Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of Orkney

Patrick Stewart, Earl of Orkney, Lord of Zetland (c. 1566 – 6 February 1615) was a Scottish nobleman, the son of Robert, Earl of Orkney, a bastard son of King James V. Infamous for his godless nature and tyrannical rule over Orkney and Shetland, he was executed for treason in 1615.

Patrick was the second of five sons born to Earl Robert and his wife Lady Jean Kennedy. On the death of his uncle Lord Robert in 1581, he was given the gift of the Priory of Whithorn. On the death of his elder brother Henry around 1588, he became heir to the Earldom of Orkney. In his youth Patrick was a good friend of his cousin James VI; however, their relationship became strained in the 1590s after Patrick succeeded his father as Earl of Orkney. An early example of his rapacity occurs in 1594, when he was accused of spoiling a Danzig ship; however he was absolved of this crime. The same year he accused three of his younger brothers of conspiring to kill him, after he caught one of John's servitors with poison on him. The servitor was tortured and executed, along with Allison Balfour, a "witch" who supposedly aided in the conspiracy; the brothers, however, were later acquitted.

Patrick became a prominent figure at Court, and served as a "sewer" (assistant) to the King at the baptism of his son Prince Henry Frederick in 1594. He ruled Orkney and Shetland in the manner of an independent sovereign, severely oppressing the islanders and getting into massive debt. In 1599 he built Scalloway Castle on the Mainland of Shetland, partly to strengthen his power there against his half-uncle Laurence Bruce, who had been appointed Sheriff of Shetland by the deceased Earl Robert. Patrick also feuded with George Sinclair, the Earl of nearby Caithness. In March 1599, James VI ordered Patrick and George to furnish their strongholds against the possibility of an invasion by the exiled Earl of Bothwell. This scare was renewed in July 1601. In 1607 Earl Patrick began the construction of the Earl's Palace in Kirkwall, the capital of Orkney.

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