Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres
Encyclopedia
Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1652–1722) was a Scottish aristocrat and politician, one of the most important supporters of James II of England
.
, first Earl of Balcarres
by his wife, Lady Anna Mackenzie, daughter and coheiress of Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
. He succeeded to the earldom, while still a child, on the death at the age of twelve, of his brother Charles, second earl, 15 Oct. 1662. In 1670 at the age of sixteen, he was presented at court by his cousin the Duke of Lauderdale, when Charles II, partly because he conceived a liking for him personally, and partly in recognition of his father's services, gave him command of a select cavalry troopmanned by gentlemen in reduced circumstances. Not long afterwards he was married to Mademoiselle Mauritiade Nassau, sister of Lady Arlington and the Countess of Nassau, and daughter of Louis de Nassau
, count of Beverwaert and Auverquerque in Holland; but at the ceremony he, by mistake, placed a mourning instead of a wedding ring on the finger of the bride, who took the evil omen so much to heart that she died within a year. After her death he went to sea with the Duke of York (the future James II of England
), under whom he distinguished himself at the battle of Solebay
, 28 May 1672.
, and thereby incurring the king's displeasure, was forbidden to appear at court. Retiring to the country he occupied his leisure in study. On the death of his wife, six years afterwards, he was permitted to return to court, and on 3 June 1680 was made a privy-councillor and in 1682 sheriff of Fife. Along with Claverhouse he took active measures against the covenanter
s in Fife
, and in January 1686 obtained a commission to hold with him a justiciary court
for their trial.
became known, the chancellor, Lord Perth
, was ordered to rely on his advice and that of the Earl of Cromarty
in the measures to be adopted for the defence of Scotland. Lord Melfort
, secretary of state, however, who was jealous of Balcarres's influence, rejected his suggested plan of defence as too expensive, and it was determined instead to send the forces then available in Scotland southwards. Balcarres, meanwhile, was sent by the Scottish privy council to England to receive further instructions, and succeeded in reaching London. After the king's return from Faversham, Balcarres, along with Dundee
, waited on him on the morning of 17 Nov. in his bedroom at Whitehall
. At the request of the king they accompanied him on a walk in the Mall
, when, having expressed his final determination to leave the country, he stated that on his arrival in France he would send Balcarres a commission to manage his civil affairs, and Dundee one to command the troops in Scotland. After the flight of the king Balcarres waited on the Prince of Orange
, to whom he was previously known through his first wife, the prince's cousin. While expressing his respect for the prince, Balcarres declined to act against the king, whereupon the prince warned him of the danger he ran if he transgressed the law. Along with Dundee, Balcarres was permitted to return to Scotland, and they arrived in Edinburgh
about the end of February 1689. The Duke of Gordon
was already negotiating the surrender of the castle, when Balcarres and Dundee waited on him, and persuaded him to hold out till he saw what the Convention of Estates
intended to do. On the capture of a messenger from Ireland with letters to Balcarres from the king, Balcarres was seized and confined in his own lodging. His request for permission to live in England was refused, and on account of further compromising letters sent to him by Melfort, he was confined for four months in the common gaol of Edinburgh. Soon after his release he became connected with the Montgomery plot for James's restoration, and on its discovery in 1690 he left the country.
. He proceeded to St. Germains
, where he was well received by James, to whom he presented his Memoirs touching the Revolution. On account of the misrepresentations of Melfort and others, he, however, found it necessary, after six months at St. Germains, to leave the court, and went to the south of France. Thence he sent an expostulatory letter to James. Ultimately the exiled king invited him to return; but he deemed acceptance of the invitation injudicious while the old favourites were in power, and after a year's sojourn in France finally settled with his family at Utrecht. Here he made the acquaintance of Pierre Bayle
, Leclerc
, and other learned men.
and the Duke of Queensberry
, who wrote of him pityingly, as an 'instance of the folly of Jacobitism', he was permitted towards the close of 1700 to return to Scotland. He was now in greatly impoverished circumstances, and although the Duke of Marlborough
, an old friend and companion, obtained for him a rent-charge of £500 a year for ten years upon the crown lands of Orkney, he was compelled by his necessities, before the ten years expired, to sell his rights there. In his extremity he wrote to Queen Anne
, asking for the restoration of his pension of £1000 a year, of which he had been deprived at the revolution, and in all probability some allowance was made him. He was appointed a privy councillor in April 1706, and supported the union with England in 1707. But in 1715 he was unable to resist the invitation to join the Jacobite
prince's standard, and he was one of the most zealous of his supporters. On the collapse of the rebellion, it was arranged, owing to the friendly interposition of Argyll
and Marlborough, that on his surrendering he should be sent to his own house at Balcarres. He remained a prisoner there under the charge of one dragoon till the indemnity. He spent in retirement there the remainder of his life. finding a solace for his misfortunes in his love of art and letters. He had latterly so recovered his pecuniary position as to be able to purchase several good pictures by the Dutch masters and others, to add considerably to his library, and also to found the village which he named after himself Colinsburgh. He died at Balcarres in 1722, and was buried there in the private chapel of the family.
describes him in 1700 as 'a gentleman of very good natural parts,' with 'abundance of application, handsome in his person, very fair, and towards fifty years old.' Circumstances were adverse to the useful employment of his undoubted abilities, but had the folly and infatuation of James II been less, he might have been successful with Dundee in retrieving the Jacobite cause. His 'Memoirs touching the Revolution in Scotland,' published originally in 1714, reprinted 1754, and again, more correctly by the Bannatyne Club
, in 1841, are invaluable as a narrative of the proceedings and negotiations of the supporters of the king in 1688-90.
, and afterwards to James Seton, 3rd Viscount of Kingston.
By his third wife, Lady Jean Ker, only daughter of The Earl of Roxburghe
, he had a son Colin, Lord Cumberland
, master of Balcarres, who died unmarried in 1708, and a daughter Margaret, who married John, Earl of Wigton.
By his fourth wife, Lady Margaret, eldest daughter of James Campbell, 2nd Earl of Loudoun, he had seven children, of whom four survived him - two sons, Alexander
, and James
, and two daughters, Eleanor, married to the Hon. James Fraser of Lonmay, Aberdeenshire, third son of William Fraser, 12th Lord Saltoun
, and Elizabeth, who died unmarried.
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Early life
Colin Lindsay was baptized at Kilconquhar on 23 August 1652, the second surviving son of Alexander LindsayAlexander Lindsay, 1st Earl of Balcarres
Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Balcarres and 1st Earl of Balcarres was a Scottish nobleman.The eldest son of David Lindsay, 1st Lord Balcarres, and grandson of John Lindsay, Lord Menmuir....
, first Earl of Balcarres
Earl of Balcarres
The title Earl of Balcarres was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1651 for Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Balcarres. The title has descended since in the Lindsay family....
by his wife, Lady Anna Mackenzie, daughter and coheiress of Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth
Colin Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Seaforth , was a Highland clan chief and Scottish nobleman, possessed of vast estates and wealth.-Origins:...
. He succeeded to the earldom, while still a child, on the death at the age of twelve, of his brother Charles, second earl, 15 Oct. 1662. In 1670 at the age of sixteen, he was presented at court by his cousin the Duke of Lauderdale, when Charles II, partly because he conceived a liking for him personally, and partly in recognition of his father's services, gave him command of a select cavalry troopmanned by gentlemen in reduced circumstances. Not long afterwards he was married to Mademoiselle Mauritiade Nassau, sister of Lady Arlington and the Countess of Nassau, and daughter of Louis de Nassau
Louis of Nassau, lord of den Lek and Beverweerd
Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd was a Dutch soldier. He was the illegitimate son of Margaretha van Mechelen and Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, and so a collateral member of the House of Orange-Nassau. He was a Lord of the heerlijkheid De Lek and Beverweerd...
, count of Beverwaert and Auverquerque in Holland; but at the ceremony he, by mistake, placed a mourning instead of a wedding ring on the finger of the bride, who took the evil omen so much to heart that she died within a year. After her death he went to sea with the Duke of York (the future James II of England
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
), under whom he distinguished himself at the battle of Solebay
Battle of Solebay
The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.-The battle:...
, 28 May 1672.
Second marriage and public offices
In 1673 he married Lady Jean Carnegie, eldest daughter of David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of NortheskDavid Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk
David Carnegie, 2nd Earl of Northesk was born the son of John Carnegie, 1st Earl of Northesk and Magdalen Haliburton before 1627. He died on 12 December 1679....
, and thereby incurring the king's displeasure, was forbidden to appear at court. Retiring to the country he occupied his leisure in study. On the death of his wife, six years afterwards, he was permitted to return to court, and on 3 June 1680 was made a privy-councillor and in 1682 sheriff of Fife. Along with Claverhouse he took active measures against the covenanter
Covenanter
The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...
s in Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, and in January 1686 obtained a commission to hold with him a justiciary court
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
for their trial.
Reign of James II and after
After the accession of James II Balcarres was, on 3 Sept. 1686, appointed a commissioner of the treasury, and in 1688 was made lord-lieutenant of Fife. So much was he trusted by the king, that when the scheme for the descent of the Prince of OrangeWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
became known, the chancellor, Lord Perth
James Drummond, 4th Earl of Perth
James Drummond, 1st Duke of Perth KT PC , also 4th Earl of Perth and 7th Lord Drummond, was a Scottish statesman, and Jacobite.-Family:...
, was ordered to rely on his advice and that of the Earl of Cromarty
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie FRS , known as Sir George Mackenzie, 2nd Baronet from 1654 to 1685 and as The Viscount of Tarbat from 1685 to 1703, was a Scottish statesman....
in the measures to be adopted for the defence of Scotland. Lord Melfort
John Drummond, 1st Earl of Melfort
John Drummond, 1st Earl and titular 1st Duke of Melfort KG KT PC was a Scottish nobleman.He joined the army and was captain of the Scottish Footguards in 1673. He secured the post of deputy governor of Edinburgh Castle in 1679, followed by Lieutenant-General and Master of the Ordnance in 1680...
, secretary of state, however, who was jealous of Balcarres's influence, rejected his suggested plan of defence as too expensive, and it was determined instead to send the forces then available in Scotland southwards. Balcarres, meanwhile, was sent by the Scottish privy council to England to receive further instructions, and succeeded in reaching London. After the king's return from Faversham, Balcarres, along with Dundee
John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee
John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee , known as the 7th Laird of Claverhouse until raised to the viscounty in 1688, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman, a Tory and an Episcopalian...
, waited on him on the morning of 17 Nov. in his bedroom at Whitehall
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
. At the request of the king they accompanied him on a walk in the Mall
The Mall (London)
The Mall in central London is the road running from Buckingham Palace at its western end to Admiralty Arch and on to Trafalgar Square at its eastern end. It then crosses Spring Gardens, which was where the Metropolitan Board of Works and, for a number of years, the London County Council were...
, when, having expressed his final determination to leave the country, he stated that on his arrival in France he would send Balcarres a commission to manage his civil affairs, and Dundee one to command the troops in Scotland. After the flight of the king Balcarres waited on the Prince of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
, to whom he was previously known through his first wife, the prince's cousin. While expressing his respect for the prince, Balcarres declined to act against the king, whereupon the prince warned him of the danger he ran if he transgressed the law. Along with Dundee, Balcarres was permitted to return to Scotland, and they arrived in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
about the end of February 1689. The Duke of Gordon
George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon
George Gordon, 1st Duke of Gordon KT, PC , known as Marquess of Huntly from 1661 to 1684, was a Scottish peer....
was already negotiating the surrender of the castle, when Balcarres and Dundee waited on him, and persuaded him to hold out till he saw what the Convention of Estates
Convention of Estates of Scotland
The Convention of Estates of Scotland sat between 16 March 1689 and 5 June 1689 to determine the settlement of the Scottish throne following the invasion of William, Prince of Orange...
intended to do. On the capture of a messenger from Ireland with letters to Balcarres from the king, Balcarres was seized and confined in his own lodging. His request for permission to live in England was refused, and on account of further compromising letters sent to him by Melfort, he was confined for four months in the common gaol of Edinburgh. Soon after his release he became connected with the Montgomery plot for James's restoration, and on its discovery in 1690 he left the country.
In exile
He landed at Hamburg, and while journeying to Holland, through Flanders, was seized by a party of banditti, who, however, agreed to free him on payment of a hundred pistoles, which he succeeded in obtaining from the jesuits at the Catholic college of DouayEnglish College, Douai
The English College, Douai was a Catholic seminary associated with the University of Douai . It was established in about 1561, and was suppressed in 1793...
. He proceeded to St. Germains
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye
The Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris, France. Today, it houses the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale ....
, where he was well received by James, to whom he presented his Memoirs touching the Revolution. On account of the misrepresentations of Melfort and others, he, however, found it necessary, after six months at St. Germains, to leave the court, and went to the south of France. Thence he sent an expostulatory letter to James. Ultimately the exiled king invited him to return; but he deemed acceptance of the invitation injudicious while the old favourites were in power, and after a year's sojourn in France finally settled with his family at Utrecht. Here he made the acquaintance of Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle was a French philosopher and writer best known for his seminal work the Historical and Critical Dictionary, published beginning in 1695....
, Leclerc
Leclerc
The AMX-56 Leclerc, commonly known as the Leclerc, is a main battle tank built by Nexter of France. It was named in honour of General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque who led the French element of the drive towards Paris while in command of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division in World War...
, and other learned men.
Return to Scotland
Ultimately, through the interposition of William CarstaresWilliam Carstares
William Carstares , a minister of the Church of Scotland, was born at Cathcart, near Glasgow, Scotland.He was the son of the Rev John Carstares, a member of the Covenanting party of Protestors...
and the Duke of Queensberry
Duke of Queensberry
The title Duke of Queensberry was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1684 along with the subsidiary title Marquess of Dumfriesshire for the 1st Marquess of Queensberry...
, who wrote of him pityingly, as an 'instance of the folly of Jacobitism', he was permitted towards the close of 1700 to return to Scotland. He was now in greatly impoverished circumstances, and although the Duke of Marlborough
William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry
William Douglas, 1st Duke of Queensberry PC also 3rd Earl of Queensberry and 1st Marquess of Queensberry was a Scottish politician....
, an old friend and companion, obtained for him a rent-charge of £500 a year for ten years upon the crown lands of Orkney, he was compelled by his necessities, before the ten years expired, to sell his rights there. In his extremity he wrote to Queen Anne
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
, asking for the restoration of his pension of £1000 a year, of which he had been deprived at the revolution, and in all probability some allowance was made him. He was appointed a privy councillor in April 1706, and supported the union with England in 1707. But in 1715 he was unable to resist the invitation to join the Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
prince's standard, and he was one of the most zealous of his supporters. On the collapse of the rebellion, it was arranged, owing to the friendly interposition of Argyll
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
and Marlborough, that on his surrendering he should be sent to his own house at Balcarres. He remained a prisoner there under the charge of one dragoon till the indemnity. He spent in retirement there the remainder of his life. finding a solace for his misfortunes in his love of art and letters. He had latterly so recovered his pecuniary position as to be able to purchase several good pictures by the Dutch masters and others, to add considerably to his library, and also to found the village which he named after himself Colinsburgh. He died at Balcarres in 1722, and was buried there in the private chapel of the family.
Character
John MackyJohn Macky
John Macky was a Scottish spy. He was the first person to inform the British of James II's intended invasion of England in 1692 after he fled from France to England. He published an attack on James' exiled court in A View of the Court of St Germains from the Year 1690 to 1695 in 1696...
describes him in 1700 as 'a gentleman of very good natural parts,' with 'abundance of application, handsome in his person, very fair, and towards fifty years old.' Circumstances were adverse to the useful employment of his undoubted abilities, but had the folly and infatuation of James II been less, he might have been successful with Dundee in retrieving the Jacobite cause. His 'Memoirs touching the Revolution in Scotland,' published originally in 1714, reprinted 1754, and again, more correctly by the Bannatyne Club
Bannatyne Club
The Bannatyne Club was founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history, poetry, or general literature. It printed 116 volumes in all. It was dissolved in 1861....
, in 1841, are invaluable as a narrative of the proceedings and negotiations of the supporters of the king in 1688-90.
Issue and Succession
By his second wife, Lady Jean Carnegie, Balcarres had a daughter Anne, married to Alexander, Earl of KellieEarl of Kellie
The title Earl of Kellie or Kelly is one of the peerage titles of in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1619 for Sir Thomas Erskine, who was Captain of the Guard and Groom of the Stool for James VI...
, and afterwards to James Seton, 3rd Viscount of Kingston.
By his third wife, Lady Jean Ker, only daughter of The Earl of Roxburghe
William Ker, 2nd Earl of Roxburghe
William Ker, 2nd Earl of Roxburghe was the grandson of Robert Ker, 1st Earl of Roxburghe. He was born William Drummond, the youngest son of John Drummond, 2nd Earl of Perth, and Jean Ker, daughter of Robert. On Robert's death in 1650 he had no surviving male heirs, consequently his titles and...
, he had a son Colin, Lord Cumberland
Earl of Balcarres
The title Earl of Balcarres was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1651 for Alexander Lindsay, 2nd Lord Balcarres. The title has descended since in the Lindsay family....
, master of Balcarres, who died unmarried in 1708, and a daughter Margaret, who married John, Earl of Wigton.
By his fourth wife, Lady Margaret, eldest daughter of James Campbell, 2nd Earl of Loudoun, he had seven children, of whom four survived him - two sons, Alexander
Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Balcarres
Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Balcarres was a Scottish peer.Alexander Lindsay was born the son of Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres and Lady Margaret Campbell. He inherited his title on the death of his father in 1722...
, and James
James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres
James Lindsay, 5th Earl of Balcarres was a Scottish peer, the son of Colin, 3rd Earl of Balcarres and Lady Margaret Campbell, daughter of the Earl of Loudoun...
, and two daughters, Eleanor, married to the Hon. James Fraser of Lonmay, Aberdeenshire, third son of William Fraser, 12th Lord Saltoun
William Fraser, 12th Lord Saltoun
William Fraser, 12th Lord Saltoun , was a Scottish peer and the 11th Laird of Philorth.-Early years:Fraser was born on 11 November 1654 in the small town of Fraserburgh. His father was Alexander Fraser, Master of Saltoun and Lady Ann Kerr...
, and Elizabeth, who died unmarried.
Works
- An account of the affairs of Scotland, relating to the revolution of 1688, 1714. Reprinted 1754. Republished 1841 as Memoirs touching the revolution in Scotland, Bannatyne ClubBannatyne ClubThe Bannatyne Club was founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history, poetry, or general literature. It printed 116 volumes in all. It was dissolved in 1861....