Prince Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788) was the grandson of Britain’s last Stuart king and the last of his line to fight for their right to the throne. Born in Rome and raised at his father’s cultured and cosmopolitan court-in-exile, the young prince grew up beneath a heavy weight of expectation and yearned for the chance to prove his worth. In 1745, just as it seemed his best opportunity had already passed, Charles threw caution to the wind and embarked on a secret and seemingly desperate expedition to Scotland. What followed is one of the most remarkable, famous, and often misrepresented episodes of Scottish history: the ’45. This is the story of the last Jacobite rising and the charismatic but controversial prince who led it, presenting a human portrait of the Stuart prince through the words of those who served alongside him. The picture revealed is one of a humane and capable young man taking on a mission far greater than his experience had prepared him for, pushed to the limits of his abilities at a cost from which he never recovered. Following Charles Edward Stuart over the battlefields of Prestonpans, Falkirk and Culloden, this book reveals the prince’s strengths and flaws as a commander, and the difficult relationships he had with the very people on whom his fortunes, and reputation, would depend. It is the story of how the prince faced conflicts both on and off the battlefield, weathered challenges posed by friends as well as foes, and left a legacy which remains hotly contested to this day.

At the start of the1700s the life of Scottish clansmen was settled compared to the past. This book describes how Clan families lived simple lives in primitive homes. The Battle of Culloden in 1746 changed Scotland forever. Clansmen were now subject to English justice, prohibited from wearing traditional clothing and carrying weapons. Clan chiefs morphed into hard-nosed landlords and ordinary clansmen faced a different and difficult future, with challenges never experienced by their forefathers. Land reform and the introduction of sheep displaced Gaelic Scots, who had to either live elsewhere, become crofters or emigrate. The development of crofting communities dependant on growing potatoes, and the lives of the people who lived in them, is an essential part of this book. While focused on Mull and Iona, it is a fascinating story about the hardship that tenants experienced throughout Scotland. Disease that decimated potato crops in 1846, caused famine, starvation and great poverty. People lost their livelihoods and were evicted from their homes. Evictions, starvation and government policy led to an upsurge in emigration. Until economic conditions improved during the Crimean War, emigration played a key role in the salvation of a starving population.

Covering the period from when Earth began to the end of the Great War and designed for the general reader, this book aims to give a chronological account of life on Earth. It relates all parts of the world to each other for those whose acquaintance with history has been limited to short periods about different places and cultures. Each of the chapters has been designed to be self-contained so that browsing by episodes of time or place will be informative and interesting. Scientific discoveries, cultural advances and religious milestones illuminate how the human race has developed through the ages. The present state of the world, and our society (scientific, political and religious), is more easily understood when we understand how it came about; in this way, it is easier to comprehend present personal and national identity and morality. For those whose knowledge of history is largely confined to short detailed periods such as those of the Romans or the Tudors, perhaps studied at school, then this account sets out to fill the gaps both in time and in geography and show how they relate to one another, and what was happening across the world in the same era.

This is the exciting story of how, over 250 years ago, Prince Charles Edward Stuart led a poor but proud army into England to seize the British throne for the Stuarts - and almost won.