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History
of Scotland
Roman Caledonia
The Picts, a fierce and warlike people, successfully resisted conquest
by the Romans, whose great general, Gnaeus Julius Agricola , led the
first invasion of Caledonia late in the 1st century AD. Agricola and his
legions pushed northward to the Firth of Forth. The border Picts,
probably joined by rebellious Britons , strenuously contested Roman
sovereignty in the region between the firths of Forth and Clyde. In 1
AD, to ward off the Pictish threat to the imperial positions in northern
Britain, the Roman emperor Hadrian ordered construction of a rampart
from Solway Firth to the mouth of the Tyne River. Remnants of this
rampart, known in history as Hadrian's Wall , still exist. Two decades
later another rampart, called the Antonine Wall, was constructed from
the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. The territory between the two
walls served as a defense area against the Caledonians during Roman
occupation.
Early Scottish
Kingdoms
After the Roman withdrawal from Britain in 409, the Picts systematically
raided the territories of their southern neighbors. The latter, however,
soon put an end to these raids, probably with the assistance of the
Saxons, one of the Germanic tribes that subsequently subjugated the
Britons. In the course of the Germanic conquest many Britons withdrew
into the Caledonian region between the Firth of Clyde and Solway Firth,
and there laid the foundations of what became the kingdom of
Strathclyde. The adjacent region to the north was occupied toward the
beginning of the 6th century by the Scots, Celtic invaders from northern
Ireland, who established the kingdom that became known in history as
Dalriada. About the middle of the 6th century the Angles, a people who
were related to the Saxons, overran most of Caledonia south of the Firth
of Forth and east of Strathclyde. Together with the extensive Angle
holdings in the north of what is now England, this region became the
kingdom of Northumbria. During the period of Angle penetration in
Caledonia, Christianity was widely disseminated among the Picts by Saint
Columba, an Irish missionary who came to Dalriada from northern Ireland
in 563. Strathclyde and various parts of Pictland had been converted to
Christianity before the time of Columba. Between 655 and 664, Scottish
missionaries were active in Northumbria, which was then the center of a
pagan revival.
The Unification of
Scotland
In 685 Pictish territory north of the Firth of Forth was invaded by a
large Northumbrian army. An overwhelming Pictish victory permanently
weakened Northumbrian power in Caledonia. About 730 Angus MacFergus,
king of the Picts, subjugated Strathclyde and Dalriada. Relative peace
followed until the late 8th century, when Vikings from Scandinavia began
to raid the Caledonian coasts. Taking advantage of Pictish preoccupation
with the invaders, the Scots and Britons soon regained their
independence. In 844 Kenneth MacAlpine, king of Dalriada, and later king
of Scotland, who was a descendant of the Pictish royal family, obtained
the crown of Pictland, probably with the assent of the harassed Picts.
The united kingdoms, officially known as Alban, comprised all the
territory north of the firths of Forth and Clyde. Kenneth and several of
his successors vainly attempted to subdue the remaining Northumbrian
possessions in Caledonia and, in alliance with Strathclyde, tried to
halt the raids of the Vikings. Although, with the help of the
Northumbrians, the Vikings were prevented from securing a foothold in
Dalriada, they seized various coastal areas in the north, east, and west
and occupied the Orkney and Shetland islands and the Hebrides. In later
times the rulers of England claimed the Scottish domain on the basis of
the aid their forebears had given to Alban. In the 10th century the
Alban kings, having repulsed the Vikings, repeatedly attacked the
Northumbrian strongholds south of the Firth of Clyde. All these attacks
ended in failure. During the reign (1005-34) of Malcolm II Mackenneth,
the Northumbrians were decisively defeated in the Battle of Carham
(1018). With this event and as a result of the inheritance of the crown
of Strathclyde by Malcolm's grandson and successor, Duncan I, the
Scottish domains, thereafter known as Scotland, embraced all the
territory north of Solway Firth and the Tweed River. Duncan's reign, a
period of disastrous wars and internal strife, was ended in 1040 with
his assassination by Macbeth, mormaor (great steward) of Ross and Moray,
who then became king of Scotland. Macbeth, according to history a
successful king, held the throne until 1057, when he was defeated and
killed by Duncan's son Malcolm Canmore.
The Anglicization
of Scotland
The accession in 1057 of Malcolm Canmore, as Malcolm III MacDuncan,
introduced a new era in Scotland, an era marked by fundamental
transformations of the ancient Celtic culture and institutions. Long an
exile among the English, Malcolm had acquired a profound interest in
their customs and affairs. The consequent trend toward Anglicization of
his realm was sharply accelerated when, in 1067, he married Margaret, an
English princess later canonized as Saint Margaret, who had been forced
into exile in Scotland by the Norman Conquest in 1066. Under the
influence of Margaret, a devout communicant of the church of Rome, many
of the teachings of the Celtic church were brought into harmony with the
Roman ritual. The hostility engendered among many of the Scottish
chieftains by Margaret's activities flared into rebellion after
Malcolm's death. Margaret, her stepson Duncan (later Duncan II, king of
Scotland), and their English retainers were then driven from the
country. With Anglo-Norman help, the rebellion, which had been led by
Donald Bane, a brother of Malcolm III, was crushed. In 1097 Edgar, one
of the six sons of Malcolm and Margaret, ascended the Scottish throne.
The Anglicization of Scotland acquired tremendous momentum during the
reign of Edgar and those of his brothers Alexander I and David I. Under
these monarchs, all of whom had been deeply influenced by their mother's
religious and cultural views, the Anglo-Norman feudal system was
established in Scotland. The reorganization was confined at first to
ecclesiastical reforms but gradually affected all sectors of Scottish
life. Celtic religious orders were suppressed, English ecclesiastics
replaced Scottish monks, numerous monasteries were founded, and the
Celtic church was remodeled in conformity with Catholic practice. Norman
French supplanted the Gaelic language in court circles, while English
was spoken in the border areas and many parts of the Lowlands. The
traditional system of tribal land tenure was abolished during the reign
of David. Claiming universal ownership of the land, he conveyed huge
grants, particularly in central and southern Scotland, to Anglo-Norman
and Scottish nobles, who thereby became loyal vassals of the Crown.
David I also instituted various judicial, legislative, and
administrative reforms, all based on English models, encouraged the
development of commerce with England, and granted extensive privileges
to the Scottish burghs.
Relations with
England
Political relations with England were disturbed during David's reign by
disputes over certain border areas, notably that portion of Northumbria
south of the Tweed. In 1138 and again in 1149 the Scottish king, seeking
to extend his dominions southward, supported abortive attempts to
dethrone the reigning monarch of England. As a result of the
intervention of 1149, Northumbria, which had been granted previously to
Scotland, reverted to English ownership. David's grandson William the
Lion , who was crowned king of Scotland in 1165, attempted to regain
Northumbria by giving military aid to a rebellion in 1173 and 1174
against Henry II of England. In 1174 William was taken prisoner and
compelled, by the provisions of the Treaty of Falaise, to swear fealty
to the English king. Although Richard I of England annulled the treaty,
in 1189, in exchange for 10,000 marks of silver, English claims to
sovereignty over Scotland were based thereafter on precedent as well as
the 10th-century alliances against the Vikings. Alexander II , William's
son and successor, renounced Scottish claims to Northumbria and other
territories in northern England in 1237, beginning a period of friendly
relations between the two nations. In 1266, following a victorious war
against Norway, Alexander III recovered the Hebrides. Alexander III died
in 1286, leaving the throne to Margaret, known as the Maid of Norway,
his infant granddaughter and only living descendant. Margaret's death
produced a political crisis in Scotland, with no less than 13
descendants of former monarchs laying claim to the throne. In this
situation Edward I of England, proclaiming suzerainty over Scotland,
intervened on behalf of John de Baliol, a grandson of David I. Certain
sections of the Scottish nobility formally recognized the English king's
over lordship in Scotland. In November 1292, after leading an army into
his vassal realm, Edward I proclaimed John de Baliol king of Scotland.
The War for Independence
Many Scottish nobles and the overwhelming majority of the Scottish
people bitterly resented English interference in their national affairs.
Acceding to popular demand for termination of English control, Baliol in
1295 formed an alliance with France, which was then at war with England,
and summoned his people to revolt. The first phase of the Scottish war
of independence ended victoriously for Edward, who crushed Baliol's army
at Dunbar in April 1296 and decreed the annexation of Scotland to
England. Baliol was deposed, and his kingdom was placed under military
occupation.
William Wallace
The Scottish struggle against England was resumed in 1297, under the
leadership of the Scottish patriot Sir William Wallace. With soldiers
recruited from all sections of the nation, Wallace destroyed an English
army at Sterling in September and, acting as the agent of John de
Baliol, reinstituted Scottish rule. The following year Edward led a huge
army into Scotland and in July won a decisive victory at Falkirk. After
this setback Wallace waged incessant guerrilla warfare against the
English. He was outlawed by Edward in 1304, following another
large-scale English invasion. The year after, Wallace was betrayed to
the English, convicted of treason, and executed.
Robert Bruce
After Wallace's death, Robert Bruce, a descendant of David I, assumed
the leadership of the resistance movement. Although Bruce had opposed
Wallace, most of the Scottish nobility and clergy rallied to his
support. He was crowned Robert I, king of Scotland, in March 1306.
During the first year of his reign Bruce suffered several reverses at
the hands of the English. In 1307, on the accession to the English
throne of Edward II, who abandoned his father's plan to subjugate
Scotland, Bruce began a systematic guerrilla campaign against the
pro-English section of the Scottish nobility and against English
garrisons in Scotland. Between 1307 and 1314 he won numerous battles
against his enemies and, on a number of occasions, even invaded northern
England. Edward II finally led a punitive expedition into Scotland in
the spring of 1314. Meeting this invasion force at Bannockburn on June
24, the Scottish army inflicted on it one of the most disastrous defeats
in the military annals of England . Edward II refused to grant
independence to Scotland, however, and the war between the two nations
continued for more than a decade. During this phase of the struggle, the
common people of Scotland secured representation, for the first time, in
the Scottish Parliament in 1326. The war against England ended
victoriously in 1328, when the regents of the young Edward III of
England approved the Treaty of Northampton. By the terms of this
document, Scotland obtained recognition as an independent kingdom.
David II
For more than 200 years after Bruce's death in 1329 and the accession of
his infant son as David II, Scotland was the scene of almost continuous
strife among the nobility. The feudal anarchy was especially pronounced
because of the prevalence of the clan system in the Highlands and
various other areas. In these regions, where close personal relations
existed among the clan members and their chiefs, the latter were
powerful and contemptuous of royal authority. The period was also marked
by almost uninterrupted warfare with England and the development of
Scotland's Parliament. Within four years after the conclusion of the
Treaty of Northampton, Edward III renewed the struggle to reduce
Scotland to vassalage. Initially, this venture took the form of support
to Edward de Baliol, a son of John de Baliol and a pretender to the
Scottish crown. Baliol invaded Scotland from England in 1332 and, after
winning a victory at Dupplin Moor, had himself crowned king. He was
quickly driven out of the country. In 1333 Edward III led an army
northward and routed the Scots near Berwick-upon-Tweed. The English king
thereupon occupied a large part of southeastern Scotland. In 1337, after
he became involved in the Hundred Years' War, he abandoned Baliol and
neglected his Scottish possessions; by 1341 the Scots had liberated
several of the more important occupied areas, including Edinburgh. In
1346 David II, allied with France, led an invasion of northern England
but was defeated near Durham and taken prisoner. A large section of
southern Scotland was immediately reoccupied by the English. David was
not released until 1357, after the Scots had agreed to pay an enormous
ransom.
The Stuart Kings
Under the first two kings of the Stuart dynasty, Robert II (reigned
1371-1390) and Robert III (reigned 1390-1406), the country was further
devastated by the war with England, and royal authority was weak. James
I (reigned 1406-1437) attempted to restore order in the strife-torn
country. He imposed various curbs on the nobility and secured
parliamentary approval of many legislative reforms. Without the
cooperation of the feudal barons, however, these reforms were
unenforceable. James I was murdered in 1437. During the remainder of the
15th century the successors of James I, namely, James II , James III,
and James IV, sought to impose restraints on the turbulent nobility, but
significant results were accomplished only by James IV. The alliance
with France was maintained, and by 1460 the English had been expelled
from southern Scotland. Among other outstanding developments of the 15th
century was the recovery, through the marriage of James III to a Danish
princess, of the Orkney and Shetland islands. Shortly after the turn of
the century James IV married Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of
England, but friction between the two nations continued. In 1513, after
Henry VIII invaded France, James IV led an army into England. The Scots
and English met at Flodden Field, where James was killed and his army
routed. Following the rupture between Henry VIII and the Roman Catholic
church in the 1530s, Henry tried in vain to enlist James V on the side
of fundamental ecclesiastical reform and to secure an end to the
Franco-Scottish alliance. The Protestant Reformation shortly began to
gain headway in Scotland, and the Protestants tended to oppose the
connection with France. In 1538 James V married Mary of Guise, a member
of the French royal family, and, in another war with England, was
defeated at Solway Moss in 1542. He died a few weeks after the battle.
Mary, Queen of
Scots
James's daughter Mary, still a child, was sent abroad to be raised at
the French court in 1548, and her mother, Mary of Guise, assumed the
regency in 1554. The regent's policies, which seemed designed to
transform Scotland into a colony of France, provoked the spread of
anti-French sentiment in the kingdom. The return to Scotland, in 1559,
of John Knox, a Protestant leader who had been exiled, added to the
political ferment and gave impetus to the Reformation. The general
hostility to Mary of Guise was deepened by the marriage, in April 1558,
of her daughter to the Dauphin of France. In 1559, following the queen
mother's denunciation of Protestants as heretics, Knox and his followers
resorted to open rebellion. Elizabeth I of England began at once to
provide the insurgents with financial and military aid. Mary of Guise
died in June 1560. In that same year, the Scottish Protestant leaders,
assembled in a special parliament, abolished the Roman Catholic church
in Scotland and adopted a Calvinistic Confession of Faith. In August
1561 Queen Mary returned to Scotland; her husband, Francis II, had died
in December 1560, just 17 months after becoming King of France. A loyal
Roman Catholic and the heir presumptive to the English crown, Mary
became the central figure of the Counter Reformation in Scotland and,
later, in England. The final contest between Scottish Protestantism and
Roman Catholicism was marked by conspiracy, murder, rebellion, and civil
war. In 1567, after Mary's army was defeated in battle, she was forced
to abdicate in favor of her infant son, James VI, born in 1566 of her
union with Lord Darnley. Imprisoned in Scotland, Mary escaped in May
1568, but failed to regain her throne. She then fled to England, only to
become the captive of Queen Elizabeth.
James VI
Until 1578 Scotland was ruled by successive regents, all staunchly
Protestant and pro-English, and later by factions capable of dominating
the young king. By 1586, however, James VI had control of his government
and had concluded a military alliance with Elizabeth. He subsequently
refused to intercede on behalf of his mother, who was executed in
England in 1587. In religion, he tried to steer a middle course,
allowing a Presbyterian form of church government at the local level,
but appointing bishops who represented royal authority over the church
as a whole. He was a capable administrator and made the power of the
monarchy dominant in Scotland. On the death of Elizabeth, in March 1603,
James VI inherited the crown of England as James I.
Scotland in the
17th Century
James lived on until 1625, and Scotland remained largely tranquil under
his rule. Relations with England grew closer, but the two kingdoms
remained distinct, each with its own government. Under James's son,
Charles I (reigned 1625-1649), high taxes, and especially royal attempts
to impose Anglican forms of worship, led to conflicts known as the
Bishops' Wars (1639-1640). These in turn helped to spark the great
English Revolution, which ended in Charles's execution. During the
revolution, many Scots supported Parliament against the king in return
for a promise that Presbyterianism would be established in both realms.
This promise was not kept, and after Charles's execution, England's Lord
Protector, Oliver Cromwell defeated Scottish uprisings on behalf of the
royal heir, Charles II. Cromwell also temporarily imposed a single
government on England and Scotland. When Charles II was restored to the
throne in 1660, Scotland was again separated from England. Charles
reintroduced a limited form of episcopacy in the northern kingdom, and
several abortive Presbyterian rebellions occurred during his reign.
Scotland played no part in the overthrow of Charles's successor, James
VII (James II of England) in 1688, but the Scottish Parliament
immediately recognized the new king, William III, as William II of
Scotland. William abolished the Scottish episcopate in 1690. This made
him popular among the Lowland Scots, but in the Highlands support for
the exiled King James remained strong.
Scotland in The
United Kingdom
In 1707 the Scottish Parliament voted itself out of existence, and
Scotland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain with
guarantees of its own legal system and church polity. Thereafter,
Scottish representatives sat in the British Parliament at Westminster.
The union, like the Revolution of 1688, was opposed by many of the
Highland Scots, who rose in support of James VII's son in the Jacobite
rebellions of 1708, 1715, and 1745 to 1746. Following the defeat of the
1745 Rebellion, the government forced the breakup of the clan system in
the Highlands. At the same time, Edinburgh, home of the Scottish
Enlightenment, was becoming one of the most important cultural centers
of 18th-century Europe. Among the outstanding Scottish thinkers of the
time were the economist Adam Smith and the philosopher David Hume.
Literary figures included Tobias Smollett, James Boswell, Robert Burns,
and, somewhat later, Sir Walter Scott. Industrialization began in the
late 1700s, and in the course of the 19th century, Scotland was
transformed from an agricultural into an industrial nation. Its textile,
steel, and shipbuilding industries made major contributions to Britain's
commercial greatness during this period, while Scottish statesmen and
administrators helped govern the British Empire, and Scottish soldiers
helped defend it. With the decline of Britain as a world power in the
second half of the 20th century, Scottish nationalism once again became
a significant political force. Strident calls for independence were
heard in the general elections in the mid-1970s. Although the Scots
continue to insist on unique provisions of law and local government, the
drive for separation has been muted in recent years by increased
prosperity.
Information taken
from Encarta '97 Encyclopedia...Microsoft |
