There's a pathway from the 18th-century Jacobite Risings to the American Revolution and beyond, writes bestselling Outlander author Diana Gabaldon
Outlander: Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser and Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall Photo: P Photo/Sony Pictures Television, Ed Miller
For months, people have been asking my views about the Scottish independence referendum, and I’ve been saying, “It’s not my country; I don’t live here. Much as I love Scotland, I think it would be inappropriate to express a personal opinion regarding Scottish politics.”
But at this point, so close to the vote, I don’t think I can do harm or good to either side. And I’ve been asked once again for my opinion because of what I’m told are my “unique perspectives.”
I do have a few of those. Though I live in Arizona, my younger daughter is married to a Scotsman and has been living in Scotland for the last two years (daughter and son-in-law are both “No”, with chiefly economic concerns). And my father was a career politician, so I’ve seen the sausage being made first-hand.
I’ve also been writing a series of novels, beginning with Outlander, for the last 20-odd years, rooted in the 18th century history of Scotland and following the threads of Jacobite politics from the ’45 (also known as the second Jacobite Rising, in 1745) up through the American Revolution 1765-1783, in which one colonist in three was from Scotland. Therefore I do know a bit about Scottish history and politics in general. (People ask what drew me to Scotland as a subject for my novels. You’ll laugh - it was an early Patrick Troughton episode of Doctor Who in which I saw a young man in a kilt. “Well, that’s fetching,” I said. “You have to start somewhere; why not? Scotland, 18th-century, it is, then…”)
A television show based on my novels is presently being filmed in Scotland, and as a result I’ve formed friendships with a good many Scots among the cast and crew, who themselves are well-informed on current Scottish politics, and very involved and passionate about them - on both sides.
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