The Battle of Culloden, which took place on 16th April, 1746, is to this day surrounded by myths and inaccurate accounts. It was not a war between Scotland and England. It was not a war between Catholics and Protestants. It was, however, a dynastic struggle between two different royal houses: the house of Stuart and the house of Hanover.

The battle was the final act in the long-running series of events that became the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. There is no doubt that the rebellion led to the largest uprooting of Highlanders in history, and the complete alteration of the highland way of life. The resulting battle sounded the death toll for the clan system, and events like the Highland Clearances became ripple effects of the battles outcome. Not only was the Highlands of Scotland changed forever, but so was the new world, as many thousands of highlanders went overseas in the 150 years after the battle. To this day, in countries like the United States, where over half of the signatories on the Declaration of Independence were Scottish, many place names exist because of the displaced highlanders. They opened up huge areas of North America, Australia and New Zealand. In fact, the city of Wellington in New Zealand still has over 50% of it's population of Scottish descent.

It is very easy to romanticise the Jacobite Rebellion and it's leader, Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Victorians loved these tales, and over the years the reality of the cause and it's outcome became rather clouded and misrepresented. Bonnie Prince Charlie, born in Italy and brought up in France, had never been to Scotland, had no military experience and quite obviously was not interested in Scotland or the Scottish throne. His arrival on the west highland coast forced many clans to pledge their support even though many of them, including the much respected