William Mackintosh, 15th of Mackintosh facts for kids
William Mackintosh (died 1550) was an important leader, known as the chief of the Clan Mackintosh. This was a Scottish clan from the Scottish Highlands. He was also the chief of a larger group of clans called the Clan Chattan.
Early Life and Challenges
William Mackintosh was born to Lachlan Beg Mackintosh, who was the 14th chief, and his mother, Jean Gordon. Sadly, William's father was killed in 1524 when William was only three years old. Because William was so young, a man named Hector Mackintosh, who was a relative, was chosen to look after him and lead the clan temporarily.
Not everyone in the clan agreed with Hector's leadership. The Earl of Moray, who was also related to William, decided to take William and his mother to live in his own house. The Earl also arranged for William's mother to marry again.
Hector and the clan saw this as an insult. They felt the Earl was trying to control their young chief for his own plans. The clan was so upset that they attacked the Earl of Moray's lands. In 1527, they often burned crops and stole cattle, causing a lot of trouble for the Earl's people.
Because of these attacks, King James V of Scotland issued a special order on November 9, 1528. This order called for many powerful people, including the Earl of Moray and other clan chiefs, to attack and stop the Clan Chattan.
Some historians believe that if everyone had followed this order, the Clan Chattan might have been destroyed. However, friendly chiefs in the north and the Earl of Moray himself did not want to go to such extremes. The order did stop the Clan Chattan from attacking the Earl of Moray's lands again.
Later, the Earl of Moray marched into Mackintosh lands and captured 300 people. Many of them were executed, including Hector's brother, who was also named William. Hector managed to escape and hide for a while. Eventually, he gave himself up to the king. The king forgave Hector, possibly because he was not happy with the Earl of Moray at that time.
Becoming Chief
The problems Hector had with the Earl of Moray did not last forever. Around 1540, when William Mackintosh was about 19 years old, he officially became the 15th chief of the Clan Mackintosh and Clan Chattan.
In 1544, the Clan Chattan got involved in a fight over who should lead the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald. The son of the previous chief, John of Moidart, was challenged by his relative, Ranald. Ranald had the support of Hugh Fraser, 3rd Lord Lovat and the George Gordon, 4th Earl of Huntly, who was the king's representative in the north.
The Earl of Huntly, Lord Lovat, the Clan Grant, and the Clan Chattan (led by William Mackintosh with 1500 men) marched against John of Moidart. However, the Gordons, Grants, and Mackintoshes separated from Lord Lovat's group. Lord Lovat and his clan were defeated by John of Moidart in a battle known as the Battle of the Shirts. It is said that very few people survived this battle. John of Moidart won and became the chief of Clan Macdonald of Clanranald.
William's Execution
In 1547-48, the Earl of Huntly gained more power. William Mackintosh was interested in the ideas of the Scottish Reformation, which was a big change in religious beliefs. The Earl of Huntly was strongly against these new ideas.
According to one historian, William Mackintosh had more followers than Huntly could gather from his own lands. Huntly then took away William's important job as deputy lieutenant. It is also said that Lachlan Mackintosh, whose father had killed William's own father, was causing trouble among the Clan Macpherson, who were part of Clan Chattan. Lachlan was not a friend to William.
Huntly gave land to this same Lachlan, who then accused William of planning to kill Huntly. Huntly arrested William Mackintosh and put him on trial in Aberdeen on August 2, 1550. William was defended by Thomas Menzies, a leader in Aberdeen. However, on August 23, 1550, William Mackintosh was executed by an axe.
Other stories say that William Mackintosh had burned Huntly's Auchindoun Castle, and that was why Huntly had him executed. But the historian Alexander Mackintosh-Shaw says this story is not true.
Huntly made the traitor Lachlan a sheriff in Inverness. However, Lachlan was killed in his house by angry clansmen just one year later. Later, the Scottish Parliament investigated Huntly's actions. They found that William Mackintosh's execution was against the law. Huntly had to pay money to the Mackintosh family.
In 1554, Huntly was ordered to fight the Clan Macdonald of Clanranald again. But he failed because the Highlanders were so angry with him for executing William Mackintosh in 1550. He decided not to face Clan Ranald with an army that did not trust him, so he sent his forces home.
Family
William Mackintosh married Margaret, who was the daughter of Alexander Ogilvie. They had three children:
- Margaret Mackintosh, who married several important men.
- William Mackintosh, who died when he was young.
- Lachlan Mor Mackintosh, 16th of Mackintosh, who became the next chief of the Clan Mackintosh and Clan Chattan.
See also
