Nathan MacLennan

This project investigates an underexplored time period in Scottish history. During the 1650s, Scotland was conquered by the armies of Oliver Cromwell and incorporated into the Commonwealth regime. It examines Scottish politics during this turbulent era focusing particularly on the Scottish Royalist movement and resistance to the Cromwellian regime. Through an analysis of archival materials left by both occupying authorities and by Royalists themselves, this investigation will seek to understand the ways that Scots contested, but also adapted to, life under military rule. The project will also pay particular attention to Gaelic language sources, including vernacular poetry and oral traditions, in recognition of the crucial role Scottish Gaels played in resistance to Cromwellian rule. It is intended that the findings of the project will make a linguistically and culturally inclusive contribution to Scottish historiography, which has had a longstanding problem of marginalising Gaelic language perspectives within accounts of Scotland’s past.