The fall of Episcopacy in Scotland 1688-1691
This thesis attempts to shed light on a little-studied moment in the history of
the Williamite revolution in Scotland, namely what factors led to the
abolition of episcopacy in July 1689 and the establishment of Presbyterian
church government in June 1690. It attempts to analyse the various political
forces at play and the ideas which motivated the lead figures.
The Earl of Portland and Scotland (1689-1699): a re-evaluation of Williamite policy
The 1690s have often been seen as a period of troubles in Scotland, dominated by disasters such as the Glencoe massacre and the Darien debacle. Neither has King William III enjoyed a good reputation; he is rather regarded as an uninterested monarch at best or a tyrant at worst. Still, there are two problems with such an interpretation. Firstly, it is doubtful whether a narrative solely based on political incidents can do justice to this decade which, secondly, is often studied in isolation. This article therefore aims to study the structure of politics rather than survey the sequence of disasters. Moreover, it will try to move away from an introspective interpretation by studying the role of the Earl of Portland, the King's favourite, who de facto governed Scotland from London, although he was primarily interested in the Nine Years War on the Continent. The article will argue that Scottish politics in the 1690s cannot be understood without referring to the dominant role played by Portland and without placing Scottish affairs in a wider international context. It will do so by first analysing the position of the favourite and the manner in which he delegated responsibilities to his Scottish associates. According to one pamphleteer, he 'Assumed the whole Superintendency of the Kingdom of Scotland & Governs it intirely by his Creatures'. Secondly, his involvement in Scottish politics will be analysed against the background of international events. On a higher level, this article serves as a call for a reinterpretation of the 1690s in Scotland as a transformative period of political experimentation rather than a sequence of political disasters.
The Liverpool Cholera Epidemic of 1832 and Anatomical Dissection--Medical Mistrust and Civil Unrest
Asiatic cholera reached Britain for the first time in late 1831, with the main epidemic occurring during 1832. The disease caused profuse diarrhea, severe dehydration, collapse, and often death. There was widespread public fear, and the political and medical response to this new disease was variable and inadequate. In the summer of 1832, a series of "cholera riots" occurred in various towns and cities throughout Britain, frequently directed against the authorities, doctors, or both. The city of Liverpool, in the northwest of England, experienced more riots than elsewhere. Between 29 May and 10 June 1832, eight major street riots occurred, with several other minor disturbances. The object of the crowd's anger was the local medical fraternity. The public perception was that cholera victims were being removed to the hospital to be killed by doctors in order to use them for anatomical dissection. "Bring out the Burkers" was one cry of the Liverpool mobs, referring to the Burke and Hare scandal four years earlier, when two men had murdered people in Edinburgh in order to sell their bodies for dissection to the local anatomy school. This issue was of special concern to the Liverpool citizenry because in 1826, thirty-three bodies had been discovered on the Liverpool docks, about to be shipped to Scotland for dissection. Two years later a local surgeon, William Gill, was tried and found guilty of running an extensive local grave-robbing system to supply corpses for his dissection rooms. The widespread cholera rioting in Liverpool was thus as much related to local anatomical issues as it was to the national epidemic. The riots ended relatively abruptly, largely in response to an appeal by the Roman Catholic clergy read from church pulpits, and also published in the local press. In addition, a respected local doctor, James Collins, published a passionate appeal for calm. The Liverpool Cholera Riots of 1832 demonstrate the complex social responses to epidemic disease, as well as the fragile interface between the public and the medical profession.