The Kingdom Of Fife, Scotland

Our World has changed more in the last generation than than in the previous ten thousand years!

If the entire history of planet Earth could be measured in the form of twenty-four clock, then human existence and tenure would fail to fill the last second of the last minute on that clock. The era of dinosaurs, lasting sixty five million years, would occupy far greater space. During the last ice age, the human population of the entire World might have been less than ten thousand and explains why so many DNA results are measured in hundreds of thousands rather than millions. Irrespective of current skin colour, race or creed, we are more alike than different and share common ancestry between the small number of people who survived the Ice Age.

In common with many animal species, our ancestors were probably nomadic and foraged for food wherever it could be found. In time, they learned how to catch fish and how to grow crops on the land and chose to settle where food and water was available in abundance. Settling down meant declaring ownership of land and extended familes soon joined together to form tribes in defence of these lands and assets. As time went on, tribes grew larger and needed more land and resources to sustain them and inevitably, tribes clashed with others and went to war! Today, the ultimate expression of these unions is the 'nation state' and where leaders are charged with the defence of that state and the wellbeing of its citizens.

'Only mankind says prayers or needs to'

In nature, it is fairly uncommon for similar species to inflict great harm on another unless trained to do so by human trainers. Battles in the Jungle are common yet typically end when the defeated chooses to accept their plight and withdraw to lick their wounds. By contrast, human beings can inflict misery, murder and genocide. The history of human development is littered with ever greater conflicts and wars and the shape of our modern World, divided in nation states, have differing political indoctrination, personal opportunities and circumstances owing much to what happened in the past.

One of the oldest surviving written records is not religious in nature but rather the wine list of a Mesopotamian merchant and illustrates how international trade was established at an early stage of human development. Phoenician ships plyed the Mediterranean Sea, stopping at many ports on their voyages, buying here and selling here, and in the secure knowledge that no land had been entirely blessed with universal abundance. Phoenician colonists established the City of Carthage near to the site of modern day Tunisia and the merchants of that city grew rich from international trade.

International Trade made sense. During the night, temperatures in the Sahara Dessert can drop to freezing and a warm animal skin coat exported from Northern Regions must have seemed like luxury on such nights. At times of scarcity, when crops failed, trade provided the necessary means to carry on. The key to success was an ability to provide something others wanted and at a fair and competitive price. If products were innovative, revolutionary, unique in some way, and either solved problems or gave significant benefit, then demand was sure to follow. One can imagine how the Archimedes Screw, a wooden cylinder with a screw inside, was able to pump water to irrigation ditches in greater quantity than using other methods. It prompts a notion as to whether the 'Hanging Gardens of Babylon', one of the seven ancient wonders of the World, might have used this technology.

Trade and the Roman Empire

The Iberian Peninsula (Modern Day Spain and Portugal) was a Moorish Arab community during much of its history. The short distance over what is now called the 'Straights of Gibralter' linked the residents to a much greater Arab Empire stretching across North Africa and far into Asia. Arab scholars of the anicient World were far more knowledgeable about their World than many might think in modern times. Arab traders and explorers mapped vast parts of the ancient World while Arab sailors brought spices from the Far East and which proved ideal for meat preservation in an age before the benefits of refridgeration were known.

Algebra is a branch of mathematics named after an Arab scholar but Arab knowledge of numbers went much further with trigonometry being well understood at an early period of time. It was Arab mathematicians who layed the foundation for decimal numeracy in place of the cumbersome Roman system.

Even pseudo-sciences like astrology, read up by millions every year in current times found root in the Arab exploration of science. Most famously, Ptolomy used an experiment to suggest the World was spherical and orbiting around the Sun. Using trigonometry, this ancient scholar was even able to determine the size of our World with amazing accuracy - knowledge that would take many centuries before being accepted and proven elsewhere.

Egypt had arisen as one of the biggest and most powerful nation states in the World with Alexandria being a natural port in which goods could be loaded and offloaded from ships and then transported up or down one of the longest rivers in the World and deep into the African continent. The River Nile was and still is the lifeblood of the Egyptian nation. At its political height and influence, huge temples and the pyramids were built. Impressive structures that have remained largely intact even to this day, thousands of years later, and attract huge numbers of tourists each and every year.

About three hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ, King Philip of Macedon managed to unite the city states of Greece, and his son, Alexander, prevented fracture following his father's death. Alexander the Great, as he came to be known, was not content with this acheivement and began a military campaign to establish the first great empire in the World. Most of his attacks and conquest was ranged against Arab states including Egypt and he succeeded in establishing a short-lived empire reaching to India before his death. The influence of Greek civilisation followed these conquests and much of what we know about the ancient pre-Christ era comes from this source.

In the immediate centuries before Jesus Christ was born, the Iberian Peninsula imported many goods from the Merchant City in Carthage (located in Modern day Tunisia), and many traders made hansome profits from their overseas investment. When a small town based in modern Italy began establishing trading posts in the Iberian peninsula, Carthegenian traders protested and began to attack these 'Roman' outposts. They also began attacks on ships with supplies for these 'retail outlets'. In response, Romans unified and took on the challenge. Foreign outposts became defended by trained soldiers numbering one hundred and led by a centurion. At sea, ships carried soldiers to fend off piracy. Leaders in Carthage ordered Gerneral Hannibal to lead an army with it's legendary elephants over the Alps and down into Italy and ultimately towards Rome with a view to total destruction. A Roman Army was formed in response but fled the battlefield in their first encounter upon seeing the elephants.They retreated into a marshaland area where the elephants could not follow and eventually built the town of Venice with canals taking the place of streets. Venice would later become a major trading centre, but for now, the marshlands offered a degree of safety from the Carthegenian army.

Hannibal's victories did not last long, however, and the City Of Rome quickly recovered and rebuilt its army with a view to expanding its trading influence despite Carthegenian opposition. It was the beginning of a Roman Empire that would overthrow national armies and governments in many nation states. The City of Carthage itself was destroyed in the Third Punic War in 146BC then later rebuilt to become the third most important trading city in the Roman Empire.

By 55BC, the Roman Empire had extended influence throughout Mediterranean coastal regions and across most of Europe and Roman soldiers stepped ashore on British soil for the first time. In subsequent years, the Romans tried to subdue the Celtic natives but encountered fierce resistance. Queen Boudica of the Iceni tribe raised an army and fought against the invaders but was eventually beaten, and like Cleopatra before her, took her own life rather than surrender to Roman rule.

The life and death of Christ was a turning point for the Roman Empire and the entire World. On observation of a Roman coin, Jesus pronounced, 'Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar' and which probably meant rejection of the currency system at the heart of the Roman Empire. If such advice had been followed then Rome might have ended up with a pile of worthless metal discs called coins!

In 73CE, Christian zealots occupied the fortress of Masada and the Roman response was swift. After initial attacks failed, they built a thirty-foot ramp that eventually permitted entry into the fort. Hollywood protrayal of this event suggests a ramp much larger but both actuality and film accurately describe the outcome and in which all defenders committed mass suicide rather than surrender to the Roman Empire. Elsewhere, the Roman Empire recognised the power exerted by Attilla the Hun and the region over which he held domain and great power. The Senate of Rome preferred payment of gold and other tributes as a means of insurance against raids in northern Greece and elsewhere.

In Britain, the area we now call England and Southern Scotland capitulated to Roman power while the 'bloody heathens' of the North successfully resisted and contested against the power of Rome. Time and time again, whole legions of Roman soldiers sent North during this time simply disappeared without trace and by the time Emperor Hadrian visited Britain in 122CE, the Roman Empire was in deep trouble with rebellions and mutiny taking place in the Middle East, North Africa and Britain. The Gask Ridge, constructed in Scotland between 70 and 80CE had failed to stop Celtic attacks on Southern Scotland and prompted Emperor Hadrian to order construction of a fortified stone wall running approximately 75 miles between the River Tyne in the East and to the Solway Firth in the West. By implication, Emperor Hadrian placed a finite limit on the extent of the Roman Empire. Large parts of this structure still remain in areas near the modern town of Carlisle and elsewhere.

In 144CE, under the rule of the Emperor Antoninus, a new wall was constructed reaching across from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth. By contrast with the solid stone wall of Hadrian, the Antonine Wall was built largely of wood with earthen banks and very little remains of it today. Beyond the extent of this wall, the Romans established outposts like Fort Augustus and Fort William but never acheived overall control of the northern territories in Britain.

Despite this effort, the wall was abandoned after just twenty years and the frontier of the Empire retreated to Hadrian's Wall although Roman soldiers continued to defend peoples resident in the buffer zone between the walls for some time. Internal problems within the empire led to a split with the Eastern part being ruled from 'Nova Roma' or what became the City of Constantinople and later called Instanbul. The Eastern part of the Roman Empire, later called the Byzantine Empire, flourished for a further thousand years until 1463CE.

By contrast, the Western faction of the empire collapsed in chaos within a surprisingly short period of time.

The Roman Empire had officially adopted Christianity as the preferred religion of the Empire in 380CE with priests and missionaries travelling to all corners of the Empire. The City of Rome would remain as the centre of this Catholic faith and remains so today despite periods when the City of Rome was sacked by Vandals and other armies. By 410CE, the Roman administration and soldiers had departed leaving Britain and other regions of Europe to fend for themselves. Members of nobility who had grown up in Britain chose to remain while priests of the Roman Catholic Church felt obliged to remain so they could tend to the needs of their congregations. While armies fled, priests placed their lives in the hands of God, and helped push the boundaries of Christian religion during the most difficult of times of European history. By 500CE, most European countries sank into what is now referred to as the 'Dark Ages' and in reference to a lack of education and knowledge with literacy of any kind remaining as the preserve of the Roman Church.

From a historic viewpoint, this is a time when documentry evidence is missing and where mythology could have actually represented fact. The story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, might have had basis in some factual reality although it is unlikely to match the modern Hollywood interpretation of the tale. By example, Guinevere, the name of King Arthur's wife and queen, translates as 'woman of the moment' from Anglo-Saxon and thus introduces elements of doubt about the true nature of this Queen. Whether King Arthur actually existed is moot but illustrates how Britain fractured into smaller kingdoms and communities during this period and how the will to unite was a difficult process often resolved by conflict.

The Rough Road to a United Kingdom
Scotland versus England

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is perhaps the most unique document in the World. The writings within these pages began around 800CE and ended around 1124CE under the reign of King Stephen. It provides massive insight about the English Nation and how successive invasions and immigration shaped the future. It was begun in the reign of Alfred the Great, founder of the British Navy, and it seems possible he may have played a part in its unique creation. Under his rule, taxation was divided into three parts namely church, defence and education. Since education was often the preserve of the Church, the Church became wealthy and influential in political affairs during this period.

Alfred's grandson, named Athelstan, was perhaps the first king of all Britain, and yet, details of his reign are strangely silent in the pages of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Greater detail is provided in other surviving documents including the crucial Battle of Brunanburh and which was fought with ferocity on a horrific scale even by contemporary standards. It was the clash of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic cultures, the latter aided by Viking culture too. Athelstan emerged victorious and, according to surviving records, five kings of Celtic tribes and seven Nordic Earls were executed soon afterwards. Brunanbugh established the 'superior' core of an English nation within the British Isles and while Celtic and Nordic races retreated towards safety in Wales and Scotland and where Celtic culture survived. Since that time, Northumberland, Scotland, Wales and Ireland became regarded as lesser nations and with different histories often associated with conflict against English nobles and kings.

Scotland never did readily accept subservience to an English king but seemed unable to do much about it. The different clans of the North were unlikely to unite behind a Scottish King and often feuded among themselves. The Canmore Royal Dynasty lasted several centuries and was responsible for building many churches during the tenth century in many parts of Scotland. In 1286, Alexander III had recently married and after attending to business in Edinburgh, he was anxious to return to Kinghorn in Fife even though it was a stormy night and he was advised to remain until next day.

He crossed the Firth of Forth from South Queensferry to North Queensferry then rode his horse quickly through the darkness and so fast that his escort were soon left behind. Somehow, in the darkness, he fell from the horse and down a cliff at a point between Burntisland and Kinghorn. He was killed in the fall and none of his children succeeded him. His death left a political vacuum with several claimants to the throne stepping forward but a committee decided his grandaughter was rightful heir. The 'Maid of Norway' then just seven years old, began to make the voyage to Scotland but died en route in 1290. Once again, several claimants to the throne emerged and Scotland was threatened with the possibility of civil war. In desperation, they turned towards King Edward the First of England and asked him to arbitrate. Edward obliged and John Balliol became King of Scotland. Edward then began to undermine Balliol in every way he could and Balliol renounced his homage to Edward in 1296. An English army marched into Berwick-Upon- Tweed less than a month later and soldiers slaughtered whole families in their homes. A Scots army was beaten at the Battle of Dunbar soon afterwards and Edward 1st accepted homage from 1800 Scottish nobles while Balliol hid at Strathcathro near Montrose. The English removed the coronation stone known as the 'Stone of Destiny' and had it shipped back to London. From Edward's viewpoint, it must have seemed like the issue was settled in his favour with Scotland annexed as part of his rule but there was one name he had probably never heard of during this invasion of Scotland. That name was William Wallace.

By all accounts, William Wallace, was a strong man and whose hatred of the English occupation was well-known. Not much is known about his early life and various stories provide possible reasons why he chose to take up arms against the English soldiers garrisoned in Scotland. Some suggest it was in response to his father's death at the hand of the English, another says he was challenged by English soldiers who wanted all the fish he had caught that day. According to this story, he offered them half of his catch but they insisted on having it all. In response, he felled the first soldier with his fishing rod before seizing the fallen soldiers sword and attacking the others with it. Another story carries a romantic attachment and desire for revenge following her death. Whatever the provocation, Wallace was suddenly a criminal and on the run from English overseers. In subsequent years, he acheived notoriety in a number of raids in Ayrshire and joined with Andrew Moray in the growing revolution sweeping across the Scottish nation.

In 1297, Wallace led a Scottish army to victory at Stirling Bridge despite being heavily outnumbered and less well equipped. One year later, however, the Scots were badly beaten and defeated at the Battle of Falkirk and Wallace was captured soon afterwards. He was taken to London, tried and convicted of treason even though he had never given homage to King Edward. He was first hung, then drawn and then sliced apart with differing parts being trailed through London and elsewhere to illustrate what traitors could expect under Edward's rule.

Although brevity forbides details here, similar tactics were employed against the Welsh around this time and many castles in Wales were constructed on orders of King Edward of England with Conwy in North Wales being one of the largest. In order to annex Wales, future heirs to the British Throne would first become the 'Prince of Wales' and crowned at Caernarfon Castle with Edward III being the only exception to date. The Welsh fight for independance failed and Wales was integrated into England by the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 and 1301.

The Scottish story was different. While English soldiers occupied all major fortifications in Scotland, there were many ready to join together and unite against a common foe and ready to follow the leadership of a man named Robert de Bruge latter anglicised to Robert the Bruce. In some cases, the unlawful murder of William Wallace had polarised opinion in Scotland rather than engender the fear intent desired by the King of England. Robert Bruce was crowned King of Scotland in 1306 and his first encounter with the English army was disasterous. At the Battle of Methven, near Perth, his small army was surprised and almost entirely eliminated. Legend has it that he retreated and hid in a cave and where he saw a spider rebuild it's damaged web and this apparently inspired him to continue the struggle. From that moment onward, Robert the Bruce would deliberately avoid direct conflict with an English army on a single battlefield. Instead, he would revert to what would now be called guerilla tactics, striking at vulnerable targets before retreating. Of course, this strategy could not continue forever and the seige of Stirling Castle became the crucial point in which the English governor pleaded for help from England or else would surrender.

Edward I wanted to respond firmly but died at this point in time. His son, Edward II, felt obliged to continue and gathered noblemen and knights of the English realm together with a view to eliminate the issue of Scotland once and forevermore. The army assembled for this battle was one of the largest ever assembled for a single campaign in Scotland and included approximately 800 Welsh archers. Shortly before the battle, while the English army was encamped near Edinburgh, the Welsh revolted and many were put to the sword. Shortly before the battle, Sir Henry de Bohun, scouting ahead for the English Army, caught sight of the Scottish King on horseback and charged. At the last moment, King Robert swerved, stood up in the stirrups and brought his battle axe firmly down on the head of the aggressor. The blow shattered de Bohun's helmet and killed him. The handle of the battle axe also broke and Robert Bruce commented more upon its failure than his near encounter with death.On Sunday, 23rd June, 1314, the best trained army in Europe and allegedly invincible moved against the Scots in an effort to relieve the seige of Stirling Castle.

Unlike the former Battle of Falkirk, the Scots had learned how a skiltern, a square of men with long pikes facing outward, could be assembled and moved as the battle progressed. Time and again, English warhorses charged against the 'human hedgehogs' but failed to break them. With loud cries of 'Lay On, They Fail', supporters of the Scots including cooks, tailors and cobblers came over the hill to see what was happening. Their presence was mistakenly reported as a new army ready to support the centre and began a rout within the English forces. Only the Welsh archers stood firm yet failed to alter the outcome.

The English quickly retreated towards a junction where the Bannockburn meets the River Forth and found it impossible to cross either. Some tried and drowned while clad in heavy armour. Edward II was dragged from the field by his bodyguards and eventually made his escape on board a ship sailing from Dunbar. The Battle of Bannockburn was one of the largest defeats ever faced by an English army and the recovered weapons and materials following the battle made Scotland one of the richest nations in the World!

While Robert the Bruce ruled, he was keenly aware that support from the clans was necessary to maintain his rule and warned future Kings of Scotland of this fact. For now, Scotland and England would remain as completely separate nations.

The World IS Round!

Starting around 790CE, Arab Moors were progressively driven out of the Iberian penninsula in what was called the Reconquista (reconquer) and which lasted approximately 750 years. The Portugese Reconquista was completed in 1247 under the reign of Alfonso III. The last Arab leader of Grenada surrendered to Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492 although Navarre remained separate until 1512. It was in this way, and through the Crusades of the Middle East, that Europeans encountered books, maps and teachings of the Arab people. From these sources, Europeans realised how knowledgeable the Arabs were and how they were far ahead in terms of exploration, science and mathematics. Problem was that some of these texts ran contrary to official church teachings yet seemed to indicate truth.

A full generation before the birth of Christ, an Egyptian scholar named Ptolemy conducted an experiment in Luxor that seemed to prove the World was round. Ptolemy went further and calculated the size of the World with astounding accuracy. Arab science and numerology was far ahead of Europe. A decimal system was in use long before Europe abandoned the old clumsy Roman system. Algebra, a branch of mathematics got its name from an Arab scholar. Arab sailors were regular visitors to India and where traders bought spices and other goods but spices were the most valuable. In an age before refridgeration, spices helped to preserve meat while adding to its flavour. When Europeans learned of this, the demand was high and supply limited. Prices were consequently high too. The trading cities of Genoa and Venice quickly monopolised the spice trade by making a deal with Arab traders. Both cities grew rich on the back of the spice trade.

It may have been this combination of events that prompted Christopher Columbus to consider the possibility of sailing west in order to find a more accessible route towards the source of the spices. Until that time, the notion of sailing far from the confines of land had rarely been undertaken in the belief that sailors who did 'fell off the edge of the World' and were never seen again. One group who did not share this view were the Vikings and whose vessels regularly sailed to colonies in Greenland and probably knew about America long before Columbus did. Columbus needed a backer and presented his idea to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain who agreed to supply three ships for the expedition. The course taken by Columbus first towards Teneriffe and then westward may indicate some knowledge of what became known as the trade winds. Despite growing unrest with his crews, Columbus pressed onward and eventually discovered the island of San Salvador in 1492. He never did find the 'Spice Islands' and did not actually reach the American mainland until his later expedition of 1498. By then, the European political scene was changing rapidly.

Ferdinand and Isabella were now in control of the famous Spanish Inquisition and whose aspirations were designed to purge remnant Moorish religion from Iberia but included Protestant variants of Christianity. In other parts of Europe, the growing wealth of the Spanish Nation from treasure stolen from the 'New World' was giving cause for concern.

In 1522CE, a battered and severely damaged ship with only seventeen men aboard limped into the harbour of Sanlucar de Barrameda in Southern Spain. The ship was called Victoria and was the last remnant of the Magellan expedition that had left Spain three years beforehand. The sailors on board were the first to circumnavigate the World!