Quote Originally Posted by Steve Ashton View Post
What adds to the confusion is that many people do not understand that there was not one single Jacobite rising. Many people would like there to be a single, simple answer to the risings but there were a lot of different reasons behind each of them.

We need to remember that Jacobitism was the name of the political movement in Great Britain and Ireland that aimed to restore the House of Stuart to the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The movement was named after Jacobus, the Latin form of James.

The Jacobite period can be said to have begun in 1688 with "The Glorious Revolution" And continued until the collapse of 1745 rising.

There were separate risings in 1689 - 1715 - 1719 - 1745.
There were also aborted risings in 1708 - 1744 - 1759

As a result there were many enactments aimed at preventing further risings a such as "The Clan Act of 1715" - "The Habeas Corpus Suspension Act of 1715" - "The Disarming Act of 1716" - "Indemnity Act of 1717" - The "Disarming Act of 1745" - "Jurors Act of 1745" - "Act of Proscription of 1746" - "Dress Act of 1746" - "Heritable Jurisdiction Act of 1746" - "Sheriff's Act of 1746" - "Traitors Transported Act 1746" - "Treason Outlaweries Act 1748".

This whole issue is not a simple one. There is a lot of myth and misunderstanding. There was not a single history textbook date or event, but an ongoing progress over almost 60 years. You must also understand what was going on before and after to put it is historical perspective.
The major difference in the proscription of 1746 was it was to be permanent. The disarming act of 1716 had an expiration date so did not have much in the way of "teeth." And, there was not a blanket removal of power as in the Heritable Jurisdiction Act. There certainly was in the acts passed after the '45. But, as you point out, there is nothing simple about it.