Massacre of Glencoe
Early in the morning of 13 February 1692, in the aftermath of the
Glorious Revolution and the Jacobite uprising of 1689 led by John Graham of Claverhouse, a
massacre took place in
Glen Coe, in the Highlands of Scotland. This incident is referred to as the
Massacre of Glencoe, or in
Scottish Gaelic Mort Ghlinne Comhann (murder of Glen Coe). The massacre began simultaneously in three settlements along the glen—Invercoe, Inverrigan, and Achnacon—although the killing took place all over the glen as fleeing MacDonalds were pursued. Thirty-eight MacDonalds from the
Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by the guests who had accepted their hospitality, on the grounds that the MacDonalds had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs,
William and Mary. Another forty women and children died of
exposure after their homes were burned.