Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 7 on 7/3/2003.

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The Patriot

NEIL GUNN EXAMINES THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ANDREW FLETCHER, WHO FOUGHT FOR SCOTTISH DEMOCRACY AND INDEPENDENCE

Throughout Scotland’s long history there have been many who fought for and were devoted to their country. The names of Bruce and Wallace remain uppermost in our psyche as heroes of the battlefields of Bannockburn and Stirling Bridge. But only one man has been given the epithet ‘The Patriot’.

Certainly, he is known to have taken up arms in defence of his beliefs, but his reputation comes from his selfless defence of his country’s interests in parliament.

Andrew Fletcher was born in Saltoun in East Lothian in 1653. He was educated by Gilbert Burnet, the great churchman and historian, and may have gone to Edinburgh University before travelling in Europe to complete his studies.

In 1678 he was called as a Commissioner for Haddingtonshire to the Convention of Estates (a gathering similar to a full parliament with tax-raising powers but not judicial powers).

In 1681, James, Duke of York and brother of King Charles II, was appointed High Commissioner in Scotland. Charles had persuaded the English parliament not to pass legislation preventing his brother, a Catholic, from succeeding the throne. The Duke now wanted the Scottish parliament to do likewise.

Andrew Fletcher fought hard against James, arguing that the security of the Protestant religion should be paramount. His bitter opposition to the future king was an early sign of his need to stand up and be counted. It wasn’t that he was a man of intense religious conviction. He was a passionate believer that authority should lie.....

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By Neil Gunn

Section : Scottish History

Page number : 36