Chapter 6 - The Jacobite Rising in the Tour

Summary

Chapter 6 concerns a largely neglected topic, as it sets out the picture of the Jacobite Rising in 1715-16 which emerges gradually in scattered portions of the third volume of the Tour. Defoe’s treatment of this episode is shown to underline his general approach to Scotland in the wake of the Union in 1707. Among the attributes which enabled hm to cover the issues involved we can observe the length and breadth of his concern with Scotland; his close acquaintance with leading figures on both sides of the border; his familiarity with high politics in Britain since the 1690s; the extent of his contacts with more modest local officials; his very wide experience in trade, a branch of activity he continued to pursue when he reached Edinburgh; his background as a commentator on social and economic topics; his obsessive curiosity with regard to all aspects of geography and topography; and his energy, enabling him to produce a long and elaborate compilation of documents in The History of the Union (1709). Defoe’s account is far from objective; he is unashamedly a partisan of the Union, the Hanoverian regime, and the Whig government. Nevertheless, with great skill Defoe embeds his view of the Rising within the larger case of the Tour, as it contrasts the past and present factors inhibiting progress in Scotland with the future potential opened by the Union and the Hanoverian accession.