Summary
HUGH Andrew (March 9) somewhat misses the point when he suggests that Scots raids into England had little to do with English plans to conquer Scotland during the Wars of Independence period - it was standard practice to launch counter-raids into the north of England when invading enemy armies, bent on conquest, crossed the border: Froissart's account underlines the point that these highly mobile Scottish strike forces were dramatically more successful than the Scots' later attempts at pitched battles (which often ended in bloody fiasco, as at Halidon Hill and Dupplin Muir).
In my letter I never suggested that England was out to subjugate Scotland "from the word go". That long-standing but never realised ambition began in earnest with Edward I's attempted enslavement of the Scottish monarchy, and continued under Edward II and III (and, in a somewhat shilpit way, under Edward IV). Plantaganet ambitions were ultimately thwarted by (as he has it) Scotland's "power of resistance" - so effectively that, despite terrible setbacks, her armies were able to play a major role in England's decisive defeat in the 100 Years War.See the full content of this document
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Wars of Independence, Continued
These events, founded on the unique example of SirWilliam Wallace, preserved Scotland a...
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