After Scotland's victory at Bannockburn in 1314, King Robert Bruce continued to fight England to achieve full independence for Scotland. This included launching invasions of northern England and Ireland to put pressure on English forces. A key event was the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, where Scottish nobles affirmed Scotland's independence. This eventually led to the 1328 Treaty of Edinburgh, where England formally recognized Scotland as an independent kingdom under King Robert Bruce.

2. LEARNING INTENTIONS
• Describe events after Bannockburn which helped achieve
Scotland’s independence
• Describe the role in these events of the Declaration of
Arbroath and the Treaty of Edinburgh

3. Contrary to what many people believe, Scotland’s victory at
Bannockburn did not immediately achieve independence;
there were still many more events to come.

4. Victory at Bannockburn achieved
complete support for King Robert.
The November 1314 Statute of
Cambuskenneth forced lords
with land in England and
Scotland to choose which to keep.
Land was also given to supporters
of Bruce, especially Thomas
Randolph and James
Douglas.

5. The Scots had captured many
English lords at Bannockburn.
Some were held for ransom
but others were more valuable.
Bruce exchanged the Earl of
Hereford for 15 prisoners,
including his Queen, daughter
and sister (held since 1307), as
well as Bishop Robert Wishart.

6. Bruce was becoming more
powerful and set about
winning Scotland’s
independence.
Bruce’s brother, Edward led
numerous attacks into the
north of England, going as far
as Yorkshire. This further
undermined King Edward
II’s authority.

7. Bruce also tried to open up a
second front against Edward II
by invading Ireland.
In Summer 1315 he sent his
brother Edward to lead the
Irish campaign, starting first in
Ulster. The plan was to force
the English out of Ireland and
crown Edward as Ireland’s
new king.

8. King Robert ultimately
hoped to take full control of
Ireland, followed by
Wales, and then attack the
English from all sides.
Edward’s Irish invasion was
successful at first, winning
battles in Dundalk and
Carrickfergus.

9. After this the Irish campaign
was less effective, partly
because the Scots did not win
the loyalty of many Irish lords
and chieftains.
The Scots failed to win many
major castles (including
Dublin) and in October 1318
Edward Bruce was killed in a
battle at Meath.

10. Although the plan to control
Ireland ultimately failed, it still
helped the Scots’
independence plans.
It caused great fear amongst
England that the Scots could
achieve so much, and it forced
the English to divert their
military away from Scotland.

11. King Robert’s next action was a
sustained campaign in the
north of England.
In 1315 the Scots attempted to
take control of Cumbria,
including the key city of
Carlisle. Although this plan
failed, it did not stop Bruce
from trying again.

12. Between 1315-1319, the Scots
invaded England every year,
and also won back control of
Berwick in 1318.
The Scots captured castles and
took land as far south as
Newcastle. Some English
towns did not trust their king
to protect them so paid the
Scots to leave them alone.

13. However Edward II did fight
back, especially after the death
of Edward Bruce.
In August 1319 he took a
large army north to Newcastle.
He began to attack Berwick
but had to give up and send his
forces to fight a Scottish army
that were attacking
Yorkshire.

14. King Robert continued to invade
and attack England. In 1322,
Edward led a huge army north
to try to capture and kill Bruce.
This army was repelled and
whilst returning to England
Edward was very nearly
captured by the Scottish army,
in the Scots’ victory at the
Battle of Old Byland.

15. Whilst King Robert was
enjoying some military success,
he was facing problems in
terms of diplomacy.
Pope John XXII was hostile
to him, partly due to the killing
of Comyn but also because of
his refusal to agree a truce with
England (who controlled the
Pope’s lands in Gascony).

16. In 1319 the Pope summoned
four Scottish bishops to ask
why they had failed to
excommunicate Bruce.
In return, Bruce sent three
letters: one from himself, one
from the Bishops and one
from Scotland’s nobles, all
supporting Bruce as
Scotland’s rightful king.

17. The 1320 letter from the nobles
has become famous as the
Declaration of Arbroath (the
site where it was written).
The letter has become famous as
a statement of nationalism
(although it was almost certainly
not read by the nobles who
attached their seals to it).

18. Bruce did eventually reach a
truce with England in 1323,
with northern English lords
especially pushing for this.
However this lasted only three
years, with Scots angry at
losing English land and with
Edward II’s continuing refusal
to acknowledge Scotland’s
independence.

19. The major change between
England and Scotland came in
1327, with the death of Edward
II and his replacement by his
son, Edward III.
Edward II was very unpopular
in England and eventually a
group of barons – led by his
wife, Isabella and Roger
Mortimer, had him killed.

20. King Robert believed the boy
king Edward III (who was only
14) would be very weak.
Bruce launched raids in
Northern England and also
Ulster, before announcing that
he was claiming all land in
Northumbria. The English
government then agreed to
negotiate a peace settlement.

21. On 17 March 1328, the Treaty
of Edinburgh was signed
between England and Scotland.
The Treaty agreed:
• Scotland was independent
• King Robert was its king
• England had no claim on any
Scottish land
• Robert’s son, David would
marry England’s Princess Joan

22. On 7 June 1329, King Robert
the Bruce died.
The cause is not clear although
Bruce had long been ill with what
was believed to be leprosy.
Bruce’s body was interred at
Dunfermline Abbey and his
heart ended up at Melrose Abbey,
after being taken on a crusade.

23. The Wars’ significance:
• They achieved independence
(albeit with ongoing fights)
until the 1707 Act of Union
• They created famous figures,
especially Wallace and Bruce
• Some say it was when a Scottish
identity was first created
• They inspired later revolutions,
such as the USA