Scottish Wars of Independence

As Wars of Scottish Independence ( English Scottish Wars of Independence ), the long-running wars between England and Scotland indicated that continued with brief interruptions from 1296 to 1357. During this period, the English kings Edward I , Edward II and Edward III tried successively . to subjugate the Kingdom of Scotland and incorporate it into its jurisdiction. Due to its close diplomatic ties with Scotland and the ongoing rivalry with England, the Kingdom of France also played an important role in this conflict. The Scottish Wars of Independence can be divided into three phases. The lengthy First Scottish War of Independence alone can be divided into two parts:

the Scottish Rebellion on behalf of John Balliol from 1297 to 1304, which ended with the surrender of almost all Scottish nobles,
the struggle for independence under Robert Bruce from 1306, which he was able to end successfully through the peace of Edinburgh and Northampton in 1328,
the attack of the so-called disinherited on Scotland in 1332 and the following Second Scottish War of Independence, which ended with the Treaty of Berwick in 1357.

The Anglo-Scottish War of 1296

After the death of the Scottish heiress Margaret in 1290, there were a number of aspirants to the Scottish throne , most notably John Balliol and Robert de Brus . In order to avoid a civil war, the English King Edward I was appointed arbitrator, for which he claimed supremacy over Scotland. In 1292 he decided that Balliol should become King of Scotland. The English king now continued to claim sovereignty over Scotland, which led to open war in 1296. In a short campaign, Edward I was able to defeat the bulkheads and force Balliol to abdicate. The English king now took control of Scotland himself and apparently wanted to incorporate it into England.

John Balliol, King of Scotland 1292–1296, with his wife; Illustration from the Seton Armorial published in 1591

The First Scottish War of Independence

The Scottish Revolt from 1297 to 1304

Against the impending loss of Scottish sovereignty, a widespread rebellion broke out in Scotland in 1297, which is considered to be the beginning of the first phase of the First Scottish War of Independence. The leaders of this rebellion were William Wallace in southern Scotland and Andrew Murray in northern Scotland. Their combined forces were able to defeat an English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297 . Thereupon the English king led an army to Scotland in 1298 and decisively defeated Wallace in the Battle of Falkirk . Nevertheless, the Scots continued their resistance to the English occupation under the leadership of several nobles. Despite further campaigns, the English king could not completely break this resistance. By 1304, however, almost all Scottish nobles submitted to the English king. Edward I began a reorganization of the Scottish government.

Robert Bruce rebellion from 1306

The hopes of the English king that Scotland would now be subject were shaken in 1306 by the revolt of the young Robert Bruce . Bruce was a grandson of Robert de Brus, who had claimed the throne as early as the 1280s and 1290s. Bruce had submitted to the King of England in 1302, but was crowned King of Scots in March 1306. His claim to the throne led to a power struggle with supporters of John Balliol's claim to the throne. These, especially the widely ramified Comyn family , now moved permanently to the English camp, and in the next few years the Scottish War of Independence was also an intra-Scottish civil war. Robert I was initially defeated by English troops and at the end of 1306 had to flee from his pursuers on the West Scottish islands. Edward I prepared a new campaign for 1307 to finally subdue Scotland, but his death on July 7, 1307 gave Robert I a much-needed respite. The new English King Edward II continued the war in Scotland far less resolutely, and Robert I was initially able to eliminate his Scottish opponents. Then he and his supporters gradually attacked the castles occupied by English troops in a long guerrilla war. By 1314 almost all castles were in Scottish hands again, after which the English king finally led a large-scale campaign to Scotland. This led to the only open battle that Robert I waged against the English after 1307. This Battle of Bannockburn was a decisive English defeat that ensured Scottish independence. In the next few years the Scots carried out numerous raids into the north of England, which, however, could not induce the English king to officially recognize Scottish independence. Only after Edward II was overthrown in 1326 was the new English government ready to negotiate peace. In 1328 the Treaty of Edinburgh and Northampton ended the war and Robert I was succeeded by the new English King Edward III. recognized as the Scottish King. Robert I died in 1329, his heir became his underage son David .

The Second Scottish War of Independence

Edward III. had been a minor when he had to make peace with Scotland. He rejected the treaty he found shameful and encouraged a group of nobles who were preparing a new war against Scotland. These nobles, the so-called disinherited , wanted to bring Edward Balliol , the eldest son of John Balliol, who was deposed in 1296, to the Scottish throne and, above all, to regain their own territories lost by the peace of 1328. In 1332 the disinherited invaded Scotland with a small army. They were initially able to defeat a Scottish army and Edward Balliol was crowned king. After a rebellion, however, Balliol and his supporters had to flee to England. Now Edward III attacked. openly entered the war and moved to Scotland with an army in 1333. As a thank you, Balliol was to cede large parts of southern Scotland to England. Despite further campaigns, however, the English were unable to overcome the Scottish resistance. From around 1338 Edward III turned. the war with France so that the followers of David II could retake Scotland. When the English king led a new campaign in France in 1346, David II wanted to take advantage of this and invaded England. In the battle of Neville's Cross he was defeated and taken prisoner. Edward Balliol then tried again in vain to enforce his rule before he renounced his claim to the throne. Negotiations for the release of the Scottish king dragged on while the fighting subsided. It was not until the Treaty of Berwick that David II regained his freedom in 1357. Although the treaty was not an official peace treaty, it is considered the de facto end of the Scottish Wars of Independence. Nevertheless, several other border wars between England and Scotland broke out into the 16th century .

literature

Michael Brown: The wars of Scotland, 1214-1371 . Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 2004, ISBN 0-7486-1237-8 , p. 248.
Ranald Nicholson: Scotland. The Later Middle Ages (The Edinburgh History of Scotland, Vol. II. ) Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh 1974, ISBN 0-05-002038-2 .