The Glencairn Uprising, 1653-54 Helen Baker Department of ...

England who wholeheartedly supported the union, admitted that, in relative terms,
Scotland suffered a greater fiscal burden than their own country and had not gained
financially by being part of the Commonwealth. Set against this expenditure was the
fact that genuine cases of hardship were often dealt with parsimoniously by the
English government. After a devastating fire in Glasgow, those who lost their homes
shared between them a sum of £1 000 stg. 52
It was not only the common people who suffered the financial burden of foreign
occupation. Ironically, the establishment of a fair judiciary caused problems for a
selection of the Scottish nobility. During the political instability of the previous years,
many noblemen and clans-leaders had accumulated vast debts. The English
restoration of peace – albeit superficially – meant that creditors began to push for
payment. As Firth believes, the end of the debt amnesty was a contributing factor to
outbreak of the Glencairn uprising. 53
Hostility towards a financial and military yoke was combined with religious
objections to the union. Opposition by the Presbyterian clergy was highly influential
on popular opinion. 54 By this time, the kirk had lost much of its former power as a
result of bitter factionalism and noble dissatisfaction. At around 1650, the
Covenanters – supporters of the 1638 National Covenant in defence of
Presbyterianism in Scotland - had split into two main factions: the Protesters and
Resolutioners. The Protesters were so named because they protested against the
General Assemblies of 1650 and 1651 in which they were in a minority. 55 The
Remonstrants were virtually identical with the Protesters. The second group, the
52 The author of a letter published in Several Proceedings in Parliament, 24 June-1 July 1652, admitted
the sight of the burnt-out city drew tears from his eyes. Both English troops and natives of Glasgow
lost loved ones and property in the blaze. ‘Some men, both Souldiers and others, have lost their lives in
using their indevours to quench the fire. Many poor families that before lived well are now by this fire
utterly undone, and brought to great extreamity. It would pitty the heart of any man almost to behold so
sad a spectacle.’ Firth, C.H. Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp.xxxii-xxxiii, xxxvi, 360 and
Gardiner, S.R. History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate 1649-1656, p.87.
53 Firth, C.H. Scotland and the Commonwealth, p.xxix.
54 In the Highlands, there was significant Roman Catholic survivalism, aided by small numbers of
Roman Catholic missionaries sent from Ireland and sponsored by Rome. Written comments by Michael
Seymour to the author on 2 February 2002.
55 The General Assembly was the governing body of the Church of Scotland which originated at the
Reformation to represent the three estates of the realm.