The first of these dates from the failure of the Jacobite cause in
1746. At Culloden, not only were the hopes of the Stuarts finally
extinguished, but a new period was ushered in for the development of
Scotland. The abolition of the heritable jurisdictions, the extension
of the same organised legal system over every part of the kingdom,
the suppression of cattle-raids and other offences by the Highlanders
against their lowland neighbours, the building of good roads, and the
improvement of the old tracks, whereby easy communication was provided
across the country, and especially through the Highlands between the
northern and southern districts--these and other connected reforms
led to the gradual breaking down of the barrier of animosity that
had long kept Highlander and Lowlander apart, and by thus producing
a freer intercourse of the two races, greatly strengthened the
community as a whole, whether for peace or for war. On the other hand,
the landing of Prince Charles Edward, the uprise of the clans, the
victory of Prestonpans, and the invasion of England could not fail to
revive and intensify the ancient enmity of the English against their
northern neighbours. This animosity blazed out anew under the Bute
administration, when fresh fuel was added to it from the literary side
by Wilkes and Churchill. Nevertheless the leaven of union was quietly
at work all the time. Not only did Scot commingle more freely with
Scot, but increasing facilities of communication allowed the southward
tide of migration to flow more freely across the Border. English
travellers also found their way in growing numbers into that land
north of the Tweed which for centuries had been at once scorned and
feared, but which could now be everywhere safely visited. What had been
satirised as
The wretched lot
Of the poor, mean, despised, insulted Scot,
came to be the subject of banter, more or less good humoured. The
Englishman, while retaining a due sense of his own superiority, learnt
to acknowledge that his northern neighbour did really possess some good
qualities which made him not unworthy of a place in the commonwealth,
while the Scot, on his side, discovered that his ‘auld enemies’ of
England were far from being all mere ‘pock-puddings.’ As the result
of this greater intimacy of association, the smaller nation was
necessarily drawn more and more to assimilate itself to the speech and
ways of its larger, wealthier, and more advanced partner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account