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For the next century the Scottish throne passed to children still in their
minority, and Scotland was more often than not ruled by regents. James II was
succeeded in 1460 by his son James III, then nine years old. James III was
succeeded in 1488 by his son James IV, then fifteen years old. James IV was
killed on 9 September 1513 at the Battle of Flodden Field and was succeeded by
his son James V, then seventeen months old. James V was succeeded in 1542 by
his daughter Mary, Queen of Scots, then one week old. During her minority,
James Hamilton, Second Earl of Arran, grandson of James Hambleton and Mary
Stewart, was regent of Scotland, and heir apparent to the throne. Had the
infant Mary not lived long enough to have children of her own, a Hamilton might
have been king. As it happened, James VI, son of Mary Queen of Scots and Lord
Henry Darnley, became King of Scotland on 24 July 1567, when he was fourteen
months old, upon the forced abdication of his mother Mary. Still first in line
of succession to the English throne, Mary was imprisoned for nineteen years by
Elizabeth I, Queen of England, and beheaded on 8 February 1587.
When Queen Elizabeth I died childless in 1603, James VI, King of Scotland,
became James I, King of England. In 1604 he authorized a new translation of
the Bible still known as the King James Version. It was finished in 1611,
after seven years’ labor by a committee of 47 ministers. With its flowing and
rhythmic prose it quickly became the standard for English-speaking Protestants.
James I was succeeded by his son Charles I in 1625. As did his father before
him, Charles I believed in the divine right of kings. When Parliament declared
that taxation without their consent was treason, Charles promptly dissolved the
Parliament, and ruled from 1629 to 1640 entirely without it. But when Charles
attempted to introduce the Anglican Church into staunchly Presbyterian Scotland
he met with armed resistance. In order to obtain the funds necessary to wage
war against the Scottish army, Charles had no choice but to summon Parliament.
When it became clear that Parliament would provide neither money nor troops,
Charles marched his guard into Parliament and attempted to arrest its leaders.
Parliament responded by taking control of the army. Charles assembled his
forces at Nottingham in 1642. The English Civil War had begun.
At first the Royalists won most of the victories, but the Parliamentary army
was reorganized under Oliver Cromwell and won crucial battles at Marston Moor
in 1644 and Naseby in 1645. In 1647 Charles was kidnapped by English soldiers,
and Cromwell demanded that Charles be tried for treason. When the majority in
Parliament refused, Cromwell ejected all Presbyterians from Parliament by force
of arms. Charles was tried, condemned to death, and beheaded on 30 January
1649. Many in Scotland who had once opposed Charles now saw him as a martyr.
At the Battle of Dunbar on 3 September 1650, only 4000 Scottish soldiers
escaped. Over 3000 Scottish soldiers were killed, and over 10,000 were taken
prisoner. Of those captured, half were released immediately due to their
wounds or sickness. The rest were marched 118 miles south to Durham into
captivity on orders of Oliver Cromwell. Those who tried to escape were killed.
Only 3000 staggered into Durham on 10 September 1650. Once there, the food
intended for the Scottish prisoners was stolen and sold by their guards. Two
months later, only 1400 were still alive. Of these, 900 were transported to
Virginia as indentured servants, and 500 were sold to the French army.
Exactly one year later, Scottish forces gathered at Worcester, Herefordshire,
England. Charles II, eldest son of the martyred Charles I, had landed in
Scotland, been crowned King of Scotland on 1 January 1651, and now led the
Scottish army in revolt. Among the field commanders was William, Second Duke
of Hamilton, great-grandson of James Hamilton, Second Earl of Arran, who had
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