Margaret Wilson (Scottish Martyr)

Margaret Wilson (Scottish Martyr)

Margaret Wilson (died 11 May 1685) was a young Scottish Covenanter, from Wigtownshire in Scotland executed by drowning for refusing to swear an oath declaring James VII as head of the church. Her death became part of the martyrology of Presbyterian churches, and she was commemorated as the most famous of the Wigtown Martyrs.

From 6 February 1685 James II of England (14 October 1633O.S. – 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII. James wanted to proceed quickly to his coronation, and was crowned with his wife at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1685, (the same day the Scottish Parliament met and probably proclaimed James King of Scotland). The Scottish Parliament granted Margaret Wilson a reprieve one week later. "James VII of Scotland" was the last Roman Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Members of Britain's political and religious elite increasingly opposed him for being pro-French and pro-Catholic, and for his designs on becoming an absolute monarch. When he produced a Catholic heir, the tension exploded, and leading nobles called on William III of Orange (his son-in-law and nephew) to land an invasion army from the Netherlands.