Frederick Hamilton, Writes to George I That Although the County Is Well Affected

Nahum Tate, born

The Earl of Mar unfurled the standard of the Old Pretender in Braemar at the start of the first Jacobite Uprising.

Frederick Hamilton, writes to George I that although the county is well affected

On this date, Frederick Hamilton, former MP for Donegal, writes to King George I:

“Although the county is well affected, the great scarcity of armes in ye country is beyond anything I could have imagind till about three days ago that I had occasion to send for some.”

This letter reflects the widespread lack of arms in Ireland during the early 18th century, particularly in County Donegal, despite loyalty to the Crown. Hamilton’s concern likely arose in the context of Jacobite threats or local unrest, which persisted in the years following the Williamite War (1688–1691) and the 1715 Jacobite rising in Scotland. His report would have signaled to the Crown that even loyal counties lacked the means to defend themselves — a pressing concern for the government at the time.