The MacGregor clan made their living being cattle rustlers. By the time Rob Roy was an adult and the chief of the clan, they had stopped being rustlers and had begun providing "protection" for cattle owners. In other words, they were paid by the owners not to steal their cattle; this eventually made Rob Roy a prosperous land owner and cattle broker.
The MacGregor clan were outlawed in 1693 and not allowed to use their name or own property. Rob Roy MacGregor (using his mother's maiden name of Campbell) was under the protection of the Duke of Montrose. In order to increase his lands and business interests, Rob Roy borrowed 1,000 pounds from the Duke of Montrose. Unfortunately, one of his employees reportedly ran off with the money leaving Rob Roy with the debt. The Duke of Montrose brought suit against him and demanded it be repaid immediately, since that was impossible the Duke demanded he be given Rob Roy's land. The law agreed and Rob Roy became a fugitive from the law. All his lands were confiscated by the Duke of Montrose. Thus began Rob Roy's life as an outlaw.
In order to support himself, Rob Roy and his fellow MacGregor's began raiding the lands of the Duke of Montrose. This gave him the reputation as a Scottish Robin Hood. In 1715, the MacGregor clan led a battle against the English. In 1725, Rob Roy MacGregor turned himself in to the law and received a pardon from King George I. It is believed that Daniel Defoe's novel Highland Rogue influenced this decision. Highland Rogue was written in 1723 and was the first novel to paint Rob Roy as an heroic figure.
After his long life as an outlaw, Rob Roy settled down to a reasonable peaceful life in Balquihidder in Stirlingshire. He converted to Catholicism towards the end of his life. He died on December 28, 1734 at the age of 63. He was buried in Balquhidder.
The life of Rob Roy MacGregor has long been fodder for the arts. In addition to Defoe's novel, William Wordsworth wrote a poem called Rob Roy's Grave; Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel called Rob Roy that was part of his Waverley Novels series. In more recent years, Rob Roy was turned into a movie in 1995 starring LiamNeeson and was turned into a theatrical musical in 2009. All of these paint him as an heroic figure akin to Robin Hood.
We really know so little about the life of Rob Roy MacGregor, how like the most likely fictional character of Robin Hood he was is open to interpretation. His bravery, however, is not open to interpretation. He never shied away from battle against the English when the very existence of Scotland was in doubt. He is definitely one of Scotland's heroes.
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