'The 1790s: establishing the mind of government in 1820'

Citation

Macleod E (2022) 'The 1790s: establishing the mind of government in 1820'. In: Carruthers G, Gallagher KT, Lamont C & Smith G (eds.) 1820: Scottish Rebellion: Essays on a Nineteenth-Century Scottish Insurrection. Edinburgh: Birlinn, p. 18–35. https://birlinn.co.uk/product/1820-scottish-rebellion/

Abstract
In April 1820 James Wilson, John Baird and Andrew Hardie were all involved in leading rather small and weak armed bands marching to attack British government forces in the west of Scotland. They did not, in truth, present a threat of any substance to the British state. Yet forty-six men were tried in Scotland between April and July for treason, of whom twenty-four received capital convictions and Wilson, Baird and Hardie were actually executed. This chapter explains why the Scottish authorities reacted so roughly towards them and their colleagues in the treason trials of July 1820.

Keywords
Treason; 1820; state trials; 1790s