The Female Rebels

The Female Rebels...(title-page)

Female Rebels is a piece of anti-Jacobite propaganda published in 1747 to undermine the Jacobite cause. The author used the presence of women on the battlefield to discredit the movement. Women were portrayed as less than ideal for warfare and assumed to be unaware of the political climate of the time. As a result, anti-Jacobites viewed Jacobite men as weak for garnering the support of women due to social constructions of gender, in 17th and 18th-century Great Britain. Female Rebels provides a glimpse into the essential and controversial roles of Jacobite noblewomen and solidifies the lengths to which the Jacobite cause integrated women. Women were prime candidates for risky and potentially treasonous acts on and off the battlefield since assumptions about their intellect made it easier for them to undertake critical tasks without being perceived as a threat.  Despite the perception that Jacobitism was primarily a male endeavour, Female Rebels unintentionally contributed to the Jacobite narrative by emphasizing select Scottish noblewomen’s crucial involvement. Jacobite women were more than their “fair sex,” “weak heads and warm hearts,” or a “danger of their beauty,” as the author suggests. These women were remarkable actors and essential agents of the Jacobite movement.

 

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