re the Wiki page on Claverhouse. I often feel that how Scottish history is viewed is warped by later prejudices. That being both the way the Royalists/Jacobite/Episcopalians were glamourised by the likes of Scott and Hogg etc - and the lack of later self pitying by the ultimately winning Covenanting/Williamite/Presbyterian site. People like Montrose and Dundee were just as much war criminals as any Scots on the other side. Montrose is remembered for his great campaign whilst the massacre of the citizens of Aberdeen in now largely ignored - as are the massacres of non combatants in Campbell country carried out by his MacDonald allies.

Likewise the so called "Killing Times" in southern Scotland were real enough and Claverhouse was a leading figure in this oppression. Yes he was married into a Covenanting family but that was not unusual in Scotland at that time. I imagine normally he would be giving the orders rather than getting his hands dirty but he also seemingly was not averse to murdering people with his own hands too. The preacher John Brown of Priesthill was interrogated in front of his wife, daughter and baby son and refused to swear the oath of allegiance. He was thrown to the ground and told to prepare to die but Claverhouse agreed to let him say a last prayer first. However he was soon bellowing at the unfortunate saying he had permission to pray not to preach. He then ordered his troops to shoot the preacher but they either refused, or were just too hesitant, perhaps because this was all in front of the womenfolk. Claverhouse is said to have grabbed a weapon and shot Brown himself. Brown's wife grabbed the body in her arms and Claverhouse supposedly leaned down and said to her something like "what think you of your husband now woman?" to which she replied "I aye thought muckle of him but now more ever". Claverhouse's own letters admit that Brown was summarily executed though he states that the preacher "suffered very unconcernedly"

Re the events themselves in the song. When James VII fled England in the wake of William's invasion he lost his power base. This enabled the Prsbyterians to reassert themselves in Scotland. However the Scottish parliament did not just depose James. They asked both James and William & Mary to put forward their case. William put his forward with his letter being conciliatory and agreeing that he and his wife would accept some restrictions on the royal powers etc. James simply said that he was monarch by divine right and that no-one had the right to question him etc. The Scottish Parliament by a large majority decided to offer the Crown of Scotland to William and Mary and James was deposed and branded a traitor. Claverhouse was seemingly the only major figure to openly stand by James hence his exit from the city described in the song. He probably though had no choice in doing that. As the major henchman he would be seen as a marked man by many.