The History Of Scotland: First War Of Scottish Independence

Today, we know Britain as a union of lands – England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Throughout history, however, there has been a tough struggle for possession of the British Isles. During the Middle Ages, England attempted to capture neighbouring states, particularly Scotland. That's why the First Scottish War of Independence began. In 1286, King Alexander III of Scotland died. The country suffered a dynastic crisis as Alexander had no direct heirs on the male line. The only successor was his granddaughter Margaret, the Maid of Norway, who was three years old. At this point, Edward I of England suggested resolving the problem of succession. The Treaty of Burgum was signed. It recognised Margaret as heir to the throne on the condition that she will marry Edward II of England. The agreement also preserved Scotland's independence from English suzerainty. However, the young heiress to the throne died while attempting to swim the sea, and quarrels broke out between the Scottish clans on the candidature of the future king. Edward Longshanks again offered his help to the Scots. His main argument was a large English army that marched into Scotland under the pretext of defending peace and helping to legitimise the election of a new king. The disorganised Scots offered no resistance, and most Scottish aristocracy tried to please the English king. Robert the Bruce, the grandfather of the future Scottish king with the same name, was more likely to receive the Scottish crown. However, Edward Longshanks decided otherwise. In 1292, he assisted in the election of John Balliol, a Scottish aristocrat of Anglo-Norman origin who held lands in Scotland and England. It was agreed that Balliol and subsequent Scottish kings would become vassals of Edward. They would pay a substantial part of the taxes to the English exchequer, and that English garrisons would remain in strategic Scottish cities. In fact, it was an occupation. However, the vassal relationship between Edward Longshanks and Balliol did not last long. The arrogance of the English administration in the Scottish lands, as well as Longshanks' demand that the Scottish aristocrats should go to fight for him in France, sparked a rebellion. King John Balliol, at the head of the Scottish nobility, took advantage of the lack of significant English forces in Scotland and in the north of England and organized a raid on Northumbria. Several monasteries were damaged, and this was one of the reasons for the further depiction of the Scots in English chronicles as cruel and merciless barbarians. Scottish chroniclers reciprocated them. It should be noted that the aristocracy was the weak point of Scottish society. Most of them did not want to resist Edward. They perceived the occupation of Longshanks as an opportunity for their own enrichment, and also did not want to give up their lands in England. These kinds of aristocrats, led by the old Robert the Bruce, swore allegiance to the English king. The first military confrontation between the Scottish nobility and the English took place at the Battle of Dunbar, where Edward's troops defeated the rebels and subsequently captured Bury. This port city was an important trading center, so by slaughtering its inhabitants, Longshanks not only tried to intimidate the Scots, but also he wanted to blow up their economy. The English army had the advantage of a professional army, a combination of experienced infantry units, English and Welsh archers, and heavy cavalry of knights. With rapid military action and repression, Longshanks quickly wiped out remnants of the belligerency of Scottish magnates and forced them to take vassal oaths. Edward usurped the Scottish throne and moved the sacred Stone of Destiny, which Scots used for coronation, to Westminster Abbey. To suppress the remnants of the rebellion in Scotland, Longshanks left the army and the occupation administration. It was led by John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey and Sir Hugh de Cressingham, an unprecedented extortionist who abused illegal tax increases. The resistance movement, however, did not die out, but only passed to the peasants and small nobles. The administration was taken over by poor knights Sir William Wallace and Andrew de Moray. At first, they followed guerrilla tactics, but then, as their units grew, they went on to field battles and storming castles of English garrisons. The rebels captured a number of castles in the north and soon drove the enemies out of central Scotland. To put an end to the rebellion that already has risen to the national level, Edward sent 10,000 troops led by John de Warenne. The Battle of Stirling Bridge the following year marked a turning point in William Wallace's biography and in the history of the Scottish resistance. He assembled 7,000 men and had to confront an opponent who had the number advantage of soldiers and weapons and also had better experience. But the courage and tactical ingenuity of the Scots let them defeat the reckless and self-confident English. Most of the English were killed in the battle, including one of their leaders, Sir Hugh de Cressingham, whose skin was used by the Scots to make wallets and sword handles. The shocking defeat caused panic among the people of the north of England. In Scotland, the popularity of William Wallace among the common people after his successes reached sky high. He was proclaimed Guardian of Scotland on behalf of the exiled King John Balliol. In order to regain Scottish lands and quell the rebels, Edward Longshanks personally led the next punitive campaign at the head of a 15,000-strong army, which contained at least 2,000 units of heavy cavalry. Wallace's army was one and a half times smaller and there was a catastrophic lack of good archers and heavy cavalry. The shortage of cavalry stemmed from the near absence of the units of Scottish aristocracy, which largely did not support the rebellion. The English took full advantage of their precedents and in July 1298 defeated the As a result, Edward's troops marched through Scotland in a deadly vortex, methodically eliminating rebels and laymen suspected of collaborating with the rebels. In addition, the Scots had to fully provide a punitive army and pay indemnity. The prestige of Wallace fell among the nobility, which, because of the Parliamentary Assembly, withdrew the title of Guardian from him. For the masses, he was still a hero. Because of the defeat, Wallace went to France to seek allies, and the rebels once again turned to guerrilla warfare. Wallace's diplomatic activities helped to free Scottish hostages. In addition, the constant guerrilla resistance did not allow the English to fully subdue Scotland. Several of Edward's punitive expeditions failed to eliminate the pockets of rebel resistance. The guerrilla forces, to which Wallace rejoined a short time later, still held out the Scots' hopes for the restoration of independence. However, in 1305, William Wallace was captured by the English thanks to a denunciation by several Scottish aristocrats. He was brought to London, tried for treason, tortured for a long time, and finally executed and quartered, and his body parts hung around Scottish cities for fear. It seemed that Scotland was doomed to submit to the English crown. The Scottish aristocrats surrendered to Longshanks as the country was devastated and exhausted by a prolonged war with a stronger enemy. But there was an unexpected twist of fate when Robert the Bruce, Jr., a member of an ancient Norman family and a contender for the crown of Scotland, killed his rival John Comyn. Comyn and Bruce apparently conspired to seize the throne and distribute Scottish lands, but Comyn decided to surrender Robert to the English king. Thus, Bruce, the representative of a clan which was formerly loyal to England, was outlawed. Robert the Bruce decided to go all in and organized a new round of rebellion against England. He was joined by most of the Scottish aristocracy, and in 1306 he was proclaimed the new king of Scotland. However, Bruce's troops suffered several defeats from the English army, and Robert himself was forced to hide in the isles of southern Scotland from English persecution. But he enlisted the support of the Douglas, the Campbells, and many other clans of the highlands of Scotland before returning to the armed struggle against the occupation. The death of Edward Longshanks contributed to his success. Under the mismanagement of his son, Edward II, feudal disputes intensified in England, and the rebels managed to drive the English troops out of the north, west, and center of Scotland. The final breakthrough in the First Scottish War of Independence came in 1314. Edward II of England assembled a powerful force of about 20,000 men and marched into the center of Scotland, destroying everything in its path. Robert the Bruce could only raise 10,000, but he had experienced veteran generals and motivated soldiers. The troops clashed at the Battle of Bannockburn in June. The Scots took a more advantageous position on the high ground, and Edward decided to rely on the size of his troops and to fight, despite his opponent's strategic advantage. In the course of the battle, the Scots quickly counterattacked, defeated the heavy cavalry, and forced the English king to flee. A demoralized English army took an example from its monarch, but many of them were caught up with Scottish swords and spears. English losses amounted to 10,000 dead. This was how the Scots completely liberated their territory from the English invaders and even made several raids into northern England to boot. In England, revolts by aristocrats against Edward II continued. The rebellion in Ireland weakened the English king's position even more. Robert the Bruce decided to send armed aid to the Irish, led by his brother Edward. The latter was soon proclaimed High King of Ireland, but three years later Edward Bruce and his mixed Irish-Scottish army were destroyed by the English army. Despite his brother's defeat in Ireland, Robert the Bruce achieved a number of notable victories over the English in their territories in Lancashire and Yorkshire. After many years of unsuccessful warfare, the new king of England, Edward III, decided to recognize the independence of Scotland. In 1328, he signed the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton with Robert the Bruce. At the price of thousands of deaths and destruction, Scotland was able to regain its freedom. However, the new English king and the English aristocracy sought revenge. In addition, similar sentiments reigned among Scottish aristocrats who fought on the side of England and were expelled from their homeland. This made the coming English invasion of Scotland almost inevitable.