Planned French invasion of Britain (1708)

French Admiral Claude de Forbin (1656-1733); he had little faith in the expedition from the start

Under the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick, Louis XIV withdrew support from the exiled James II, and recognised William III as legitimate monarch. However, when James died on 16 September 1701, he reneged on this, and proclaimed his son James Francis Edward Stuart King of England and Scotland. The War of the Spanish Succession began soon after; William died in March 1702 and was succeeded by the last Stuart monarch, James' Protestant daughter Anne.[1]

By the end of 1707, the war had reached stalemate; despite victories in Flanders, the Allies had been unable to break French border defences, or place their candidate on the Spanish throne. Both sides attempted to use internal conflicts to break the deadlock; Britain supported the Camisard rebels in South-West France, with the Jacobites serving a similar function for the French.[2]

Jacobite agent Nathaniel Hooke convinced Louis there was an opportunity for a Scottish rising, which would divert British troops from Europe. The 1707 Act of Union was widely unpopular in Scotland, while French privateers caused enormous losses for their maritime trade, and the coastal fishing industry.[3] Protecting Scottish shipping was not a priority for the Royal Navy, which faced multiple demands on its resources for escorting merchant convoys.[4]

Hooke visited Scotland in 1707, meeting supporters like the Earl of Erroll, while elderly Jacobite Thomas Buchan provided reports on bases at Fort William and Inverness.[5] Senior nobles like the Dukes of Atholl and Hamilton refused to commit, partly due to an attempt in 1703 by Simon Fraser, later Lord Lovat, to implicate them in a Jacobite plot as part of a personal feud.[6] However, Hooke obtained a letter of support signed by Erroll, the Earl of Panmure and six others, promising 25,000 men, and requesting 8,000 French troops, weapons, money, artillery, ammunition and ‘majors, lieutenants and serjeants to discipline’ the Scots army.[7]

In addition, supposed Jacobite Presbyterian John Ker claimed some radical Presbyterians or Cameronians supported the Stuarts since 'they are persuaded (Union) will bring an infinite number of calamities upon this nation, and render the Scots slaves to the English.'[7] This was because they viewed union as a threat to Presbyterian Church of Scotland, despite the Protestant Religion and Presbyterian Church Act.[8] While the Cameronians were certainly considering this as an option, Ker was a government agent, whose role was to persuade them not to do so.[9]

Louis decided there was enough support to begin planning in November 1707; this was supervised by the Comte de Pontchartrain, who had been involved with previous attempts in 1692 and 1696. Claude de Forbin was appointed commander of the naval squadron, with the Comte de Gacé in charge of the landing force.[7]

British commander Sir George Byng (1663-1733); ca 1700.

As the Royal Navy patrolled exits from the French Channel ports, naval operations often took place during the winter months, when wind and tides made it harder to enforce a blockade. However, it also increased risks from the weather; conditions off North-East Scotland were well-known to French privateers and de Forbin's biggest concern was lack of a confirmed landing place. He later recorded 'the Minister did not mention any port in a condition to receive us, ...or where our fleet might anchor and... troops disembark in safety.'[7]

Based on information supplied by French captains, de Forbin told Pontchartrain and Louis XIV the expedition had no chance of success, but planning continued. The fleet assembled at Dunkirk, a major privateer base for centuries, since ships could reach the Thames in a single tide, allowing them to reach as far north as the Orkney Islands.[10] By the end of February, 5,000 - 6,000 troops were ready to embark, joined by James himself on 9 March.[2]

Rather than slow-moving transports, de Forbin insisted on using a larger number of small but fast privateers, many of which reduced their crews and offloaded guns to accommodate the troops. While this improved their chances of avoiding the Royal Navy, they could not hope to defeat them in a naval battle.[11]

The British had been monitoring French preparations, and a squadron under Sir George Byng now arrived off the nearby port of Gravelines. This prevented the French departure and since James was ill with measles, the troops were disembarked while he recovered. After a week, Byng returned to port for resupply; James and the soldiers were re-loaded, and on 17 March the French force of 30 privateers and five warships left Dunkirk.[12]

Merchant ship (left), battling a much smaller privateer (right); these small but fast vessels formed the bulk of Claude de Forbin's fleet

Although their departure was immediately delayed by a two day gale, it forced Byng to take shelter, enabling the French to make for the Firth of Forth. Rather than following the coastline, de Forbin kept out to sea to avoid being spotted, and ended up north of the proposed landing site. On 25 March, the French anchored near Fife Ness, then spent the next day searching for a landing place, allowing Byng to catch up with them. Despite James' protests, the French privateers could not face the British in battle and headed north; they then spent two days attempting to enter the Moray Firth before giving up. Most of them made it back to Dunkirk, despite being pursued by the British around the north of Scotland and west of Ireland, but sustained severe damage to both ships and men.[13]

Hearing news of the French fleet, some of the Jacobite gentry, including James Stirling of Keir House and four others, gathered at Brig o' Turk. They were arrested, imprisoned in Newgate Prison in London, then later transferred to Edinburgh Castle where they were tried for high treason.[14] They were acquitted of this charge, as the evidence against them proved only that they had drunk to James' health.[15]

Perceptions of the expedition's value reflect a fundamental divergence of objectives between France and their Jacobite allies. The Stuarts wanted to regain their throne; for the French, they were a useful, low-cost means of absorbing British resources but a Stuart restoration would not change the threat posed by British expansion.[16]

The 1708 attempt was a response to the dire military situation France faced as a result of Marlborough's victories in Flanders.[17] It occupied large elements of the British and Dutch navies for several months, with Byng ordered to remain in Scotland even after its defeat, while troops were diverted from Ireland and Southern England. A French army of 110,000 recaptured large parts of the Spanish Netherlands, before defeat at Oudenarde on 11 July evicted them once more.[18]

Despite ultimate defeat, for France the expedition achieved its short-term purpose, but helped the pro-war Whigs win a majority in the May 1708 General Election, the first held after Union. It also damaged the Jacobites, who failed to launch an effective insurgency in Scotland despite popular opposition to Union; in his overview of the political situation, Hooke concluded 'the country seemed to be fully resolved on peace.'[19]

• Bowie, Karin (2003). "Public Opinion, Popular Politics and the Union of 1707". The Scottish Historical Review. 82 (214). JSTOR 25529719.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Bromley, JS (1987). Corsairs and Navies, 1600-1760. Continnuum-3PL. ISBN 978-0907628774.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Cobbett, William (1828) [1719]. "The Trials of James Stirling of Keir". In Howell, T B (ed.). State Trials. XIV. Longman.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Douglas, Hugh (2008). "John Ker, of Kersland; 1673-1726". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15549.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Hooke, Nathaniel (1760). Secret History Of Colonel Hoocke's Negotiations In Scotland In Favour Of The Pretender In 1707: Including The Original Letters And Papers Which Passed Versailles And St. Germains (2011 ed.). Nabu. ISBN 978-1247343648.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Hopkins, Paul (2004). "Buchan, Thomas; 1641-1724". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3827.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Lenman, Bruce (1980). The Jacobite risings in Britain 1689-1746. London: Eyre Methuen. ISBN 978-0413396501.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lord, Evelyn (2004). The Stuarts' Secret Army. Pearson. ISBN 978-0582772564.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• "Lord High Admiral's Answer to the Report of the Committee, upon the Petition of the Merchants complaining of Losses for Want of Cruiz rs and Convoys". Journal of the House of Lords. 18. 1708. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
• Macinnes, AI (October 1984). "Jacobitism". History Today. 34 (10).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Mitchell, John Oswald (1905). Old Glasgow essays. J Maclehose.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Owen, John Hely (1938). War at Sea Under Queen Anne 1702-1708 (2010 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1108013383.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Sinclair-Stevenson, Christopher (April 1971). "The Jacobite Expedition of 1708". History Today. 21 (4).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Szechi, Daniel (1994). The Jacobites: Britain and Europe, 1688-1788. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719037740.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Whatley, Christopher (2011). Scottish Society, 1707-1830: Beyond Jacobitism, Towards Industrialisation. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719045400.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link);
• Williams, Neville E (1960). The Eighteenth-Century Constitution 1688-1815: Documents and Commentary (2009 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521091237.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)