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Nov 16, 1286
William Wallace Defeats England
Together with Andrew Moray, William Wallace led an uprising against Edward I. Wallace launched his campaign by defeating the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in September 1297. Against overpowering opposition, he continued his campaigning for the next eight years despite defeats such as the Battle of Falkirk in July 1298 and the English capture of Stirling Castle in 1304. -
Nov 16, 1296
England Invades Scotland
In 1296, King Edward I of England invaded Scotland. He captured Berwick-upon-Tweed and killed thousands of the inhabitants. He defeated the Scottish army at Dunbar and occupied eastern Scotland as far as Elgin. -
Nov 16, 1328
Treaty of Edinburgh signed
Signed by Robert the Bruce in Edinburgh in March and ratified by the English Parliament in Northampton in May 1328, the Treaty of Edinburgh was a major document in the history of Scottish independence. It ended the First War of Scottish Independence. The terms of the treaty stipulated that, in exchange for £20,000, the English Crown acknowledged the Kingdom of Scotland as a fully independent nation; Robert the Bruce, and his heirs and successors, as the rightful rulers; and the border between Sc -
Nov 16, 1357
Treaty of Berwick signed
The Treaty of Berwick ended the Second War of Scottish Independence, as Edward III of England abandoned his attempt to install Edward Balliol on the Scottish throne in place of King David II, son of Robert the Bruce. David was released from captivity and the Scots agreed to pay a huge ransom of 100,000 merks over ten years. Heavy taxation was imposed to provide funds for the ransom instalments but David alienated many of his subjects by diverting much of the money for his own purposes -
Jacobite Rebellion starts
James VII and II ruled Britain from 1685 to 1689 but because he was a Roman Catholic he was replaced by his daughter Mary and her husband, the Dutch Prince William of Orange. Those who continued to support the exiled James (‘Jacobus’ being the name in Latin) became known as ‘Jacobites’. -
Jacobite Revolution ends
The Battle of Culloden brings a period of Jacobite rebellions to a close. Following a series of Jacobite rebellions and uprisings (1689, 1715 and 1745), the crushing defeat of Charles Edward Stuart by William Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Culloden brought to a close Jacobite attempts to overthrow the House of Hanover and return the House of Stuart to the throne. A number of Lowland clans supported Cumberland’s forces, whilst the Highland clans predominantly aligned with Charles Stuart. -
Scottish Labor Party Formed
Keir Hardie and RB Cunninghame Grahame founded the Scots Labour Party, with Scottish Home Rule as a fundamental aim. Earlier in 1888, during an election address, Hardie proclaimed: ‘I am strongly in favour of Home Rule for Scotland, being convinced that until we have a Parliament of our own, we cannot obtain the many and great refo -
Battle of George Square
During the period 1910 to 1920, growing social unrest and discontent led to increasing radicalism as evidenced by a series of rent strikes, demonstrations and rallies, especially in the west of Scotland. The situation was exacerbated by World War I. -
Scottish Communist Party formed
Elected as a Communist MP, Willie Gallacher served the constituency of West Dunfermline
as MP until 1950. He had been imprisoned for sedition in 1916 and for incitement to riot in
1919. Gallacher, as a Communist MP, typified for Westminster governments the blending of
working class socialist radicalism with home rule tendencies. -
Scottish Communist Party closes
Scottish Communist Party forced to close by the people and ends the disput of the communist party.
