Editing Jacobitism (section)

==Post-1745 decline==

Despite being greeted as a hero on his return to Paris, Charles' reception behind the scenes was more muted. [[Alexandre Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Éguilles|D'Éguilles]], unofficial French envoy to the Jacobites, had a low opinion of him and other senior Jacobites, describing Lochgarry as "a bandit", and suggesting George Murray was a British spy. For their part, the Scots were disillusioned by lack of meaningful English or French support, despite constant assurances of both.{{sfn|McLynn|1985|pp=177–181}} Events also highlighted the reality that a low level, ongoing insurgency was far more cost-effective for the French than a restoration, a form of warfare potentially devastating to the local populace.{{efn|Summarised in a British intelligence report of 1755: "...'tis not in the interest of France the House of Stuart shoud ever be restored, as it would only unite the three Kingdoms against Them; England would have no exterior [threat] to mind, and [...] prevent any of its Descendants (the Stuarts) attempting anything against the Libertys or Religion of the People."}} By exposing the divergence between Scottish, French and Stuart objectives, as well as the lack of support in England, the 1745 Rising ended Jacobitism as a viable political alternative in England and Scotland.{{sfn|Colley|1985|p=28}}

The British authorities enacted a series of measures designed to prevent the Scottish Highlands being used for another rising. New forts were built, the [[Old military roads of Scotland|military road]] network finally completed and [[William Roy]] made the first comprehensive survey of the Highlands.{{sfn|Seymour|1980|pp=4–9}} Much of the power held by the Highland chiefs derived from their ability to require military service from their clansmen and even before 1745 the clan system had been under severe stress due to changing economic conditions; the [[Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746|Heritable Jurisdictions Act]] removed such feudal controls by Highland chiefs.{{sfn|Campsie|2017}} This was far more significant than the better-known [[Act of Proscription]] which outlawed Highland dress unless worn in military service: its impact is debated and the law was repealed in 1782.{{sfn|Campsie|2017}}

[[File:Charles Edward Stuart (1775).jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Charles Edward Stuart in old age; in 1759, he was dismissed by French ministers as "incapacitated by drink"]]

As early as 1745, the French were struggling with the costs of the [[War of the Austrian Succession]], and in June 1746, they began peace negotiations with Britain at [[Congress of Breda|Breda]]. Victories in [[Flanders]] in 1747 and 1748 actually worsened their position by drawing in the previously neutral [[Dutch Republic]], whose shipping they relied on to avoid the British naval blockade.{{sfn|Black|1999|pp=97–100}} By 1748, food shortages among the French population made peace a matter of urgency, but the British refused to sign the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] while Charles remained in France. After he ignored requests to leave, the French lost patience; in December 1748, he was briefly jailed before being deported.{{sfn|Riding|2016|pp=496–497}} 

In June 1747, his brother [[Henry Benedict Stuart|Henry]] became a Catholic priest; given that Charles had no legitimate heir, this was seen as tacit acceptance by their father James that the Jacobite cause was finished. Charles continued to explore options for a rising in England, including his conversion to Anglicanism, a proposal that had outraged his father James when previously suggested.{{sfn|Corp|2011|p=334}} He "secretly" visited London in 1750 to meet supporters, and was inducted into the [[Nonjuring schism|Non Juror church]].{{sfn|Robb|2013}} However, the decline of Jacobitism is demonstrated by the fact that King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] and his government were well aware of Charles's presence and did nothing to intervene. The English Jacobites made it clear they would do nothing without foreign backing, which despite Charles's overtures to [[Frederick II of Prussia]] seemed unlikely.{{sfn|Pittock|1998|p=123}}

A plot to capture or assassinate George II, headed by [[Alexander Murray of Elibank]], was betrayed to the government by [[Alastair Ruadh MacDonnell]], or "Pickle the Spy", but not before Charles had sent two exiles as agents. One was [[Archibald Cameron of Lochiel|Archibald Cameron]], responsible for recruiting the Cameron regiment in 1745, who was allegedly betrayed by his own clansmen and executed on 7 June 1753.{{sfn|Lenman|1980|p=27}} In a 1754 dispute with the English conspirators, a drunken and increasingly desperate Charles threatened to publish their names for having "betrayed" him; most remaining English sympathisers now left the cause.{{sfn|Monod|1993|p=345}}

During the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1759, Charles met [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|Choiseul]], then [[Chief minister of France]] to discuss [[Planned French invasion of Britain (1759)|another invasion]], but Choiseul dismissed him as "incapacitated by drink".{{sfn|Zimmerman|2003|p=273}} The Jacobite cause was abandoned by the French, while British supporters stopped providing funds; Charles, who had returned to Catholicism, now relied on the Papacy to fund his lifestyle. However, with the death of Charles's father in 1766, the Hanoverians received the Pope's {{lang|la|de facto}} recognition.{{sfn|Hamilton|2015|pp=57–58}} Despite Henry's urgings, [[Clement XIII]] refused to recognise his brother as Charles III; Charles died of a stroke in Rome in January 1788, a disappointed and embittered man.{{sfn|Pittock|2004}}

[[File:Monument to the Stuarts detail.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Detail of the monument in the Vatican]]

Following Charles's death, Scottish Catholics swore allegiance to the House of Hanover, and resolved two years later to pray for King George by name. The Stuart claim passed to Henry, now a Cardinal, who styled himself King Henry IX of England. After he fell into financial difficulty during the [[French Revolution]], he was granted a stipend by [[George III]]. However, his refusal to renounce his claim to be 'Henry IX' prevented a full reconciliation with the House of Hanover.{{sfn|Johns|1998|p=161}}

During the [[Irish Rebellion of 1798]], headed by the [[United Irishmen]] with French support, the [[French Directory|Directory]] suggested making Henry [[Monarchy of Ireland|King of the Irish]].{{sfn|Pittock|2006|p=210}}{{sfn|Aston|2002|p=222}} They hoped this would attract support from the Catholic Irish and lead to the creation of a stable pro-French client state. [[Wolfe Tone]], the Protestant republican leader, rejected the suggestion, and a short-lived [[Irish Republic (1798)|Irish Republic]] was proclaimed instead.{{sfn|Aston|2002|p=222}}

Following the death of Henry in 1807, the Jacobite claim passed to those excluded by the 1701 Act of Settlement. From 1807 to 1840, it was held by the [[House of Savoy]], then the [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine]] until 1919, while the current Jacobite heir is [[Franz, Duke of Bavaria]], from the [[House of Wittelsbach]]. However, neither he nor any of his predecessors since 1807 have pursued their claim. Henry, Charles and James are memorialised in the [[Monument to the Royal Stuarts]] in the Vatican.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}