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William II and III\'s policy in Scotland was to force clan chieftains to subscribe an oath of loyalty to the crown. MacIain of Glencoe (a sept of the MacDonald\'s) was slow in doing so and eventually missed the deadline by a matter of days (he was still willing to swear the oath). Government forces consisting, in part, of the MacDonald\'s bitterest enemies, the Campbells, billeted themselves upon the Glencoe population, in February 1692, and then turned against the inhabitants, massacring thirty-eight of their number and forcing countless others into the snow-topped Scottish mountains (where many died).The attack was condemned in the Scottish parliament and led to the fall of the government of the Earl of Stair
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