Book Description

This work brings to life a Scottish Presbyterian community forced into Dutch exile after 1660 and triumphantly repatriated as a result of the Glorious Revolution. Piecing together evidence from an extensive range of manuscripts in Britain and the Netherlands, this book reveals both the character and structure of this unique group of refugees. By examining its interaction with other elements of Dutch society and the attitude of the British authorities towards it, the book concludes that it remained a distinct part of the Scots expatriate population, unable because of its circumstances to integrate fully into Dutch life. which peaked with its involvement in the debates over James VII's indulgences and, more important its links with William of Orange. The latter allowed exiles to participate in the crucial political developments of the late 1680s and allotted them a prominent position in the invasion of 1688, leading the book to reassess the traditional view that Scots were essentially passive participants in the Revolution. The book closes with an account of the central role that the former exiles went on to play in the post-1688 Scottish government and church.