Re: About Sinclair

[Niven Sinclair <niven@niven.co.uk>]

At 09:18 29/05/01 -0400, you wrote:
>In this family search 'thing' I haave taken to reading everything I can
>on Scottish history. In J. D. Mackie's book, "History of Scotland", in
>the reign of James VI/I, "As Argyll had been used overmuch in the south,
>so the Earl of Caithness had to be given extensive powers to preserve
>order in the north." In other words, the two chiefs were the policemen
>for the king.  From the same source, is the statement that, "In Orkney
>Patrick, son of an illegitimate son of james V...) carried fuedal
>tyranny to such a height that the name of Earl Patrick became the byword
>for oppresion. In 1609 he was arrested, but his natural son Robert,
>raised the standard of revolt.  In 1612 the lands of Orkney were
>permanently annexed to the crown......The matter ended with the
>execution of father and son in 1615".  ---And I thought Orkney always
>part of the Sinclair's lands.  Since Dr. Mackie's book is more general
>than specific on any clan, there are only tidbits of any one clan's
>history.  I have also read somewhere recently that the Sinclairs were
>not a "clan" as generally thought of.  Sally


The Sinclairs 'lost' Orkney in 1471 when they were 'given' to Scotland
as part of the dowry of Princess Margaret when she married James III
of Scotland.  The King insisted that the Sinclairs surrender their 'jarldom'
lands for which they received Ravenscraig and Dysart in Fife in compensation.

Nevertheless, Earl William Sinclair, the last Sinclair Earl of Orkney (which
included Shetland) bought up one third of all the 'udal' lands in Orkney and
Shetland in order to retain the Sinclair presence there.  This was an astute
move.

The King sent his illegitimate son, Patrick Stuart, to rule the Orkneys and,
as you have read, he was a tyrant.  He was known as "Black Patrick" and,
eventually, he paid with his life for the atrocities which he committed.

Although the Sinclairs never held the Earldom again their influence was
re-asserted when, after the Battle of Summerdale in 1528 (when the King
contrived to set the Sinclairs of Caithness against the Sinclairs of Orkney)
the King gave the Governorship of Kirkwall Castle to James Sinclair, the
leader of the victorious Orcadians who he had tried to defeat - such was
the turncoat nature of the Stuart kings to whom the Sinclairs were slavishly
loyal to the point of stupidity.  This hastened the downfall of the 
Sinclair family
who never regained their pre-eminence in Scottish affairs.    We also stuck
stubbornly to the Catholic faith when the fierce wind of Protestant change was
sweeping through the whole of Northern Europe.

Niven Sinclair



Niven Sinclair


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