When was tartan abolished?

Answer 1

The wearing of Tartan was temporarily "proscribed" (banned) by the act of proscription following the Jacobite rising of 1745 and the final battle at Culldoen in 1746. The act was repealed in 1782. The act of 1747 which eventually came into effect the following year banned the "Highland Clothes (that is to say) the plaid, philibeg, or little kilt, trowse, shoulder belts, or any part whatsoever of what peculiarly belongs to the highland garb; and that no tartan, or partly-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for great coats, or for upper coats". The ban was only in place in the Highlands and the British Army and landed gentry and their sons were exempt. Tartan manufacturer's set up factories just outside the highlands to cater to the army contracts and other demands. There were few prosecutions in the early years and many bizarre items of clothing invented to get round the ban. The act was used to more effect when the need to recruit soldiers for the Seven years war meant that highlanders could be impressed into service. The act also more importantly covered arms and weapons and other related acts changed the Highland Chiefs ability to raise armies and dispense justice. The Highlanders proved themsleves by fighting for the government in foreign wars in the years following Culloden and by the time the act was repealed there was little doubt about loyalty. The visit of King George in 1822 to Scotland where he appeared in a pageant wearing "Royal Stuart" tartan put the stamp of the establishment on tartan and assisted in its popularisation as national dress.