We initially met Rob Roy MacGregor in Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 7. Then he reappeared in episode 9, making it clear that he was pushing for a Jacobite cause.
Just like many others in the world of Outlander, Rob Roy MacGregor is based on a real historical person. It’s time to break down who he was in reality, and how he’s being shown in Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
From outlaw to Jacobite in Outlander: Blood of My Blood
In Outlander: Blood of My Blood season 1, episode 7, we meet Rob Roy at a clandestine meeting. Before that, he’s named as the man who stole the cattle from the Grants, making him an outlaw. And he certainly was! He was also a Jacobite, much earlier than we see in Blood of My Blood.
You see, Rob Roy and his father joined the 1689 Jacobite rising, which was in support of the Stuart King James VII of Scotland. At this time, James was King of England, but after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the English Convention Parliament declared he had abdicated. The Convention of Estates in Scotland later agreed that he had forfeited the Scottish throne.
You can probably guess how the Catholic Highlanders viewed that. They rebelled, but that rebellion failed, leading to Rob Roy’s father being impressed for two years on high treason charges. He was lucky to get out of prison alive, but sadly, his wife had died in that time.
Rob Roy would then become a respected cattleman, although there were some questionable means to that. He would blackmail the Lowland gentry to watch over their cattle. Those that were stolen under his watch would either be retrieved or they were paid for in full. However, over time, Rob Roy trusted the wrong man with money and would end up defaulting on a loan to the wrong person: the 1st Duke of Montrose.
This is when things took a turn, with Rob Roy alleging that Montrose had offered to forgive his debts if he gave false testimony that the Duke of Argyll was a Jacobite. He claimed the 1st Duke of Atholl offered the same. As he became branded as an outlaw, he started raiding cattle and robbing rents.
Of course, Rob Roy was always on the side of the Jacobites, and he fought hard in the First Jacobite Rising. He was never going to turn on other possible Jacobites. In fact, during 1715, he and his family moved to be under the protection of the 2nd Duke of Argyll.
How much of Rob Roy’s story could be told in Blood of My Blood?
We have only got to know Rob Roy’s involvement in raising funds and clans to join the Jacobite cause. That’s all that is really needed when it comes to this man, as while he was important in the Jacobite cause, he’s not exactly important in the Blood of My Blood storyline.
We may hear of Rob Roy’s downfall after the Jacobite rebellion, as I’m assuming the second season will include some of the aftermath of this first rebellion and the feelings of Jacobites in that time.
However, Rob Roy ended up being a little quiet, taking part in another rebellion in 1719, but eventually laying low for some time. He didn’t die until 1734 and that was due to illness, so there’s really no need for him to be around too much after the 1715 rebellion.
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Outlander: Blood of My Blood is available to stream on STARZ.