James Wilson (revolutionary)
Encyclopedia
James Wilson was born on September 3, 1760, in the parish of Avondale in Scotland
. He was a weaver from the town of Strathaven
in Lanarkshire
, but as the Industrial Revolution
affected the weaving trade he had to find alternative work.
A free thinking man, he was sceptical of religion and disliked the government of the day. He read Thomas Paine
's Rights of Man and started to become active in lobbying for political reform. When the Friends of the People were formed by a group of Whigs
he joined the Strathaven branch, although he doesn't appear to have been extremely active initially.
However, when it became clear that the local nobleman, the Duke of Hamilton
objected to the aims of the Friends of the People many members withdrew and Wilson became more active in trying to maintain the local society.
The Friends of the People eventually folded across the country, but Wilson maintained his radical reformist activities. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars
many returning soldiers faced unemployment. In such an environment the scope for radical activity was ripe.
In 1816 some 40,000 people assembled near Glasgow
to demand an improvement to their social and political conditions. In 1817 the first edition of the satirical reformist publication, The Black Dwarf
was published and Wilson and his radical colleagues would read this at their continued meetings.
Radical activities continued in the West of Scotland around Glasgow, and the government employed a number of spies to interlope the meetings and associations of radical activists. On April 1, 1820, a notice was posted in Glasgow and surrounding areas urging people to rise against the British government, signed by the Organising Committee for a Provisional Government.
This alarmed the government and troops were stationed in Glasgow. Government spies encouraged radicals to rise, telling them that England
too was in the throes of radical insurrection. This was a deliberate attempt to cause radical leaders to rise up where they could then be arrested.
Wilson responded in exactly the manner predicted by the government. He led a band of radicals from Strathaven
marching towards Glasgow. Wilson was initially wary of the information presented that a rising was taking place (he was informed of the rising by a government agent), and sent a man to visit the rallying point at Cathkin Braes to see if it was true that there was a force of French troops awaiting to assist the radicals.
However, despite there being no French troops in sight, the radicals in Strathaven were keen to march, so Wilson led them towards the city, with the marchers carrying a banner declaring, Scotland Free or a Desert. They marched overnight, and by the next day it was apparent to them by now that there was no mass insurrection. Disappointed and dejected they returned to Strathaven.
However, upon his return Wilson was arrested on a charge of high treason. On July 24, 1820, he was found guilty of treason after proceedings before a commission of oyer and terminer
and was sentenced to death. He was hanged and beheaded on August 30, 1820.
In 1846 a monument to Wilson was erected in Strathaven.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He was a weaver from the town of Strathaven
Strathaven
Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...
in Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire
Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...
, but as the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
affected the weaving trade he had to find alternative work.
A free thinking man, he was sceptical of religion and disliked the government of the day. He read Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
's Rights of Man and started to become active in lobbying for political reform. When the Friends of the People were formed by a group of Whigs
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
he joined the Strathaven branch, although he doesn't appear to have been extremely active initially.
However, when it became clear that the local nobleman, the Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
objected to the aims of the Friends of the People many members withdrew and Wilson became more active in trying to maintain the local society.
The Friends of the People eventually folded across the country, but Wilson maintained his radical reformist activities. In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
many returning soldiers faced unemployment. In such an environment the scope for radical activity was ripe.
In 1816 some 40,000 people assembled near Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to demand an improvement to their social and political conditions. In 1817 the first edition of the satirical reformist publication, The Black Dwarf
The Black Dwarf
The Black Dwarf was a satirical radical journal of early 19th century Britain. It was published by Thomas Jonathan Wooler, starting in January 1817 as an eight page newspaper, then later becoming a 32 page pamphlet. It was priced at 4d a week until the Six Acts brought in by the Government in 1819...
was published and Wilson and his radical colleagues would read this at their continued meetings.
Radical activities continued in the West of Scotland around Glasgow, and the government employed a number of spies to interlope the meetings and associations of radical activists. On April 1, 1820, a notice was posted in Glasgow and surrounding areas urging people to rise against the British government, signed by the Organising Committee for a Provisional Government.
This alarmed the government and troops were stationed in Glasgow. Government spies encouraged radicals to rise, telling them that England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
too was in the throes of radical insurrection. This was a deliberate attempt to cause radical leaders to rise up where they could then be arrested.
Wilson responded in exactly the manner predicted by the government. He led a band of radicals from Strathaven
Strathaven
Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...
marching towards Glasgow. Wilson was initially wary of the information presented that a rising was taking place (he was informed of the rising by a government agent), and sent a man to visit the rallying point at Cathkin Braes to see if it was true that there was a force of French troops awaiting to assist the radicals.
However, despite there being no French troops in sight, the radicals in Strathaven were keen to march, so Wilson led them towards the city, with the marchers carrying a banner declaring, Scotland Free or a Desert. They marched overnight, and by the next day it was apparent to them by now that there was no mass insurrection. Disappointed and dejected they returned to Strathaven.
However, upon his return Wilson was arrested on a charge of high treason. On July 24, 1820, he was found guilty of treason after proceedings before a commission of oyer and terminer
Oyer and terminer
In English law, Oyer and terminer was the Law French name, meaning "to hear and determine", for one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat...
and was sentenced to death. He was hanged and beheaded on August 30, 1820.
In 1846 a monument to Wilson was erected in Strathaven.
See also
- John Baird
- Andrew HardieAndrew Hardie (radical)Andrew Hardie was second-in-command of the Radical Forces who marched on Scotland's Carron Ironworks in the "Radical War" of 1820.He was sentenced to death and was executed in Stirling on September 8, 1820 along with John Baird. In his speech on the scaffold he declared himself "a martyr to the...
- Scottish Insurrection of 1820