We are introduced to La Garde Ecossaise by our narrator Robert Meldrum who is the main voice of the novels.  Meldrum becomes a member of the Garde in the 1670s and later becomes their notary and archivist.

We are introduced to the 1715 Jacobite rising.

From the outset, Meldrum reveals his reasons for writing the book; i.e the adverse impact of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion on the Franco-British relationship.

We are introduced to France's role in the 1715 rebellion

What was the role of France in the 1715 rebellion and why, after the 1715 rising, had the Franco-British relationship taken a turn for the worse?

We are introduced to Whigs and Jacobites 

What did it mean to be ‘a Whig’?  What did it mean to be a ‘Jacobite’? The politics of Britain in the early eighteenth century was dominated by these two factions which were reflected in the political parties that had already emerged in England and Scotland before the Act of Union in 1707. We will revisit these political and religious fault lines throughout the novels so it is best to introduce them at this early stage.

We are introduced to Franco-British communities during the seventeenth century 

French immigrant communities in Britain and Ireland, as well as British immigrant communities in France.  These immigrant communities could be found at all levels of society and in several professions.

In future podcasts we will delve more deeply into these Franco-British and Franco-Irish communities in greater detail, as well as Jacobites and Williamites, Whigs and Tories.

I look forward to joining you again next week for the next episode of the La Garde Ecossaise podcast where we will explore religious controversy and war in seventeenth century Scotland.

This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm