Events from the 1650s in the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

– Charles II (until his disposition in 1651) *

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

from 1651 until the Restoration in 1660 which reinstates Charles II.

Events

* 1650: ** 21 May - James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose executed in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

after his defeat at the

Battle of Carbisdale The Battle of Carbisdale (also known as Invercarron) took place close to the village of Culrain, Sutherland, Scotland on 27 April 1650 and was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought by the Royalist leader James Graham, 1st Marq ...

. ** 29 June - "the Lord General Cromwell went out of London towards the North: and the news of him marching Northward much startled the Scots".

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

leads the New Model Army to Edinburgh. ** 3 September - Battle of Dunbar takes place between Cromwell's Army and the

Scottish Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

. Cromwell's army wins and the battle results in southern Scotland surrendering to England; it is administered from Dalkeith. * 1651: ** 1 January - Charles II crowned King of Scotland at

Scone Palace Scone Palace is a Category A-listed historic house near the village of Scone and the city of Perth, Scotland. Built in red sandstone with a castellated roof, it is an example of the Gothic Revival style in Scotland. Scone was originally the s ...

. ** 20 July -

Battle of Inverkeithing The Battle of Inverkeithing was fought on 20 July 1651 between an English army under John Lambert and a Scottish army led by James Holborne as part of an English invasion of Scotland. The battle was fought near the isthmus of the Ferry Pe ...

: The English Parliamentarian New Model Army, under Major-General

John Lambert John Lambert may refer to: *John Lambert (martyr) (died 1538), English Protestant martyred during the reign of Henry VIII *John Lambert (general) (1619–1684), Parliamentary general in the English Civil War * John Lambert of Creg Clare (''fl.'' c. ...

, defeats a Scottish Covenanter army acting on behalf of Charles II, led by Sir John Brown of Fordell. ** 1 September -

Siege of Dundee The siege of Dundee took place from 23 August to 1 September 1651 as part of the Anglo-Scottish war of 1650–1652 after an English force under George Monck confronted the town of Dundee in Scotland and its garrison commanded by the town' ...

ends with the English Parliamentarian army, under

General Monck George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle JP KG PC (6 December 1608 – 3 January 1670) was an English soldier, who fought on both sides during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A prominent military figure under the Commonwealth, his support was cruc ...

, decisively defeating Covenanters in the last battle of the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 B ...

in Scotland. ** 3 September -

Battle of Worcester The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell d ...

takes place after Charles II has raised an army (largely from Scotland) and invaded England. It results in his defeat by Cromwell and the king escaping abroad. * 1652: 17 June - A large fire breaks out in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, which destroys around a third of the city and leaves approximately 1,000 families homeless. * 1653: 16 December - Cromwell is made Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. * 1654: **12 April - Cromwell creates a union between England and Scotland, with Scottish representation in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

. **5 May -

Cromwell's Act of Grace Cromwell's Act of Grace, or more formally the Act of Pardon and Grace to the People of Scotland, was an Act of the Parliament of England that declared that the people of Scotland (with certain exceptions) were pardoned for any crimes they migh ...

, which pardons the people of Scotland for any crimes they may have committed during the

, is proclaimed in Edinburgh. * 1658: 3 September - Cromwell dies and the title of Lord Protector passes to his son,

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's deat ...

. * 1659: ** 25 May - Richard Cromwell forced to resign as Lord Protector. **

Heriot's Hospital George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. ...

opens in Edinburgh.

Publications

*1655 - ''History of the Church and State of Scotland'' by

John Spottiswoode John Spottiswoode (Spottiswood, Spotiswood, Spotiswoode or Spotswood) (1565 – 26 November 1639) was an Archbishop of St Andrews, Primate of All Scotland, Lord Chancellor, and historian of Scotland. Life He was born in 1565 at Greenbank in ...

Births

*1650: ** Sir James Dalrymple, 1st Baronet, writer and

Principal Clerk of Session The Principal Clerk of Session and Justiciary is the clerk of court responsible for the administration of the Supreme Courts of Scotland and their associated staff. The Keeper of the Signet grants a commission to the Principal Clerk of Sessio ...

(d. 1719) **

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * G ...

, inventor and arithmetician (d.

1730 Events January–March * January 30 (January 19 O.S.) – At dawn, Emperor Peter II of Russia dies of smallpox, aged 14 in Moscow, on the eve of his projected marriage. * February 26 (February 15 O.S.) – Anna of Russia (An ...

) ** Henry Erskine, 3rd Lord Cardross, Covenanter (d.

1693 Events January–March * January 11 – 1693 Sicily earthquake: Mount Etna erupts, causing a devastating earthquake that affects parts of Sicily and Malta. * January 22 – A total lunar eclipse is visible across North and South Ame ...

) * 1654: 23 November - George Watson, accountant (d.

1733 Events January–March * January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX. * January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for th ...

) * 1658: 11 April -

James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton Lieutenant General James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton and 1st Duke of Brandon (11 April 1658 – 15 November 1712) was a Scottish nobleman, soldier and politician. Hamilton was a major investor in the failed Darien Scheme, which cost many o ...

, nobleman (d.

1712 In the Swedish calendar it began as a leap year starting on Monday and remained so until Thursday, February 29. By adding a second leap day (Friday, February 30) Sweden reverted to the Julian calendar and the rest of the year (from Saturda ...

) * 1659 ** 1 January - Margaret Wemyss, 3rd Countess of Wemyss, noble (d. 1705) ** 3 June - David Gregory, mathematician and astronomer (d.

1708 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia, by crossing t ...

) ** 13 September -

Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn PC (Ire) (1659–1691) was a Scottish and Irish peer who fought for the Jacobites in the Williamite War. He went with King James to Derry in 1689 and tried to negotiate the surrender of the town with Adam ...

, Scottish and Irish peer (k. in action 1691)

Deaths

*1650: ** 21 May - James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (b.

1612 Events January–June * January 6 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. He persuades the Riksdag of the Estates to grant the Swedish nobility the right and privilege to hold all higher offices of govern ...

) ** 29 October -

David Calderwood David Calderwood (157529 October 1650) was a Church of Scotland minister and historian. Calderwood was banished for his nonconformity. He found a home in the Low Countries, where he wrote his great work, the Altare Damascenum. It was a serious ...

divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

(b. 1575) *1654: Alexander Ross, writer (b. c.1590)

References

{{Years in Scotland 1650 in Scotland