Why was the kilt banned in Scotland?
Scotland is famous for the kilt, but it wasn't always that way. The Scottish people originally wore a belted plaid as part of their traditional dress. In 1747, King George II presented a new law to ban tartan garments in Scotland and force its citizens into wearing the English-style trousers. Why would he do this? It's not clear why the king did this, but some historians believe that it was an effort to suppress any Celtic heritage from being expressed by his people.
The law succeeded in a way, as the kilt didn't become popular for men until the 18th century. The exact date of its invention is unknown, but it was most likely around 1737 when it became an item of dress for Highland regiments who were fighting against England during the Jacobite Rebellion. In any case, there's no evidence that suggests tartan clothes are anything other than Scottish attire and they've been worn by Scots since at least 1330 CE!
Long form content: Why was the kilt banned in Scotland?
Scotland is famous for the kilt for men, but it wasn't always that way. The Scottish people originally wore a belted plaid as part of their traditional dress and it wasn't until the 18th century that men's kilts were first banned. The exact date of its invention is unknown, but in any case there’s no evidence to suggest tartan clothes are anything other than Scottish attire and they've been worn by Scots since at least 1330 CE! The kilt became an item of dress for Highland regiments who were fighting against England during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1737. This was when it seems likely that a kilt replaced trews as their everyday wear - whether this change occurred before or after this time period isn't known with certainty. In any event, kilts have never fallen out of fashion and remain today what many people associate Scotland most closely with.
: Why was the kilt banned in Scotland? The reason for banning kilts is unknown, but there's no evidence to suggest tartan clothes are anything other than Scottish attire and they've been worn by Scots since at least 1330 CE! The kilt became an item of dress for Highland regiments who were fighting against England during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1737. This was when it seems likely that a kilt replaced trews as their everyday wear - whether this change occurred before or after this time period isn't known with certainty. In any event, kilts have never fallen out of fashion and remain today what many people associate Scotland most closely with.
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