Reconquering the Highlands: Hanoverian interpretations of Roman Scotland

Abstract

The sixth chapter focuses on the years following the failure of the 1745 Jacobite uprising, a period which would witness dramatic social change, particularly in the Scottish Highlands. The Hanoverian regime’s attempt to subdue the north of Scotland and wipe out Gaelic culture was clearly based on ancient Roman precedents. In addition, a number of the Hanoverian military men who were based in Scotland after the ’45 would become interested in the region’s Roman heritage, leading to many new discoveries and influential publications. Best known among these men are General Robert Melville and Major General William Roy, whose posthumously published Roman Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain would include many maps and plans of Scottish Roman sites.