Duncan Forbes 3rd of Culloden (1644–1704) was a politician and member of the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

between 1678 and 1704. He was a strong supporter of

Whiggism Whiggism or Whiggery is a political philosophy that grew out of the Roundhead, Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1653) and was concretely formulated by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord Shafte ...

, a political philosophy developed during the 1638 to 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 ...

, which advocated the supremacy of Parliament over the monarch and opposed Catholicism. His two sons,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1673-1734), and Duncan (1685-1747), played prominent roles in suppressing the Jacobite rebellions of

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire in ...

and

1745 Events January–March * January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bav ...

Life

Duncan Forbes was born in 1644 during the 1638 to 1651

, eldest son of John Forbes (1609-1687), of Culloden House near

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, and his wife Anna Dunbar (died after 1716). He had six siblings, David (1644-?), Jonathan (1656-?), John (1658-1707), Jean (1659-after 1693), Naomi (1662-?) and Alexander (died 1769). In 1668, he married Mary Innes, daughter of Sir Robert, 2nd Baron Innes (1619–89), who built Innes House, near

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

. They had nine children, including

(1673-1734), Jean (ca 1678-?), Margaret and Duncan (1685-1747); little is known of the other five.

Career

In 1656, Forbes enrolled at

Marischal College, Aberdeen Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...

, before moving to the

University of Bourges The University of Bourges () was a university located in Bourges, France. It was founded by Louis XI in 1463 and closed during the French Revolution. Until the mid-17th century, lack of suitable legal training at home meant many Scots seeking to ...

in France a year later; he also spent time in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In this period, lack of suitable legal training at home meant Scots seeking to practice law often studied at Bourges, Paris or

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Provost or Mayor of Inverness. However, his marriage to Marie Innes was a significant step up in the social scale; in 1812, the sixth baronet became

Duke of Roxburghe The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...

. Forbes compiled a genealogy of his wife's family in 1698, titled 'Ane account of the familie of Innes', which was used by later writers. Forbes represented

Nairnshire The County of Nairn, or Nairnshire, () is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was named after Nairn, its only town. The county was used for local government until 1975 when the ...

in the Scottish convention held from June to July 1678; 'Conventions' were identical to the

in composition but only discussed specific issues, in this case approving taxes. In 1673, it became public that James, then Duke of York, had converted to Catholicism; as heir to his brother Charles II, this caused great concern and led to the 1679 to 1681

Exclusion Crisis The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion Bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, ...

in England. There was more support for James in Scotland; Forbes was a member of the 1681 Parliament, which passed the Scottish Succession Act, confirming James' right to the throne, 'regardless of religion' and obliged all officials to support him. However, the Test Act passed at the same time added the qualifier they also 'uphold the true Protestant religion.' Tolerance for James' personal beliefs did not extend to Catholicism in general, a distinction he failed to appreciate and ultimately led to his deposition in 1688. James succeeded as king in February 1685. A devout

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, Forbes was not elected to the 1685 Parliament, which was dissolved in 1686. After James was deposed 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 ...

, Forbes was elected Commissioner for

Invernessshire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Highlands and some of the Hebrides, it is Scotland's la ...

in the April

Convention of Estates The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edi ...

, held to settle the Scottish throne. Of the 125 delegates elected, 75 were classed as Presbyterian, 50 as Episcopalian, making the Convention a contest over control of the

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 ...

, as well as the limits of Royal authority. and in the parliament of 1689–1702, and Nairnshire in the parliament of 1702. He died in 1704.

References

Sources

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External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Duncan Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Shire Commissioners to the Parliament of Scotland Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1689–1702 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1702–1707 Provosts in Scotland Politicians from Inverness 1644 births 1704 deaths