The Kingdom Of Fife, Scotland

The Anglo-Spanish Wars

Stolen treasure from the 'New World' quickly made Spain the richest nation on Earth and at a time when former compliance with Roman Catholic doctrine was being challenged in many parts of Europe. The recent problems in Ireland have their origin during this period of time and most European nations suffered similarly in the past. The good news is that all of them came through it eventually leavig a better and more tolerant society in its wake!

In England, under the rule of Elizabeth Tudor since 1558, the monarch actively supported the establishment of a Protestant variant of Christianity and which became the Church of England. Elizabeth was the fifth and final ruler of the Tudor dynasty and daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII. Her mother was executed when she was just three years old and she never married. Upon coronation, Elizabeth inherited a series of difficult issues not least concerned with Scotland and Spain. She deeply resented the 'Auld Alliance' between Scotland and France and feared invasion of England from the North and on the death of James V, who left no male heirs, she exerted influence to put Mary, Queen of Scots, in the driving seat. The price of this political manipulation was the Treaty of Edinburgh in which the 'Auld Alliance' was formerly ended and French troops stationed in Scotland were withdrawn to France. In 1565, Mary married Lord Darnley who quickly became unpopular in Scotland and was later suspected of murdering her Italian secretary, David Rizio. Later, Darnley was murdered and most likely by a group led by Lord Bothwell. Incredibly, Mary married Bothwell soon afterwards. Queen Elizabeth wrote to her on hearing the news and did not mince her words. Lords in Scotland rebelled and Mary was imprisoned for a time at Loch Leven Castle before making her escape to England and where she expected support. In these circumstances, Elizabeth recognised how restoring Mary to the Scottish throne would have meant sending English forces into Scotland and with long-term occupation. Instead, she chose the alternative and Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned for the remainder of her life. In later years, her name was associated with a number of plots against the English Crown and on 8th February 1587, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle at the age of forty-four.

In 1588, King Philip II of Spain, with papal blessing and approval, set about the task of assembling a huge Armada of ships that would be capable of carrying the Duke of Parma's army across the English Channel so they could invade England. In their haste, Spain expended much of the stolen wealth from the 'New World' and imported many differing weapon systems made elsewhere and requiring different ammunition. Some Armada ships sailed with more priests and missionararies on board than gunners familiar with the technologies they were expected to employ. Commanders of the fleet were ordered to avoid contact with English warships if possible but an event of this size was hard to conceal. In England, a chain of beacons had been installed so that news of the Armada's approach could be relayed to London within hours.

Experienced seafarers like John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake participated in the series of battles that followed but with expert knowledge of local tides and on board ships with strict military codes, the English Navy proved superior despite being outnumbered and outgunned. The employment of 'fireships' as a weapon caused panic within the Armada and led to many ships breaking from the main group and sailing up through the North Sea and around Scotland; a voyage they had never been equipped for. Off the Irish coast, survivors of the Armada encountered severe storms and several ships were wrecked on Scottish and Irish coastlines. The Armada had started with 130 ships but only 67 returned to Spain.

Unification and Civil War

In 1603. Elizabeth, the 'Virgin Queen' died without leaving an heir to the throne. James the Sixth of Scotland and First of England assumed the title in which he became the first monarch of both Scotland and England. On November 5th 1605, a Catholic plot to murder the King was uncovered and illustrated how the conspirators had planned to detonate a massive charge of explosives beneath the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes, a Dutchman was captured and other particpants captured or killed in subsequent days. Today, the 'Gunpowder Plot' is still remembered by firework displays and bonfires across the land.

The 'Magna Carta' documents of 1215, had laid out certain limitations of sovereignty but the Stuart Kings had no desire to accept such documents and insusted on their 'right to rule under God'. Disputes btween King and Parliament became more frequent and eventually led to a Civil War with Royalist supporters of the King on one side and Parliamentarians representing the ordinary citizens. Although described as the 'English' Civil War, many events took place in Scotland and the whole nation of Britain was affected in some way.

During the early years of the war, Royalist forces led by exiled King Charles from Oxford, acheived success after success against Parliamentry forces. One man, Oliver Cromwell, was keenly aware of problems within the Parliamentry forces and set about creating his 'New Model Army' and which was more disciplined and better equipped than at the start of the war.

In 1642, Prince Rupert led a powerful Royalist force to relieve the beseiged town of Newcastle. Upon completing this task, his army encamped at Marston Moor and made ready for the night. They knew the Parliamentry army was not far away but expected the battle to take place 'on the morrow'. The Parliamentry army, led by Oliver Cromwell, arrived in the same area later that day but observed 'that an English summer night was as long as a winter's day' before ordering his soldiers into battle. The Battle of Marston Moor was the turning point of the war and the Royalist cause in the North of England was lost. It had the effect of seriously weaking the Royal cause overall and the Battle of Worcester in 1651 and capture of the King brought the war to an end. Despite all that happened, Cromwell sought to restore Charles to the role of King but Charles refused to accept the right of Partliamentarians to determine future policies of the country. Worse still, he sent letters to Scotland requesting help by raising an army to restart the war. For Cromwell and the Parliamentarians, this was a step too far and King Charles was tried for treason against the people and sentenced to execution. The beheading of King Charles in 1649 sent shockwaves throughout Europe. In Britain, Oliver Cromwell, accepted the position of Lord Protector rather than monarch. Upon his death and restortion of monarchy, his grave was dug up and the body beheaded and mutilated. Never again would a British monarch exert total power over affairs of state and without the authority of an elected Parliament. It was the beginning of a new trend affecting many countries in the following centuries. The age of kings, queens and feudal order was increasingly challenged and found wanting.

In North America, in the territory that would become known as the United States, the issue of monarchy took on a different viewpoint and the feeling of 'taxation without representation' was steadily growing in the hearts of settlers who had come west to get free of European politics and religious persecution. The 'Boston Tea Party' of 1773 expressed this desire and helped spark the American Wars of Independence. In a surprisingly short period of time, American influence would shape our modern World in many different ways.