Events from the 1660s 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 la ...

Incumbents

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

– Charles II (since May 29, 1660)

Events

* 1660: ** 1 January – Colonel

George 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 ...

with his

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

crosses from Scotland to England at the village of

Coldstream Coldstream ( gd, An Sruthan Fuar , sco, Caustrim) is a town and civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream is the home of the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army. Description Coldstream l ...

and advances towards London in support of the

English Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

. ** 29 May – Charles II is crowned King of England, Scotland and Ireland. ** 21 December – ''

Mercurius Caledonius The ''Mercurius Caledonius - Comprising The Affairs now in Agitation in Scotland With A Survey of Forraign Intelligence'' was arguably Scotland's first newspaper. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1660 by the playwright Thomas Sydserf, the son of ...

'' established in Edinburgh, the first example of a newspaper in Scotland, running until 1661. * 1661: ** April –

Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661–62 The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661–62 was a series of nationwide witch trials that took place across the whole of Scotland during a period of sixteen months from April 1661. At least 660 people were tried for witchcraft and various forms of di ...

begins. * 1663: ** 28 September – The murder of Alexander MacDonald, 12th of Keppoch and his brother Ranald by their cousins, known as the

Keppoch murders The Keppoch Murders ( gd, Murt na Ceapaich) is the name given to the murders of Alexander MacDonald, 12th of Keppoch and his brother Ranald by rival claimants to the chieftainship of the MacDonalds of Keppoch. The murders took place on September ...

. * 1664: **

Methven Castle Methven Castle is a privately owned 17th-century house situated east of Methven, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. History The lands of Methven were owned by the Mowbray family from the 12th century. The Mowbrays supported the claim of John Balli ...

built. * 1666: ** 28 November –

Battle of Rullion Green The Battle of Rullion Green took place on 28 November 1666, near the Pentland Hills, in Midlothian, Scotland. It was the only significant battle of the Pentland Rising, a brief revolt by Covenanter dissidents against the Scottish government. S ...

, part of the Pentland Rising, a failed uprising by the

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 ...

. * 1667: ** 1 May – A

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

flotilla A flotilla (from Spanish, meaning a small ''flota'' (fleet) of ships), or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. Composition A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class ...

under Admiral van Ghent enters the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

as part of the

First Anglo-Dutch War The First Anglo-Dutch War, or simply the First Dutch War, ( nl, Eerste Engelse (zee-)oorlog, "First English (Sea) War"; 1652–1654) was a conflict fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic, ...

. **

Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll (26 February 1629 – 30 June 1685) was a Scottish peer and soldier. The hereditary chief of Clan Campbell, and a prominent figure in Scottish politics, he was a Royalist supporter during the latter stage ...

, is granted Kinlochkilkerran on which he will develop

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; gd, Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing ...

. * 1669: ** 7 June: King Charles grants the 'First Indulgence', allowing moderate Presbyterian ministers to be reappointed to their livings. ** 2 August: John Maitland, Earl of Lauderdale, is granted the royal appointment of

Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland was the monarch of Scotland's's personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland. From the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of England in 1603, a Lord High Commissio ...

. ** 19 October: The

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

opens its first new session in six years (although two Conventions of Estates have been held briefly in 1665 and 1667). The session is opened in

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

by Charles in his capacity as

King of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...

and closes in December. Legislation passed includes: *** Act of Supremacy, recognising the King's authority over the Kirk *** Militia Act, giving the King power to raise 20,000 men in Scotland. *** Act against

conventicle A conventicle originally signified no more than an assembly, and was frequently used by ancient writers for a church. At a semantic level ''conventicle'' is only a good Latinized synonym of the Greek word church, and points to Jesus' promise in M ...

s. *** Act for annexation of Orkney and Shetland to the Crown.

Births

* 1661: ** 6 October –

William Dunbar William Dunbar (born 1459 or 1460 – died by 1530) was a Scottish makar, or court poet, active in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He was closely associated with the court of King James IV and produced a large body of work in ...

, bishop (d.

1746 Events January–March * January 8 – The Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart occupies Stirling, Scotland. * January 17 – Battle of Falkirk Muir: British Government forces are defeated by Jacobite forces. * February 1 ...

) * 1662: ** 15 February – James Renwick, Covenanter (executed

1688 Events January–March * January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Oco ...

) ** 5 August –

James Anderson James Anderson may refer to: Arts *James Anderson (American actor) (1921–1969), American actor *James Anderson (author) (1936–2007), British mystery writer *James Anderson (English actor) (born 1980), British actor * James Anderson (filmmaker) ...

, lawyer and historian (d.

1728 Events January–March * January 5 – The '' Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana'', the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana. * January 9 – The coronation of Peter II as the Tsar of t ...

) ** 19 November –

John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland John Campbell, 2nd Earl of Breadalbane and Holland (19 November 1662 – 23 February 1752) a Scottish nobleman born in Breadalbane to John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland and Lady Mary Rich. In 1685 he married Lady Frances Cavendish ...

, politician (d.

1752 In the British Empire, it was the only leap year with 355 days, as September 3–13 were skipped when the Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – The British Empire (except Scotland, which h ...

) ** 18 December –

James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover (18 December 16626 July 1711) was a Scottish nobleman. Life He was the eldest son of William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry and his wife Isabel Douglas, daughter of William Douglas ...

politician (d.

1711 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...

) * 1663: ** 8 May –

Lord James Murray Lord James Murray (8 May 1663 – 30 December 1719), was a Scottish Member of Parliament. Murray was the third son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl, by Lady Amelia Anne Sophia, daughter of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby, and was born at K ...

, English-born politician (d.

1719 Events January–March * January 8 – Carolean Death March begins: A catastrophic retreat by a largely-Finnish Swedish- Carolean army under the command of Carl Gustaf Armfeldt across the Tydal mountains in a blizzard kills around 3,7 ...

) * 1664: ** 14 September – John Blackadder, soldier (died

1729 Events January–March * January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hanover ...

) * 1665: ** 25 December –

Lady Grizel Baillie Lady Grizel Baillie, ''née'' Hume, (25 December 1665 – 6 December 1746) was a Scottish gentlewoman and songwriter. Her accounting ledgers, in which she kept details about her household for more than 50 years, provide information about soci ...

, songwriter (d.

)

Deaths

* 1661: ** 27 May –

Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell (March 160727 May 1661) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. The ''de facto'' head of Scotland's government during most of the conflict of the 1640s and ...

, nobleman, executed in Edinburgh for treason (b. 1607) ** 18 August –

Robert Gordon of Straloch Robert Gordon of Straloch (14 September 1580 – 18 August 1661) was a Scottish cartographer, noted as a poet, mathematician, antiquary, and geographer, and for his collection of music for the lute. Life The younger son of Sir John Gordon of Pit ...

, poet, mathematician, antiquary and geographer (b. 1580) * 1662: ** 3 September –

Beatrix Leslie Beatrix Leslie (c. 1577 – 3 September 1661) was a Scottish midwife executed for witchcraft. In 1661 she was accused of causing the collapse of a coal pit through witchcraft. Little is known about her life before that, although there are report ...

, midwife, executed for witchcraft (b. c.1577) * 1663: ** 21 December –

Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, 3rd Lord Bruce of Kinloss (2 December 1599 – 21 December 1663), of Houghton House in the parish of Maulden in Bedfordshire, was a Scottish nobleman. Early life Born in Edinburgh in 1599, Thomas Bruce was the s ...

, nobleman (b.

1599 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * January 8 – The Jesuit educational plan, known as the ''Ratio Studiorum'', is issued. * March 12 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, by Queen Elizabeth I o ...

)

References

{{Years in Scotland