• 1715 Jacobite Rising
  • Who, What & When
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      • James VII
      • James VIII
      • William and Mary
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Secret Jacobite codes

Click on the rose above to open Secret Codes feature then follow the instructions to decipher the secret code.

James VIII and his Jacobite supporters invented a series of codes to keep their plans secret. They also used secret symbols such as the rose, the butterfly and the oak which sometimes appear in portraits of the time.

In letters, they swapped real names of people and places for made-up ones designed to cause confusion if they ever made it into enemy hands.

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