John Drummond, 1st Earl Of Melfort
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John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort, styled Duke of Melfort in the
Jacobite peerage The Jacobite peerage includes those peerages created by James II and VII, and the subsequent Jacobite pretenders, after James's deposition from the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. These creati ...
(8 August 1650 – 25 January 1715), was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
politician and close advisor to
James VII & II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...
. A Catholic convert, Melfort and his brother the
Earl of Perth Earl of Perth is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond. The Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, a younger son of King Andrew I of Hungary. Maurice arrived in Sc ...
consistently urged James not to compromise with his opponents, contributing to his increasing isolation and ultimate deposition in the 1688
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
. In exile, Melfort became the first Jacobite Secretary of State but his unpopularity with other Jacobites led to his resignation in 1694. He served as James'
Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...
Ambassador in Rome but failed to regain his former influence and retired from active politics. He died in Paris on 25 January 1715.


Life

John Drummond, later Earl of Melfort, was born in 1649, probably at Stobhall in Perthshire since the family home Drummond Castle was then occupied by the
New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...
. The second son of James Drummond, 3rd Earl of Perth (c. 1615–1675) and Lady Anne Gordon (c. 1621–1656), his elder brother
James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth, Order of the Thistle, KT, Privy Council of England, PC (164811 May 1716) was a Scottish peer and politician. Lyle, Kathleen (2019), ''The Jacobites in Perth 1715-16'', Tippermuir Books Ltd., Perth, p. 162, Fa ...
, was a close political ally. In September 1670, Melfort married Sophia Maitland, heiress to the estate of Lundin in Fife and niece of the
Duke of Lauderdale Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...
; they had six children before her death in 1680. After his exile, his titles and property were confiscated in 1695, except for Sophia's estates, which were transferred to their surviving children in December 1688. Thereafter, they had little contact with their father and used the name 'Lundin'. After Sophia's death in 1680, he married Euphemia Wallace (ca. 1654–1743) and they had another seven children, who grew up in France. John Drummond, 2nd Earl of Melfort, took part in the
Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...
, while his grandsons, John and Louis Drummond, fought at Culloden in 1746 with the Royal Écossais Regiment and ended their careers as senior French officers.


Career


Scottish politician (1670–1688)

Lauderdale was the Crown's representative in Scotland and marriage to his niece brought Melfort lands and positions; in September 1673, he received a commission as Captain in the Foot Guards. He was appointed Deputy Governor of
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...
in 1679, then
Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...
and Master of the Ordnance in 1680. Charles II had numerous illegitimate children but no legitimate ones, leaving James as heir. His conversion to Catholicism and the perceived threat posed by the policies of
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
resulted in the anti-Catholic
Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...
and the 1679–1681 Exclusion Crisis. This split the English political class between those who wanted to 'exclude' James from the throne, or Whigs, and their opponents, or Tories. He had greater support in Scotland but Lauderdale resigned in 1680 after voting for the execution of Viscount Stafford, one of those falsely condemned by the Popish Plot. In 1681, James became
Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland was the List of Scottish monarchs, monarch of Scotland's high commissioner, personal representative to the Parliament of Scotland. From the accession of James I of England, James VI of Sc ...
and created a Scottish support base including the Drummonds, Queensberry and
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...
. With their help, the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
passed the 1681 Test Act. This required government officers to swear unconditional loyalty to the monarch, 'regardless of religion'; but with the crucial qualifier they also 'promise to uphold the true Protestant religion.' Melfort was appointed Treasurer-Depute of Scotland in 1682, then joint
Secretary of State, Scotland The Secretary of Scotland or Lord Secretary was a senior post in the Government of Scotland, government of the Kingdom of Scotland. The office appeared in the 14th century (or earlier) when it was combined with that of Keeper of the Privy Seal ...
in 1684, with his brother as
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
. The 1638–1651
Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...
meant many feared the consequences of bypassing James and he became king with widespread support in all three kingdoms, England, Scotland and Ireland. In England and Scotland, this assumed he did nothing to weaken the Protestant
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
and it was a short-term issue, not the prelude to a Catholic dynasty. In 1685, James was 52, his second marriage was childless after 14 years and the heirs were his Protestant daughters,
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
and
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...
. These were increasingly challenged in the years leading up to the crisis of June 1688 and Melfort bears much of the responsibility. The brothers effectively ruled Scotland but after 1684, most of their time was spent in London and disconnected them from political developments there. As a result, James often pursued policies in Scotland based on information either out of date or wrong, most significantly that acceptance of his personal beliefs did not extend to Catholicism in general. His 'tolerance' measures were badly timed, particularly when the October 1685
Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to prac ...
revoked it for French Huguenots, reinforcing fears Protestant Europe was threatened by a French-led Catholic counter-reformation. Converting to Catholicism in 1685 meant the Drummonds further isolated themselves, while backing policies that undermined support for James; even moderate Catholics were concerned by these. The religious divides of the 17th century meant many Scots saw concessions as potentially destabilising, which resulted in the rapid collapse of the 1685
Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...
and
Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion in June 1685 was an attempt to depose James II of England, James II, who in February had succeeded his brother Charles II of England, Charles II as king of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and ...
s. In 1686, the Scottish Parliament was suspended and Queensberry forced from office after refusing to back 'tolerance' for Catholics and Presbyterian dissidents. In 1686, Melfort was created Earl of Melfort and appointed to the
Privy Council of England The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the List of English monarchs, sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House ...
, causing deep resentment among English Tories; it also meant James' closest advisor was isolated from the political class in Scotland and England. He was also the driving force behind the
Order of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...
, a body intended to reward James' Scottish supporters, whose members included Catholics like Melfort, his elder brother the Earl of Perth, the
Earl of Dumbarton Earl of Dumbarton is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom, referring to Dumbarton in the area West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The title has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland in 1675 and once in the Peerage of the United ...
, plus Protestants like the Earl of Arran. Two events in June 1688 turned opposition into open revolt; the birth of James Francis Edward on 10th created a Catholic heir, excluding James' Protestant daughter
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
and her husband William of Orange. By prosecuting the
Seven Bishops The Seven Bishops were members of the Church of England tried and acquitted for seditious libel in the Court of Kings Bench in June 1688. The very unpopular prosecution of the bishops is viewed as a significant event contributing to the Novemb ...
for seditious libel, James appeared to be going beyond tolerance for Catholicism and into an assault on the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
; their acquittal on 30 June destroyed his political authority, in Scotland as well as England. In 1685, many feared civil war if James were bypassed; by 1688, anti-Catholic riots made that it seem only his removal could prevent one. Representatives from across the political class invited William to assume the English throne, and he landed in
Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...
on 5 November. Melfort urged a mass arrest of influential Whigs in response but James' army deserted him and he went into exile on 23 December.


Jacobite exile (1688–1714)

Those who remained loyal to James became known as 'Jacobites,' after the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''Jacobus'', and the political ideology behind it as
Jacobitism Jacobitism was a political ideology advocating the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. When James II of England chose exile after the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, ...
. Melfort left London on 3 December 1688 with his wife Euphemia and the seven children of his second marriage; a few days later, he arrived at
Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. ...
outside Paris, location of the exiled court for the next 25 years. The
English Parliament 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 th ...
offered William and Mary the throne of England in February, with elections in Scotland for a Convention to decide the fate of the Scottish throne. France was engaged in the 1688–1697
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
against the Grand Alliance,
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
and
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. In order to weaken his opponents, Louis provided James military support to regain his kingdoms and in March 1689, he landed in Ireland, with Melfort as Secretary of State. The Scottish Convention was meeting in Edinburgh and when it opened on 16 March, a letter drafted by Melfort was read out, demanding obedience and threatening punishment for noncompliance. Although committed Jacobites were a tiny minority, many Scots were unenthusiastic about the alternatives; the letter caused public anger and demonstrated James had learned nothing from the events that led to his deposition. The tone reflected an internal Jacobite dispute between the Protestant 'Compounders', who viewed concessions as essential to regain the throne, and the mostly-Catholic 'Non-Compounders' like Melfort, who urged him to refuse any. Based on an overly optimistic reading of the military situation in 1689, the dominance of Melfort and Non-Compounders over Jacobite policy persisted until 1694. Melfort consistently prioritised England and Scotland over Ireland, leading to clashes with the Irish Jacobite leader, the Earl of Tyrconnell, and the French ambassador, the comte d'Avaux. He was recalled in October 1689 and sent to Rome as James's ambassador but was unsuccessful in persuading either
Pope Alexander VIII Pope Alexander VIII (; 22 April 1610 – 1 February 1691), born Pietro Vito Ottoboni, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 October 1689 to his death in February 1691. He is the most recent pope to take the ...
or
Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII (; ; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He took a hard stance against nepotism ...
to support James and returned to St Germain in 1691. Jacobite defeats in Scotland in 1690 and Ireland in 1691 were followed by the collapse of plans to invade England after the Anglo-Dutch naval victory at La Hogue in June 1692. In April 1692, James issued a statement drafted by Melfort making it clear that once restored, he would not pardon those who failed to show their loyalty. Melfort's encouragement of James' intransigence lost him support with the French and English Jacobites. The Protestant
Earl of Middleton Earl of Middleton was a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created 1 October 1656 for army officer John Middleton, together with the subsidiary title Lord Clermont and Fettercairn, also in the Peerage of Scotland. In 1674, he was succeed ...
was more moderate and joined the Court at St Germain in 1693 as joint Secretary but Melfort was forced to resign in June 1694. Melfort retired to
Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
. He was allowed to return to St Germain in 1697, but his political career was effectively over, as was confirmed in 1701 when a letter written to his brother was misdirected to London, leading to accusations of treachery. After the death of James in 1701, Melfort lived in Paris. He died in January 1714 and was buried in the
Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris The Church of Saint-Sulpice () is a Catholic church in Paris, France, on the east side of Place Saint-Sulpice, in the 6th arrondissement. Only slightly smaller than Notre-Dame and Saint-Eustache, it is the third largest church in the city. ...
. In general, history has not been kind to Melfort, his influence being seen as largely negative and described by one historian as 'based on flattery, officiousness and subservience' to James' 'exalted conception of prerogative'. Melfort's judgement in art was reputedly more astute than his political sense. He created two important collections; the first included works by Van Dyck, Rubens, Bassano, and Holbein but was left behind in 1688. He built another in Paris, which was open to the public but later sold by Euphemia, who lived to be 90.


References


Sources

* Dalton, Charles; ''The Scots Army 1661–1688;'' (Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1909); * - Describes 1713–1715 * Glozier, Matthew; ''Scottish Soldiers in France in the Reign of the Sun King: Nursery for Men of Honour;'' (Brill, 2004); * Harris, Tim; ''Politics under the Later Stuarts: Party Conflict in a Divided Society, 1660–1715;'' (Routledge, 1993); * Harris, Tim; ''Revolution; the Great Crisis of the British Monarchy 1685–1720;'' (Penguin, 2007); * Harris, Tim, Taylor, Stephen, eds; ''The Final Crisis of the Stuart Monarchy;'' (Boydell & Brewer, 2015); * Lord, Evelyn; ''The Stuarts' Secret Army: English Jacobites 1689–1752: The Hidden History of the English Jacobites;'' (Pearson, 2004); * Miggelbrink, Joachim (author) McKilliop, Andrew and Murdoch, Steve, eds; ''Fighting for Identity: Scottish Military Experiences c.1550–1900;'' (Brill, 2002); * Szechi, Daniel; ''The Jacobites: Britain and Europe, 1688–1788;'' (Manchester University Press, 1994); * Wormsley, David; ''James II: The Last Catholic King;'' (Allen Lane, 2015); *


External links

* ; * ; * ; * ; , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Melfort, John Drummond, 1st Earl Of 1650 births 1715 deaths Nobility from Perth and Kinross 17th-century Scottish politicians Peers of Scotland created by James VII Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism
John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort, styled Duke of Melfort in the Jacobite peerage (8 August 1650 – 25 January 1715), was a Scotland, Scottish politician and close advisor to James II of England, James VII & II. A Catholic convert, Melfort and ...
Dukes in the Jacobite peerage Earls in the Peerage of Scotland Jacobite Secretaries of State Knights of the Garter Knights of the Thistle Members of the Privy Council of England Members of the Privy Council of Scotland Peers created by James II (1689–1701) Scots Guards officers Scottish Jacobites Scottish Roman Catholics Treasurers-depute Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678