Seventeenth Century Scottish History Quiz

Answer: James VI of Scotland

James VI of Scotland became James I of the England (and Great Britain). He was responsible for commissioning the production of the most famous English translation of the Bible. He also published several books including one attacking the growing use of tobacco and one on witchcraft.

Answer: John Napier

All of these were seventeenth century Scottish mathematicians. James Gregory was also an astronomer, inventing a reflecting telescope. His nephew David became a professor of mathematics at Edinburgh and of astronomy at Oxford.

In addition to his work on logarithms, Napier also invented aids to computation known as Napier's Bones, which were a predecessor of the slide rule.

Answer: The National Covenant

The Covenant was a revision of one produced in 1581 and was intended to show the determination of Presbyterians to resist what they feared was an attempt by the King and the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, to bring back the Roman Catholicism which had been replaced by Presbyterianism in the Reformation of the mid sixteenth century.

Answer: Battle of Dunbar

Shortly after the execution of Charles I the Scots had declared Charles II to be king of Great Britain, Ireland and France. This was because they had come to believe that the English Parliament would not accept the Westminster Confession and adopt the Presbyterian form of religion.

This led Cromwell to invade Scotland. By 1652 Scotland had been declared to be united with England with Cromwell as Lord Protector. This "union" lasted until the Restoration in 1660.

Answer: Marquess of Montrose

James Graham was a flamboyant leader and enemy of the Earl of Argyll. While he signed the Covenant and claimed even till his death that he was a true Covenanter, he joined the King in 1644 when the Scots Covenanters invaded England to support Parliament.

Despite leading Charles I's army in Scotland to several victories, the army vanished after the King lost the key battle of Naseby in 1645. After spending years in exile he returned to Scotland in 1650 but his small force was defeated at Carbisdale in Sutherland and he was handed over to Parliament and executed in Edinburgh.

Answer: The Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland

A "Tender of Union" announced by the English Parliament, incorporated Scotland into England. Scotland received 30 seats in the Westminster Parliament, but these members were ignored or insulted by English MPs, who tried several times to have them removed.

The Union of the Parliaments took place in 1707 and the United Provinces was a title used by the Dutch republic from 1581-1795.

Answer: Conventicles

Especially in the south west of Scotland, some of these conventicles involved large gatherings of people, protected by armed men against possible attack by Government troops. In 1679 the Covenanters, as those who attended the conventicles were known, won a surprise victory over a Government force at Drumclog on the border between Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. Shortly afterwards the Duke of Monmouth led a larger army which defeated the Covenanters a few miles away at Bothwell Bridge.

After this the Covenanters faded away.

Answer: Follower of James

The name comes from the Latin for James - Jacobus. There were two further attempts in the next century to restore the Stuart dynasty.

Answer: Macdonalds

Though often portrayed as a clan vengeance killing, the Massacre was actually carried out my a detachment of the army, though led by Robert Campbell of Glenlyon. It was ordered by King William III's Secretary of State, Sir John Dalrymple to make an example of a small clan whose chief, MacIain of Glencoe, had been late in taking the oath of loyalty to the King and Queen.

The outcome was increased tension between Scotland and England and growing resentment against the King, whom many people blamed for the massacre.

Answer: Darien in central America

William Paterson, the Scot who had founded the Bank of England, came up with the idea to emulate the success of English merchants who had founded colonies in north America and the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the place selected in what is now Panama, was as bad a choice as it could have been.

It was unhealthy with diseases such as yellow fever; the local tribes were not wealthy and had no interest in buying the badly chosen goods taken by the Scots; and the Spanish said they had claimed the area already.

As a large number of wealthy Scots had invested most of their money in the company, its collapse was disastrous for the Scottish economy.