Scottish Wars of Independence

1296 to 1346

Scotland — versus — England

Introduction   War of Independence, led by William Wallace, 1296-1305 War of Independence, led by Robert Bruce, 1306-1328 Second War of Scottish Independence, 1332-1346

Introduction : 

A drive from the Bruce's spear made the rider fall back dead.

The most famous period of Scottish History is the late 13th and early 14th centuries, when Scotland fought a series of battles to establish its independence from England. The two great heroes of the early war were William Wallace, a commoner, and Robert the Bruce, who after great difficulties, was crowned king of Scotland. At the time of the wars of independence, England was a vastly wealthier and more powerful nation than Scotland, and it had succeeded in at least partially subduing all of its near neighbors, including Wales and Ireland, and was intent on conquering France.

The idea that Scotland could and did stand against England, purely by force of indomitable will, was a source of great national pride in Scotland for generations thereafter. The war did not free Scotland from any further interference by England, nor did it provide her with particularly good government, but it established the Scots reputation as proud and unconquerable people, a legacy they embraced for centuries afterward.

First War of Scottish Independence—William Wallace : 1296-1305

'Hold you, hold you, brave Wallace! The English have hanged all your best men like dogs.'

England, under Edward I had brought both Wales and Ireland under its sway, and it desired also to expand its influence over Scotland. England's first strategy for taking over Scotland, was thwarted when the female heir to the Scottish throne, who was betrothed to the son of Edward I, died. The second attempt to assume control of Scotland by promoting a weakling king to the throne, and then running roughshod over the country, was thwarted by William Wallace, a commoner who refused to submit to the indignities of servitude to the English.

When the young queen of Scotland, known as the 'Maid of Norway' died, there was no direct heir to the Scottish throne. Edward I, the English king was quick to promote the cause of John Balliol, and just as quickly demanded he do homage to the English King for all the lands in Scotland, which no Scottish king had ever submitted to before. Balliol paid homage, but refused to provide soldiers to help Edward fight France, since Scotland was a long-time ally of France. Using Balliol's refusal as justification, Edward campaigned in Scotland, first reducing the fortress at Berwick-on-Tweed, and then defeating a large Scottish army at Dunbar. After these smashing victories, Edward experienced little further resistance, and much of the country submitted without further bloodshed. The English governors imposed on the country by Edward however, had little regard for the rights of the Scots, and within a year, William Wallace, a commoner whose wife was murdered by a local English sheriff, had raised a rebellion across the country.

The great victory of Wallace was at the Battle of Sterling Bridge, where his band of infantry soundly defeated an English Army. This was followed by the battle of Falkirk which would have likely gone in favor of the Scots, had more of the Scottish nobles decided to fight for the Scots instead of the English. Falkirk was victory for the English, but a relatively barren one, although it did convince Wallace of the futility of raising an army of commoners unsupported by the local barons. Wallace was later hunted down and killed and for several years, England reigned supreme in Scotland.

First War of Scottish Independence—Robert the Bruce : 1306-1328

Full of new hope Bruce sprang to land

From the time of Falkirk until Robert Bruce was involved in the Murder of his enemy Red Comyn, Scotland was under the control of the English. Instead of fighting for his independence Bruce tried to gain influence under Edward I. With the murder of Red Comyn however, who had been scheming with Edward against Bruce, he had burned his bridges with the English king. Bruce then openly defied Edward by having himself crowned king of Scotland without his leave. Edward immediately sent an army against Bruce, and in their first encounter, the Scots were routed so badly that Bruce needed to go into hiding for a year. When he finally re-emerged, he took a new approach to fighting the English, and had considerable success as a guerilla fighter.

Once Bruce started winning battles, many Scots who had previously hesitated joined his cause. He took castle after castle, with many towns and fortresses garrisoned by Scots instead of Englishmen, surrendering without a fight. To add to his good fortune, Edward I was in very ill health and his son Edward II, had no compelling interesting in the Scottish war and willingly made peace. For several years after the death of Edward I, his son did not oppose Bruce's growing influence in Scotland, although neither Britain, nor any other monarchial power in Europe recognized him as an independent king. In 1314 however, Bruce besieged Stirling Castle, and the governor there agreed to submit to him on a certain date if England did not relieve him. This compelled the reluctant Edward II into action, and he raised an enormous army to meet the rebellious Scots in battle, and the famous battle of Bannockburn ensued. The Scots were outnumbered, outgunned, and nearly without cavalry, but they won a decisive victory against the English and followed this up with several incursions into English territory. Reluctantly England agreed to recognize Scotland as an independent kingdom, owing only a nominal allegiance to England. Under the reign of a strong king, Robert the Bruce, Scotland re-established its independence from England.

Second War of Scottish Independence : 1332-1346

When a stone hit the walls, Black Agnes would bid her maids wipe the spot with a clean white cloth

With the death of Robert Bruce, and the rise of Edward III the situation in Scotland again became unsettled. Bruce, a very strong king, had left his kingdom to his young and weak son, David II, and Edward III, son of the weakling, Edward II, was a strong and willful king like his grandfather. He would not submit to the humiliation of losing Scotland, and with the help of Edward Balliol, grandson of the former 'King' of Scotland, he attempted to launch another war on Scotland. In general, the pitched battles during the second war of Independence went badly for Scotland, but the project of getting Scotland to submit went badly for England. Much of the country side was ravaged. Much of the population had retreated to the mountains, and fifteen years of war accomplished little other than to destroy much of the Scotland lowlands, and further impoverish the people. The war was greatly complicated by the fact that England and France were also at war, so the French offered to "help" the Scots resist the English, but their main objective was to move the battle to Scotland rather than France.

David II was either exiled, or imprisoned for much of his reign, and during this time Scotland was really ruled by Robert Stuart, the Grandson of Robert Bruce. When David II died without an heir, the Scot's insisted on crowning Robert II king, although naturally this was contested by England. Under Robert II, the war with England degenerated into periodic border raids, that are better described as ongoing Anglo Scottish Wars. For the next century England was primarily occupied with the Hundred-Years War in France, and although Scottish-English relations were not good, and the Kings of England continually interfered in the affairs of Scotland, the Stuart line was not contested. Beginning with the reign of Robert II in 1471, the Stuarts ruled Scotland for over 217 years.

	Image Links
Scots in the Battle of Bannockburn  in Famous Men of the Middle Ages	A drive from the Bruce's spear made the rider fall back dead  in Story of Robert Bruce	The Bruce drove his battle-axe crashing down on de Bohun's head  in Story of Robert Bruce
Bruce lifted his battle-axe high in the air, then brought it crashing down upon the helmet of Bohun. in Our Island Story	Bruce brought his axe crashing down upon the head of Bohun  in Scotland's Story	When a stone hit the walls, Black Agnes would bid her maids wipe the spot with a clean white cloth  in Scotland's Story
Hold you, hold you, brave Wallace! The English have hanged all your best men like dogs. in Scotland's Story	At night, when they gathered round the watch-fires, the King would read stories out of old books  in Scotland's Story	Full of new hope Bruce sprang to land  in Scotland's Story
Battle of Bannockburn  in European Hero Stories