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Sun, Nov 9, 2008
The earliest history of Scotland is shrouded in something of a mist. Much of that early history is mythologized and seen through the eyes of others such as the Roman, Tacitus. Hadrian's wall was the line in the sand between Roman and unconquered Britain and the Romans only rarely ventured north. The Romans left Britain in 409 and the the Picts - or painted ones - were the dominant group. They were no wild barbarians but just as they vanished, Scotland came into being. The Picts were not the only group however with the Christian Gaels occupying a large territory. It's only late in the 9th century that tribal titles are dropped and the first monarchs of Scotland are identified.
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Sun, Nov 16, 2008
Alexander II became the King of the Scots when he was just a teenager. At that time, England claimed ownership of the Kingdom of the Scots but Alexander saw himself as an equal to the English king and he sought to free himself and his people from their English overlords. King John of England laid claim to much land in the north and Alexander wanted to take back what was rightfully his. England plunged into civil war when King John signed and then refused to the items agreed to in the Magna Carta. With angry English barons somewhat sympathetic, Alexander invaded northern England laying siege to Durham castle. and later laid siege to Dover with the help of French Prince Louis. On the death King John, the civil war ended and the barons supported the new King Henry III, all of 9 years old. For Alexander, it was the end of is support. The first border with England established in 1237. Alexander died on July 8, 1249. Upon the death of Alexander III in 1286 Edward I of England, claimed Scotland as his own. The Scots rebelled in 1296 but were defeated at the battle of Dunbar. William Wallace became a popular leader and raised an army of common folk to meet the English army at Sterling on September 11, 1297. They were defeated at the battle at Falkirk. Wallace was declared an outlaw in 1304 and was captured in 1305. He was drawn and quartered.
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Mon, Nov 24, 2008
By 1305, King Edward I of of England reasonably assumed that Scotland had ceased to exist as a political entity. William Wallace was dead and the Scottish king, John Balliol was in exile in France, a defeated and broken man. After defeating the Scots militarily, he allowed Scottish nobles to keep their lands provided they swore loyalty to him as king. The Church however played a decisive role as Scottish bishops had power that was independent of the English crown. An appeal to Rome had paid dividends when the Pope ordered the release of Balliol and recognized the Scottish crown. Balliol however refused to return and stayed in France, At that point, the Bishops were looking for a King who would resist the English. In 1306 they settled on Robert the Bruce and war was again at hand. The Scots were defeated and Robert was forced to flee. He chose to fight on and began to win battles. After the death of Edward I his son Edward II took charge of the army. Fighting continued for many years but in 1314, the armies met a Bannochburn where the Scots won a decisive victory. For the next dozen years, recognition of Scotland as an independent country rested to a great extent with the Pope but recognition came, finally, in 1328. Robert the Bruce died on June 7, 1329.
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Mon, Dec 1, 2008
The difference between the highland and lowland cultures are considerable and it all began as a feud between two families in 15th century Scotland: the Stewarts and the MacDonalds. Alexander MacDonald was lord of the isles and King of the Hebredes who had backed the Bruces and had the luxury of 10,000 armed men. It proved to be a time for artistic development with strong cultural and family ties to Ireland. Ties to the Scottish kingdom to the east were not so strong. James Stewart, King of the Scots, was a prisoner of the English from the age of 12. Scots were not prepared to barter for him - something the English had been doing for centuries - and even allied themselves with the French defying James' direct orders to the contrary. In 1424, the 30 year-old James Stewart was finally released by the English. James - woefully short of cash - met with Alexander at Inverness but it was a trap and the MacDonalds were imprisoned. Upon his release, Alexander burned Inverness and resigned his titles and claims to his lands. James then decided to extend his authority but MacDonald's men defeated and ultimately assassinated him. From that point the Stewarts gained ever greater authority until the time of James IV when he married Margaret Tudor marking the emergence of Scotland as a major power. Gaels however came to be seen as rebels and outsiders.
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Mon, Dec 8, 2008
At Scottish king James V's 1542 death, his infant heiress Mary was coveted as a bride by Henry VIII to avoid his Anglican England being invaded by Catholic enemies from the north. Despite a treaty signed by nobles and an English invasion, her guardians got her exiled to France to the glorious Loire chateaus court. There she is betrothed to King Henri's son, dauphin François - fourth in line for the English throne, (to hope for a Franco-British Catholic empire), but Henry's illegitimate daughter Elisabeth succeeds. Francois II's fatal ear infection left Mary a widowed dowager. Scotland turns Puritan protestant and therefore against Catholic Mary, who yet returns and charms her way into the nobles' favor by making her faith private. She weds English playboy Henry Darnley, who gives her an heir but is denied royal power and murdered, although by whom is unclear. After her second marriage the nobles force Mary to abdicate, Elisabeth imprisons her after an escape. Infant James is raised by Knoxite Buchanan, who doesn't spare his behind to instill protestantism and people's rights. After incarceration for being influenced by Catholic 'French' cousin Esme Stuart, James escapes, raises an army and seizes absolute power. James reigns as a skillful Machiavellian, survives the barren Virgin Queen and expects to subdue Westminster parliament, but only starts another century of Anglo-Scottish clashing, now within a semi-united Britain.