Quick Scottish History - 5. 22 March - 28 March

1. Quick
Scottish
History
Issue 5 22 March – 28 March
This week in Scottish history…
22 March 1868 – Scotland’s last fully public hanging took place (in Perth)
23 March 1848 – the first Scottish settlers arrive in Dunedin, New Zealand
24 March 1603 – Queen Elizabeth of England dies, King James VI of Scotland
becomes king of England and Scotland (as James I)
25 March 1306 – Robert the Bruce crowned king of Scotland (at Scone)
26 March 2006 – smoking is banned in public places in Scotland
27 March 1871 – first ever Scotland v England rugby game (Scotland won)
28 March 1960 – 19 firemen killed in Cheapside Disaster in Glasgow
A weekly guide to
Scotland’s past with
@mrmarrhistory
Weekly quiz
Which four languages are recognised by the Scottish
Parliament as being Scotland’s main languages?
Last week’s answer: Queens Park (founded in 1867) are the
oldest football club in Scotland
The life of …
Sawney Bean
Legend says that Alexander “Sawney”
Bean was the head of a family of
Scottish cannibals (though some
historians debate if he was real).
He was said to have been born a few
miles from Edinburgh in East Lothian,
some time in the 1500s.
After working as a tanner (who makes
leather from animal skins) he later
moved to Scotland’s west coast.
He and his wife – Agnes Douglas – lived
in a huge cave in Ballantrae in Ayrshire.
It was claimed they had 14 children and
32 grandchildren.
Bean’s clan made their living by
attacking and robbing people in the
area, but then things took an even more
gruesome turn.
If stories are true, they killed and ate
their victims, perhaps more than 1000
people over 25 years.
Apparently the Bean family’s reign of
terror ended after Scotland’s King
(James VI of Scotland) led a group of
men to find and capture them.
They were taken to Edinburgh and
executed, including being burned alive.
Witchcraft in Scotland
From the 1500s until the 1700s, terror stalked the lives of
many women in Scotland who were accused of being witches.
Thousands of people (mainly women) were accused of
witchcraft and Satanism and therefore burned at the stake,
often after being tortured first.
The Witchcraft Act was passed in Scotland in 1563, it
remained in force until 1736. This law outlawed any sort of
witchcraft or consorting with witches, making the offence
punishable by death.
Scotland’s king, James VI played a role in encouraging the
witch hunts, after he wrote a pamphlet which discussed
various issues of black magic and the occult.
Women could be accused by anyone of witchcraft, leaving
them facing a death sentence. Many accusations were based
on actions such as making a curse towards another person,
however at other times the claims were simply made up.
The last woman to be executed in Scotland (and Britain) for
witchcraft was Janet Horne in 1727.
To suggest topics get in touch via Twitter: @mrmarrhistory #quickscottishhistory