The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 3, Spring 2020 | Page 88

Tea Table Sisterhood and Rebel Dames: The C
who supported James II or found success
in business on mainland Europe.
Jacobite families raised their
children to support the House of Stuart
and often married their children into
other Jacobite families. Women, mainly,
took an active role in raising their children
to have strong ties to the House of
Stuart. Jacobite sons, daughters, grandsons,
and granddaughters supported
James Francis Edward Stuart, James
III of England and VIII of Scotland,
following the death of his father James
II in 1701. James III’s son, Charles Edward
Stuart, who was known as Bonnie
Prince Charlie, would attempt to unite
the clans for a final attempt to restore
his father’s throne in the last uprising
on Scottish soil in 1745. Jacobite women
raised their families to support the
Stuart Dynasty. In addition, many involved
themselves in court intrigue,
secret political groups, planning restoration
attempts, and espionage to
restore the throne. James II, James III,
and Prince Charles understood the importance
of women’s involvement, as
they were less suspect of any conspiracy
due to the expectations of gender roles.
The Jacobite rebellions realized setbacks
and successes, but never ultimate
defeat until the Battle of Culloden in
1746. The involvement of women in the
Stuart cause, fighting off the battlefield,
helped the Stuart restoration campaign
succeed and move forward through its
many attempts to reclaim the throne.
During the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, expectations for
women consisted of marrying into
a family of their father’s or head-of-
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