history Black watch
Black Watch – the famous green, blue and black plaid pattern – is actually a Scottish tartan that appeared in 1739. It was called the ‘government sett’ (pattern) because only soldiers in the Black Watch regiment, an English military outfit made up of Scottish Highlanders, could wear it.
history Black watch
Black Watch – the famous green, blue and black plaid pattern – is actually a Scottish tartan that appeared in 1739. It was called the ‘government sett’ (pattern) because only soldiers in the Black Watch regiment, an English military outfit made up of Scottish Highlanders, could wear it.
They prowled the Highlands at night to prevent cattle theft and informed on fellow Scots taking part in the Jacobite rebellion, a failed attempt to depose the English king and return King James II to the throne.
After the rebellion was crushed, the wearing of clan tartans was forbidden – all but the Black Watch tartan, which could be worn only by Highlanders who pledged allegiance to, and accepted protection from, the Crown.