John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675-1732)
| Sir John Erskine The Earl of Mar |
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| Born | 1675 Scotland |
| Died | May 1732 Aix-la-Chapelle, Holy Roman Empire |
| Title | 23rd/6th Earl of Mar |
| Tenure | 1689 - 1716 |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Wars and battles | |
| Predecessor | Charles Erskine, Earl of Mar (1650-1689) |
| Successor | John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1741-1825) |
| Heir | none; attainted 1716 |
John Erskine, Earl of Mar, KT (1675 – May 1732), Scottish Jacobite, was the eldest son of the Charles, Earl of Mar (who died in 1689), from whom he inherited estates that were heavily loaded with debt. He was the 23rd Earl of Mar in the first creation of the earldom. He was also the sixth earl in the seventh creation (of 1565). Other sources count him as 22nd earl, still others number him 11th earl (See notes). He was nicknamed "Bobbing John", for his tendency to shift back and forth from faction to faction, whether from Tory to Whig or Hanoverian to Jacobite. Deprived of office by the new king in 1714, Mar raised the standard of rebellion against the Hanoverians; at the battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715, Mar's forces outnumbered those of his opponent, but victory eluded him. At Fetteresso his cause was lost, and Mar fled to France, where he would spend the remainder of his life. The parliament passed a Writ of Attainder for treason against Mar in 1716, as punishment for his disloyalty, which was not lifted until 1824. He died in 1732.
In the early 18th century Mar was associated with a party favourable to the government, was one of the Commissioners for the Union, and was made a Scottish Secretary of State; becoming, after the Union of 1707, a representative peer for Scotland, Keeper of the Signet, and a Privy Counsellor. In 1713 Mar was made by the Tories a British Secretary of State, but he seems to have been equally ready to side with the Whigs, and in 1714 he assured the new King, George I, of his loyalty. However, like other Tories, he was deprived of his office, and in August 1715 he went in disguise to Scotland and placed himself at the head of the Jacobite adherents of James Edward, the Old Pretender.
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