Campbell and his troops were acting under orders that came from King William III, under the influence of John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, and the Lord Advocate – John Dalrymple, Master of Stair. Breadalbane was a senior member of the Campbell clan, and Stair was a Lowlander who thought the Highlanders' way of life (i.e. the clan system) was a hindrance to Scotland, which he thought would be better served in union with England. The MacDonalds had delayed pledging allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary, and this was the supposed justification for the massacre.
© Haydn Thompson 2017