The Earl of Argyll was commissioned by James VI in 1596 to pacify the western isles using Campbell military power as the government's surrogate. Argyll sailed through the Isles with a fleet, receiving submissions, enforcing court decrees, and using the threat of Campbell military force to compel compliance. The Argyll commission was an early example of using a loyal magnate as a sub-contractor for Hebridean government — a policy that had existed informally since the fall of the Lordship of the Isles but was now formalised. Argyll's use of his commission also advanced Campbell territorial ambitions, creating tensions that would last for generations.
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