Argyll, ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, MARQUIS OF, was the descendant of Sir Colin Campbell of Lochow or Loch Awe, who was knighted in 1286, and who through his prowess bequeathed to the chiefs of his line the Gaelic title of Mac Cailean Mhor or Mac Callum More ('great Colin's son'). Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochow was raised to the peerage as Lord Campbell in 1445; and Colin, his son, was created Earl of Argyll in 1457. The second earl fell at Flodden (1513); the fourth, who died in 1558, was the first of the Scottish nobility to embrace the Reformation principles; and the fifth (1530-73) figured prominently in Mary's reign, first as a Lord of the Congregation, and next as an adherent of the queen. ARCHIBALD was born in 1598, and in 1619, his father having turned Catholic and quitted Scotland, became the sole potentate of all the broad lands of his line.
He succeeded as eighth earl in 1638. Already he had given proofs of that strength of religious principle which marked his whole life, and of a perilous union of attachment to the king and of faith in the principles against which the king made war. In the General Assembly at Glasgow (1638), he openly took the side of the Covenanters, and next year he joined Leslie's encampment on Duns Law. In 1640 he marched with 4000 men through Badenoch, Athole, Mar, and Angus, enforcing subjection to the Scottish Parliament. Charles, on his visit to Scotland in 1641, found it expedient to show peculiar favour to Argyll, and raised him to the dignity of marquis. In 1644 he dispersed the royalist forces under Huntly; but he was less successful in withstanding the genius of Montrose, who in 1645 annihilated his army at Inverlochy. His estates had suffered so much from Montrose's ravages, that in 1647 £40,000 of the public money was voted for the support of himself and his clansmen. He was strongly opposed to the execution of the king; and in 1651 he crowned Charles II. at Scone, having previously made overtures to marry him to one of his own daughters. After the defeat of Worcester, he defended himself for nearly a twelvemonth, in his castle of Inveraray, against Cromwell's troops; but in 1652 he gave in his submission to the Protector. On the Restoration, he repaired to Whitehall, encouraged by a letter from his son; but he was at once arrested, and committed to the Tower. Thence taken by sea to Leith, he was brought before the Scottish Parliament on fourteen charges of compliance with the usurpation. He defended himself with spirit, but in vain; and on 27th May 1661 he was beheaded with the 'maiden' at the cross of Edinburgh—having displayed throughout his trial, and on the scaffold, the dignity of a true nobleman, and the meekness of a Christian. Hostile views have been taken of his character, not the most favourable being Scott's in the Legend of Montrose; and one point is certain—he was a coward in the field.—His son, ARCHIBALD, 9th Earl of Argyll, exhibited great bravery on the disastrous day of Dunbar, where he commanded a regiment on the royalist side. After Worcester, he continued, like his father, in arms, and made himself so obnoxious to Cromwell, that he was specially excepted from the act of grace in 1654. Acting under Charles's orders, he submitted next year to the Protectorate; but from 1657 to 1660 he was a prisoner. On the Restoration, he was received into high favour (as a balance to the execution of his father), and unfortunately for his own fame, participated in some of the iniquitous acts of the Scottish legislature. Thus, in 1681 he voted in council against Donald Cargill, and signed a letter upholding the divine right in its extremest form; yet, the same year, would only sign the new test with a reservation, which led to his trial for 'leasing-making,' and his condemnation to death. The devotion of his step-daughter enabled him to escape from Edinburgh Castle in the disguise of a page; and after remaining some time in concealment, he fled to Holland. Landing in Argyllshire, in May 1685, with an armed force, to co-operate in Monmouth's rebellion, he was, after a series of misfortunes, taken prisoner, and beheaded at Edinburgh, on his former sentence, 30th June 1685.—His son, ARCHIBALD, an active promoter of the Revolution, was created Duke of Argyll in 1701, two years before his death.—His son, JOHN, 2d Duke of Argyll, was born in 1678. Destined, says Pope, 'to shake alike the senate and the field,' he as royal commissioner in 1705 had a principal share in bringing about the Act of Union; whilst as a soldier, from 1694 he distinguished himself under Marlborough at Ramillies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. Previous to the change of ministry in 1710, Argyll had been a keen Whig. He now veered with the wind of the court, and became a declaimer against Marlborough. For reward he was appointed by the Tories generalissimo of the British army in Spain; but considering himself to have been unhandsomely treated by the ministry, he shortly after returned, and finding his influence greatly diminished, again turned Whig. His tortuous career up to the '15 seriously detracts from his meritorious services during that critical period, which in 1718 gained him the English title of Duke of Greenwich. His restless vanity and ambition, however, constantly prompted him to political intrigues. In 1721 he again played into the hands of the Tories, for the purpose of securing the entire patronage of Scotland. In 1737 he rose into immense popularity in his own country, by his spirited defence before parliament of the city of Edinburgh in regard to the Porteous mob. He died 3d September 1743. He was a man of lax principles and selfish character, but possessed of considerable shrewdness and talent, and noted for a kindness and courtesy in private life, which procured him the title of 'the Good Duke of Argyll,' and which are commemorated in Scott's Heart of Midlothian.—GEORGE JOHN DOUGLAS CAMPBELL, 8th Duke of Argyll, was born in 1823, and succeeded his father in 1847. At the age of nineteen, he wrote A Letter to the Peers from a Peer's Son, on the struggle which ended in the disruption of the Scottish Church; and seven years later appeared his Presbytery Examined. He was Lord Privy Seal (1853–55; 1859–66) and Post-master-general (1855–58) under Lord Palmerston. Under Mr Gladstone he was Secretary of State for India (1868–74), and Lord Privy Seal (1880–81), a post he resigned, disapproving of the Irish Land Bill. His works include, besides numerous papers on geology, &c., The Reign of Law (1866); Primeval Man (1869); A History of the Antiquities of Iona (1870); The Eastern Question (1879); The Unity of Nature (1884); Scotland as it Was and as it Is (1887); The Unseen Foundations of Society (1893); The Burden of Belief, and other Poems (1894). He died 24th April 1900.—His eldest son, JOHN DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND CAMPBELL, 9th duke, was born in 1845, in 1871 married the Princess Louise, in 1878–83 was Governor-general of Canada, and in 1895 became M.P. for South Manchester. He is author of A Trip to the Tropics (1867), Guido and Lita (1875), &c.