Culloden

Great Battles

Nonfiction, History, British, Religion & Spirituality
Cover of the book Culloden by Murray Pittock, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Murray Pittock ISBN: 9780191640698
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: April 7, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Murray Pittock
ISBN: 9780191640698
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: April 7, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

The battle of Culloden lasted less than an hour. The forces involved on both sides were small, even by the standards of the day. And it is arguable that the ultimate fate of the 1745 Jacobite uprising had in fact been sealed ever since the Jacobite retreat from Derby several months before. But for all this, Culloden is a battle with great significance in British history. It was the last pitched battle on the soil of the British Isles to be fought with regular troops on both sides. It came to stand for the final defeat of the Jacobite cause. And it was the last domestic contestation of the Act of Union of 1707, the resolution of which propelled Great Britain to be the dominant world power for the next 150 years. If the battle itself was short, its aftermath was brutal - with the depredations of the Duke of Cumberland followed by a campaign to suppress the clan system and the Highland way of life. And its afterlife in the centuries since has been a fascinating one, pitting British Whig triumphalism against a growing romantic memorialization of the Jacobite cause. On both sides there has long been a tendency to regard the battle as a dramatic clash, between Highlander and Lowlander, Celt and Saxon, Catholic and Protestant, the old and the new. Yet, as this account of the battle and its long cultural afterlife suggests, while viewing Culloden in such a way might be rhetorically compelling, it is not necessarily good history.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The battle of Culloden lasted less than an hour. The forces involved on both sides were small, even by the standards of the day. And it is arguable that the ultimate fate of the 1745 Jacobite uprising had in fact been sealed ever since the Jacobite retreat from Derby several months before. But for all this, Culloden is a battle with great significance in British history. It was the last pitched battle on the soil of the British Isles to be fought with regular troops on both sides. It came to stand for the final defeat of the Jacobite cause. And it was the last domestic contestation of the Act of Union of 1707, the resolution of which propelled Great Britain to be the dominant world power for the next 150 years. If the battle itself was short, its aftermath was brutal - with the depredations of the Duke of Cumberland followed by a campaign to suppress the clan system and the Highland way of life. And its afterlife in the centuries since has been a fascinating one, pitting British Whig triumphalism against a growing romantic memorialization of the Jacobite cause. On both sides there has long been a tendency to regard the battle as a dramatic clash, between Highlander and Lowlander, Celt and Saxon, Catholic and Protestant, the old and the new. Yet, as this account of the battle and its long cultural afterlife suggests, while viewing Culloden in such a way might be rhetorically compelling, it is not necessarily good history.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Vanity Fair and the Celestial City by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book European Banking Union by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Decoding Reality by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Ways to be Blameworthy by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book The Souls of Black Folk by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Bonhoeffer's Reception of Luther by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Enlightenment Contested by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Fellow Creatures by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Selected Letters by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Environmental Economics: A Very Short Introduction by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Heroes or Villains? by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Rivers: A Very Short Introduction by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book The Man who Disappeared by Murray Pittock
Cover of the book Perception: A Very Short Introduction by Murray Pittock
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy