Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton the Kingdom of England recognises the Kingdom of Scotland as an independent state.
The Treaty of EdinburghNorthampton was a peace treaty signed in 1328 between the Kingdoms of England and Scotland. It brought an end to the First War of Scottish Independence, which had begun with the English party of Scotland in 1296. The treaty was signed in Edinburgh by Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, on 17 March 1328, and was ratified by the Parliament of England meeting in Northampton on 1 May.
The terms of the treaty stipulated that in exchange for £100,000 sterling, the English Crown would recognise:
The Kingdom of Scotland as fully independent;
Robert the Bruce, and his heirs and successors, as the rightful rulers of Scotland;
The border between Scotland and England as that recognised under the reign of Alexander III (12491286).One of two copies of the document, which was written in French, is held by the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh. However, the document does not constitute the entire peace treaty, which was contained in a number of indentures, notarial instruments and letters patent issued by Edward III and Robert I. Since none of them survives, not all details of the peace treaty are known.
The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotland in 1296, and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton in 1328. The Second War (1332–1357) began with the English-supported invasion by Edward Balliol and the 'Disinherited' in 1332, and ended in 1357 with the signing of the Treaty of Berwick. The wars were part of a great crisis for Scotland and the period became one of the most defining times in its history. At the end of both wars, Scotland retained its status as an independent state. The wars were important for other reasons, such as the emergence of the longbow as a key weapon in medieval warfare.