A Later Protestant Invasion: The Scots Kirk and the Dutch and Swiss Forces, 1715–16

In 1715–16, Scotland played host to 6,000 Dutch and Swiss soldiers dispatched to defeat the Jacobites. These forces have been little studied in a historiography more concerned with the Jacobites than with their opponents, of whom few were stauncher than the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. This article aims to deepen our understanding of Scottish Hanoverianism by investigating a novel topic: confessional relations between Scots and the Dutch and Swiss forces. What is revealed is that, despite the presence of Roman Catholic soldiers amongst these forces, not only were the foreign forces welcomed as co-religionists amid confessional controversy with England, but they also played a role in local Presbyterian struggles against Episcopalians. Ultimately, the reception of these forces highlights the interplay between a church and a foreign, largely co-religionist military; reveals the importance of the church in supporting a foreign garrison; and testifies to an enduring supranational confessional identity among Scottish Presbyterians.