James VII

The MacDonalds were targeted because of their support for the exiled King James VII of Scotland and II of England.

He became king of England, and King James VII of Scotland three years later.

He went on to reign as King James II of England and Ireland, and as James VII of Scotland from 1685 to 1688, when he was deposed by the Glorious Revolution.

By the 17th century, the Bass had become a jail for religious and political prisoners, particularly the Scottish Presbyterians known as Covenanters and, later, Jacobites, four of whom managed to lock their jailers out and hold the island from 1691 to 1694 in the name of the exiled King James VII. Bought by Hew Dalrymple in 1706, the Bass remains in possession of his descendants, who have surrendered it to the birds’ protection.

A man of property and a large-scale cattle dealer, MacGregor spent much time riding the Menteith Hills, checking on stock and selling cattle “protection” to fund the Jacobite cause of restoring deposed King James VII.