Glencoe is a poignant tragedy that still marks the Scottish national identity. The memory of those who died there is still strong, despite it being just over 300 years ago, and still has a significant impact on the people today. So what actually happened?
It was 1692, in the Scottish highlands. It was remote and wild, and forty Scottish highlanders found themselves cornered by the king’s men. These men were ordered to bring order to a chaotic region, and they followed their duty in the most gruesome way possible. The local people had been forced to house and feed the soldiers as punishment for not paying their taxes to King William III, and had been in the area for a fortnight. It was the 12th February when they received their orders to execute the rebels of the Clan MacDonald, the Clan that lived in this region of Scotland. No man was allowed to escape, and no mercy was to be given, but the main target was the Clan Chief, Alasdair MacDonald. He was a thorn in the king’s side, and the longer he was left to live, the longer he would prove problematic to the king’s sovereignty.
Troops not only attacked Alasdair in his home, but more troops were sent to a nearby settlement, known as Achnacone, where five men were killed. Three managed to escape. Alasdair’s sons were also fortunate, and manage to flee into the hills. All throughout Glencoe, similar acts of violence followed in a determined act to seize control from the Clan MacDonald.
80 year old Archibald MacDonald was beatened and burned to death, after trying to hide from the soldiers. In a nearby village, soldiers led a crazed attack, killing an elderly woman and an infant boy, while members of Clan MacDonald managed to flee. One soldier tried to show mercy, but was overruled, and the people were still killed before his eyes.
In the end, there were around 30-40 people brutally murdered.
This was the result of a slow-burning hostility growing between the Lowland and Highland Scots. The consensus of the Lowland Scots was that the Highlanders were barbaric, uncivilised and violent; they were completely unsuited to a developing society. At least, in the eyes of the Lowlanders they were. And once the idea had taken root, there was little that would be done to persuade them otherwise.
History is filled with similar such acts of violence, and as the later generations it is up to us to learn from the mistakes of the past. Whether they are from our own nation, or another, there is always an important lesson to be learned, and countless lives that should be remembered and honoured.
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