Amidst all the Waterloo commemoration silliness which played up to Brit nationalism and an anti EU "little England" jingoism I was surely not alone in wondering how differently our history might have played out if Napoleon had won.
Would there have been two world wars?
Sorley Maclean's poem Two MacDonalds muses on the MacDonald who "shut the gate at Hougoumont while behind it your brother did the spoiling".
Lieutenant Colonel James MacDonnell commanded the troops at Hougoumont Chateau. Attacking French infantry had broken into the farmyard, the key to the entire Allied position. MacDonnell and a Sergeant of the Coldstream Guards showed great personal bravery by shutting the gates to further French intrusion.
The unfortunate French soldiers who were now trapped INSIDE the Chateau were slaughtered, the only survivor being a Drummer Boy.
All the while that the brave Lieutenant Colonel was in action at Waterloo, his brother was looking after the shop at home. This meant clearing tenants to make way for sheep.
The reason that Knoydart is now a wilderness beloved of mountaineers is because the brother of the Waterloo hero evicted all the inhabitants. Some would have gone to Canada, some to Glasgow, some would have taken to the road. The irony of the families of the men who fought in the ranks at Waterloo being evicted while they were overseas is a great one.
What has changed since then? Not much in truth. Knoydart is still a wilderness. Absentee landlords still please themselves with what should be the common resource of the people.
Sorley Maclean mentioned "Two MacDonalds" in his poem. Marshal Jacques MacDonald was a French officer. A not-too-distant relative of the Flora MacDonald who famously saved Bonnie Prince Charlie and went on to be an Empire Loyalist in America.
Marshal MacDonald had a distinguished military career. Son of a South Uist Jacobite exile, he served in the regiment of Dillon and when the rest of that regiment remained loyal to the King of France, MacDonald declared for the Republic.
A hero of Wagram and Leipzig. Napoleon Bonaparte recognised his talent by making him a Marshal of France but also noted that he "wouldn't trust MacDonald within the sound of the bagpipes.."
Marshal MacDonald was not on the field at Waterloo. He took no part in the Hundred Days of Napoleon's last campaign, having given his word to the restored monarchy.
Sorley Maclean notes that Marshal MacDonald made a visit to Scotland and his roots in South Uist. The poet bemoans the fact that he did not come over 20 years earlier (ie with Napoleon). The Marshal, Maclean notes was never known to evict any tenants about the Meuse.
Maclean wishes that the Marshal had not listened to "that creeper Walter" (Scott) tell his lies.
Counterfactual narrative, the historical "what if?" makes for an entertaining half an hour when bored.
The thought that the great Thermidorean Bonaparte could have brought about a more progressive outcome for the Scottish Highlands in particular is a sobering one though. It simply casts into even sharper relief the reactionary nature of what we DID end up with.
History indeed has landed us with a system where less than 500 people own more than half of Scotland. This is a ludicrous state of affairs. It is scarcely conceivable that Bonaparte could have come up with a more reactionary system.
Lieutenant Colonel James MacDonnell commanded the troops at Hougoumont Chateau. Attacking French infantry had broken into the farmyard, the key to the entire Allied position. MacDonnell and a Sergeant of the Coldstream Guards showed great personal bravery by shutting the gates to further French intrusion.
The unfortunate French soldiers who were now trapped INSIDE the Chateau were slaughtered, the only survivor being a Drummer Boy.
All the while that the brave Lieutenant Colonel was in action at Waterloo, his brother was looking after the shop at home. This meant clearing tenants to make way for sheep.
The reason that Knoydart is now a wilderness beloved of mountaineers is because the brother of the Waterloo hero evicted all the inhabitants. Some would have gone to Canada, some to Glasgow, some would have taken to the road. The irony of the families of the men who fought in the ranks at Waterloo being evicted while they were overseas is a great one.
What has changed since then? Not much in truth. Knoydart is still a wilderness. Absentee landlords still please themselves with what should be the common resource of the people.
Sorley Maclean mentioned "Two MacDonalds" in his poem. Marshal Jacques MacDonald was a French officer. A not-too-distant relative of the Flora MacDonald who famously saved Bonnie Prince Charlie and went on to be an Empire Loyalist in America.
Marshal MacDonald had a distinguished military career. Son of a South Uist Jacobite exile, he served in the regiment of Dillon and when the rest of that regiment remained loyal to the King of France, MacDonald declared for the Republic.
A hero of Wagram and Leipzig. Napoleon Bonaparte recognised his talent by making him a Marshal of France but also noted that he "wouldn't trust MacDonald within the sound of the bagpipes.."
Marshal MacDonald was not on the field at Waterloo. He took no part in the Hundred Days of Napoleon's last campaign, having given his word to the restored monarchy.
Sorley Maclean notes that Marshal MacDonald made a visit to Scotland and his roots in South Uist. The poet bemoans the fact that he did not come over 20 years earlier (ie with Napoleon). The Marshal, Maclean notes was never known to evict any tenants about the Meuse.
Maclean wishes that the Marshal had not listened to "that creeper Walter" (Scott) tell his lies.
Counterfactual narrative, the historical "what if?" makes for an entertaining half an hour when bored.
The thought that the great Thermidorean Bonaparte could have brought about a more progressive outcome for the Scottish Highlands in particular is a sobering one though. It simply casts into even sharper relief the reactionary nature of what we DID end up with.
History indeed has landed us with a system where less than 500 people own more than half of Scotland. This is a ludicrous state of affairs. It is scarcely conceivable that Bonaparte could have come up with a more reactionary system.
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