Introduction
This morning, I arose early in order to observe the ‘Orange March’ over a two mile route in Glasgow.
Information and Images on the Orange March in Glasgow-Part 1
This quasi military march comprised a few thousand men. It followed a route from Kelvingrove in Glasgow’s West End to George Square in the city centre.
A visiting intelligent being from Alpha Centauri may wonder why a group from the West of Scotland commemorate military events in Ireland which took place during the 17th century. I will endeavour to provide an executive summary.
For about 800 years the only religion in the British Isles was catholicism under the Pope in Rome.This arrangement was broken in 1540 (England) and 1560 (Scotland) when both countries turned protestant. In those days democracy as we know it did not exist and religion was everything with mandatory church attendance.
The transition to protestantism was far from smooth. King James II (of England and Ireland) who was also King James VII of Scotland ruled 1685-1688. Whilst James was nominally protestant his wife was a French catholic and was bringing up their son as a catholic. This caused palpitations within the governing protestant establishment The upshot of this tension was ejection of the king from Britain. He was replaced by the protestant couple, King William and his wife Mary from the Netherlands.
Information and Images on the Orange March in Glasgow-Part 2
Despite his exile in Europe, James continued via military endeavours to regain his thrones. He had considerable support in southern Ireland which was predominately catholic. This six counties in what is now Northern Ireland were predominately protestant owing to the migration of protestant Scots and English to that province in the 16th century.
In 1688 a Jacobite army (supporting James) besieged the city of Derry (or Londonderry). This was thwarted by 13 apprentice boys who closed the city gates in a timely move against the attacking army. Ultimately, Derry was able to withstand the siege until help arrived from the Royal Navy after which the Jacobites departed.
In 1690 the forces of James and William clashed at the Battle of the Boyne, just south of the modern border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. The forces of William prevailed and James died in exile in France in 1701.
It will be seen from images and videos in this post that the Apprentice Boys feature strongly in various banners.
The main constituents of the march were members of orange lodges from Glasgow and the west of Scotland. However, there were also representatives from England and Northern Ireland.
The affinity between protestants in the west of Scotland and Northern Ireland derives from historic people movements and common adherence to the protestant religion. During the 19th and 20th centuries Scotland received high numbers of migrants from catholic Ireland which led to the sectarianism which still exists in various forms and is manifested in today’s march.
Video Clips
More Information.
For information on aspects of Scottish culture and help for tourists please refer to Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.