My hope is to produce a timeline that people will agree follows a logical and plausible thread, whilst maintaining the core principle of Scotland remaining an independent country (at least in the initial phases). Each action or development in the series I intend to have some kind of solid historical foundation for or research backing them up, and I want butterflies to be treated logically. Not everyone will agree with my interpretation of what is a 'logical' outcome, but hopefully everyone will still enjoy the journey. Perhaps as the series expands into the wider world, I may add extra PODs in order to provide a world that's not identical to our current one, we shall see, regardless each POD shall be treated with a hard history focus.

The failure of the Act of Union and an independent Scotland would radically (IMHO) change the very nature of the British Empire and its impact on world history, and the series will explore that too when considering Scotland's impact on the international scene. All figures will be historical with no direct fictional creations, however with Scottish immigration and emigration being radically different, thanks to its lack of membership in the British Empire, the placement of the Scottish diaspora will vary - some remaining at home and others finding themselves in nations different from the OTL. Also the new Scottish Royal family will have an impact on the European monarchical landscape through marriages and births - but I will treat these butterflies under strict conditions.

In a slight change from most series of this nature, I intend to tackle this project in a general chronological order rather than jumping from the 18th century to the present day and back every few postings. My plan is that the series postings will generally be grouped by the premierships of Scotland's Tànaistes (Prime Ministers), so there is a coherent structure that people can read through. I have a general idea and sturcture for where I think Scotland will end up, but the journey for Scotland and the wider world is still to be mapped out, and so this structure allows for the series and world to develop and expand over time.

I hope people will enjoy my plans for the coming series, but if people have questions they want answered, want to request additional information or wikipages, make comments or provide suggestions for expanding the work and enhancing its plausibilty, then please join in and ask/comment away on the thread 😁. I'm not opposed to others contributing to the series if it picks up a following, but please DM me to go over what you're thinking.

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Premiership of James Ogilvy, 1st Duke of Findlater (1719-1728)
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    • Ghazghkull

    Ghazghkull

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    James Ogilvy, 1st Duke of Findlater
    1st Tànaiste of Scotland

    "The temper to the iron of our destruction" - Adam Ferguson
    (1719-1728; Independent (Argathelian))

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    James Ogilvy, 1st Duke of Findlater, KT PC (11 July 1664 – 19 August 1730) was a Scottish statesman, lawyer, Argathelian politician and leading figure of Dissolution Scotland - who is generally regarded as the de facto first Tànaiste of Scotland. While the office of Tànaiste did not formally exisit during his tenure, historians consider Ogilvy to be the first individual to have assumed the modern day powers and responsibilities of the Tànaiste, through holding a combination of other offices.

    Ogilvy's reign is generally considered to mark the beginning of the "Argathelian Ascendancy" period of Scottish political history, where patronage and political officials were dominated by the powerful Argyll family, namely the two brothers John Campbell, Duke of Argyll and Archibald Campbell, Earl of Ilay (later Duke of Argyll). Christopher Whatley wrote that "despite in his day never being considered to hold the Kingdom's highest office. [Ogilvy] forged the path forward for the Scottish executive, either by good fortune, skillful negotiation, the handling of competing power bases, or blending of the receding powers of the crown with the increasing influence of the other Estates".

    Ogilvy was from old Highland nobility, rising to political prominence despite his support for the Stuarts in the Convention Parliament of 1689. Long associated with English Toryism, he made a strange bedfellow for the anti-union cause and Argathelians but was seen by the many competing factions as a balancing influence without any real passion for a cause of his own. Historian Charles McKean argues following the Dissolution his "singular passion was stability and maintaince of Scottish colonial ambitions, not a descent into insular and civil war". Ogilvy's willingness to flexibily serve any interest in the pursuit of national stability meant he mostly avoided controversy or coalitions forming against him; his dismissal only coming after nearly a decade in control of Scotland's government.

    Rosalind Mitchison sums up his historical role by saying that "Ogilvy was not Scotland's greatest statesman, nor greatest orator or writer. More often an administrator to the goals and aspirations of larger figures. He was however, Scotland's most pivotal and consequential politican of the 18th century until the rise of one, Henry Dundas. [Ogilvy] paved the way for the break-up of the Scottish and English royal union, safeguarded the weak Hamiltonian succession, and played a significant role in discrediting the House of Stuart throughout the Highlands. His reign established the political supremacy for the Argathelians and set the foundations for the institutions that would rule over Scotland for generations to come". Surveys of historians and scholars have ranked him highly amongst the records of other Scottish Tànaistes.    ​
     
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    • Višeslav

    Višeslav

    High effort, seems researched, and differs a lot from generic (often more poorly researched) independent Scotland timelines. Amazing stuff.
     
    Malt Tax Crisis
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    • Ghazghkull

    Ghazghkull

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    The Malt Tax Crisis was a Scottish political crisis that occurred in 1728, when the government of the Duke of Findlater, at the direction of the Earl of Ilay, attempted to enact a national tax on malt.

    The new excise was seen as a source of much needed government income for investment in Scotland's newly created Boards of Improvement, which had been charged with stimulating the Scottish industry. The new income was to be controlled and distributed by the Argathelian-led Royal Bank of Scotland, which was headed by the Earl of Ilay's trusted lieutenant Lord Milton. The proposals caused deep divisions within Argathelian politics, leading to the creation of new anti-Ilay faction led by the Duke of Roxburghe.

    Despite huge parliamentary opposition, the tax was eventually passed at half the rate of taxation than that of neighbouring England. Yet the effects of the new tax would cause the price of beer to increase to levels Scots were unaccustomed, shocking much of the populace and moving the national opposition from the parliament to the streets. Malt was an important ingredient in the production of beer and whisky, and the lack of access to clean drinking water meant that it was often safer to drink alcohol, particularly in urban areas. This meant the taxation and price increase in the costs of beer affected almost everyone in Scotland, from the lowliest farmer to the highest nobleman.

    Public opposition to the tax from high-ranking politicians was considered to verge on near treasonous, leading to a large number being removed from office due to their opposition. The Lord Advocate, Robert Dundas, was sacked for his numerous anti-malt tax pamphlets, alongside other former leaders of the Squadrone Volante, including the Lord Secretary Roxburghe, for their vigourous opposition in parliament.

    Attempts at collection of the tax led to waves of violent protest and strikes against its imposition. Resistance to the new tax came to a climax when excise officers attempted to collect revenues in Hamilton on 23 June 1728. Brewers and distillers refused to pay, and local riots broke out, which soon began spreading throughout the country. The fiercest protests, the Shawfield riots, were in Glasgow where the protesters destroyed the property of the city's parliamentary representative and drove the local militia and Lord Provost out of the city; the militia being forced to flee to Dumbarton Castle for safety. Significant disturbances also occurred in Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Ayr, Elgin and Paisley. By August of 1728, Scotland was in a state of chaos over the malt tax and many feared Scotland was on the cusp of a national armed insurrection.

    General John Dalrymple was appointed to quell the protests in Glasgow and gathered a force of around 400 dragoons to restore peace in Glasgow. When faced with a military occupation, the Glasgow public's fierce resistance to the tax wavered and the city was brought under control, with the rest of the country following shortly after. While several of the rioters were arrested and sentenced to be transported to the colonies as indentured servants, the city fathers who had rioted were met with considerable rejoicing by their fellow citizens across Scotland. The crisis ended when the Duke of Findlater agreed to resign from his government positions and an alliance of anti-tax Argathelians and Squadrone leaders formed a government under the Duke of Roxburghe.

    The events allowed for the new government to repeal the malt tax, creating a space in Scottish politics for the new partisan allegiances that would define the Argathelian Ascendancy. Historian Rosalind Mitchison concluded that while the crisis was “a movement of national resistance” against the Argathelian government of Findlater, in the long run it in fact strengthened the legitimacy of the Douglas-Hamilton monarchs because Scottish society saw them as being the function of stability during periods of political unrest.

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  • Index
    • Premiership of John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe (1728-1730)
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    • Ghazghkull

    Ghazghkull

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    John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe
    2nd Tànaiste of Scotland

    "A chief of the legislature and fool of an executive" - Christopher Whatley
    (1728-1730; Tron's Gentlemen (Squadrone Volante))

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    John Ker, 1st Duke of Roxburghe, KT PC (30 April 1680 – 27 February 1741) was a Scottish nobleman, politician and central figure of early Dissolution Scotland. He held important positions within in the Ogilvy Government before succeeding as Tànaiste of Scotland, serving from 1728 until 1731. He is considered to have been Scotland's second Tànaiste, after James Ogilvy, and the first to hold the title of First Lord of the Articles, although this remains disputed by some historians.

    Prior to the Dissolution, Roxburghe served as the leader of the political faction known as the Squadrone Volante and was originally a proponent for Union with England, before orchestrating a string of parliamentary defeats for unionists which would eventually lead to the Dissolution. He was considered by many of his contemporaries to be untrustworthy, but his wealth and personal friendship with the King helped to maintain his political influence.

    Roxburghe, alongside George Baillie, organised the political alliance known as the Tron's Gentlemen to oppose the growing influence of the Earl of Ilay on Scotland's governance. The alliance eventually took power in response to the Malt Tax Crisis but struggled to maintain power in Scotland's deeply fractured Estates of Parliament. While Roxburghe's friendship with the King sustained his ministry for a time, the pair's relationship was irreparably damaged over the Strangways Affair, Roxburghe's successful efforts to block King James VIII's attempts to marry his English mistress. Eventually he was dismissed, and the Earl of Ilay was returned to political favour and power.

    As Tànaiste, Roxburghe pursued the nation's colonial interests and attempted to build stronger links with the French state under Cardinal Fleury. He promoted the ideal of aggressive colonial expansion, both in relation to Scotland's American and African colonial ambitions, but his efforts were mostly thwarted by English colonial policy and diplomatic failures at securing French support. After Roxburghe's dismissal from government, he retreated from politics but the political fault lines from his split with Ilay and Ogilvy remained. Henry Horwitz wrote that while Roxburghe had "forged the beating heart of the febrile partisanship that would plague the Estates for the decade to come", at the same time his failures had "doomed the opponents of Ilay until the fallout of the Darien Disaster".

    Earlier historians have generally praised Roxburghe's legislative achievements, including his advocacy for the Dissolution, his opposition to the Malt Tax and his ambitious ideals for Scottish colonial projects. However, modern historians have become highly critical of Roxburghe's colonial ambitions, which envisioned, and would eventually lead to, Scotland playing a central role in the Atlantic slave trade, alongside his efforts to persecute Scottish Episcopalians. John Stuart Shaw argued that Roxburghe's historical role will "constantly be debated and revised until he fades into total obscurity". Surveys of historians and scholars have generally ranked him in the lower third of other Scottish Tànaistes.    ​
     
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    • Unknown

    Well, speaking for myself, this is an interesting start so far, and waiting for more, of course...

    I'd like to know more about the Jacobite uprisings...
     
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