When it comes to the unification of England and Scotland, it was officially completed in James I. He was originally James VI of Scotland, Elizabeth I of England had no children, and her father Henry VIII had no other living legal descendants, so the throne had to be returned to his brothers and sisters. Henry VIII's brothers all died young and had no offspring, so he married the sister of the Scottish royal family and became the biggest heir. Elizabeth I's illegitimate daughter (whose mother was pregnant before marriage) has long been challenged by Mary of Scotland. Although Elizabeth I killed her after 18 years of house arrest, the throne of England finally passed to James VI, the son of Mary of Scotland, who was crowned James I in England, so the crowns of Scotland and England were put on the same king's head, and the Stuart dynasty dramatically unified the two countries.
After Henry VIII's religious reform, there is still a long-term disharmony between the emerging English Protestantism and the traditional Roman Catholicism, from the folk to the parliament, from the nobility to the royal family. Henry VIII passed the throne to his son Edward VI of England of England, and still regarded Protestantism as the state religion. However, Mary I and his mother went through many vicissitudes together, from spanish princess, a Catholic. After he succeeded to the throne, he tried to restore the dominance of Catholicism, killed many people and got the nickname "bloody Mary". Elizabeth I was a Protestant when she succeeded to the throne. She devoted her life to balancing the forces of the two sects, so that she delayed her lifelong events and became a superficial "virgin queen."
James I grew up as a Calvinist, but he was pragmatic in dealing with religious affairs. He never angered any faction excessively, and constantly took advantage of opportunities to strengthen the kingship. Generally speaking, he mainly balanced the relationship between the two sects and had to deal with the different kingship and parliamentary functions in England and Scotland. His son Charles I succeeded to the throne and tried to marry spanish princess, but failed because of religious problems. Later, he married a French princess (also a Catholic), but the poor king was finally guillotined by his subjects. After the successful restoration, his son charles ii has been able to control the situation in a crisis full of religious conflicts. He succeeded in removing all Catholics from parliament, but strangely, he converted to Catholicism himself before he died.
Charles ii had no children, and the throne passed to his brother James II. He converted to Catholicism before he succeeded to the throne, and was strongly opposed by the majority of Protestants because he was too partial to Catholicism when exercising the royal power. His Protestant daughter Mary and Dutch son-in-law William were crowned as Mary Ⅱ and William III after the "Glorious Revolution" and became "kings side by side". As a father and father-in-law, James II began to go into exile.
James II has an illegitimate child. According to the rules of British succession to the throne, it is wrong for a daughter to grab the throne. Later, when the throne was passed to Queen Anne and George I, who could not speak English, their succession to the throne could not compete with James II's sons and direct descendants. However, due to religious disputes, this fact has been caused. Of course, some people will resolutely oppose it. From exiled James II to his son and grandson, and their supporters, they have been trying to restore the Stuart dynasty. They are collectively called "James II Party". James II has always been an excellent military commander. He led the French army to land in Ireland, but was defeated by William III in the Bonn Valley. Zhan II's son also found an opportunity to fight, but it also ended in failure. Decades later, his grandson Charlie made a comeback, this time from Scotland.
/kloc-in the summer of 0/745, James II's grandson, Charles Edward, who coveted the small throne, gathered the remnants of exile in Europe and led mercenaries to invade Scotland. At first, it was like a bamboo, and soon it fell to Edinburgh, Carlisle and Derby. The reigning King George II seems to be able to save his life and flee to his hometown of Hanover, which is very good. George II was very calm. He didn't listen to the ministers' advice and fled, but sent troops to stick to the capital London. He recalled his beloved youngest son, William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, as commander-in-chief against the enemy. The young commander-in-chief quickly stabilized his position and gradually pushed northward, compressing the rebels who tried to return to the northernmost part of Scotland.
1April 746 16, the two sides fought a decisive battle in a moor named Carloden in Furness, Scotland. Scotland's powerful Campbell family and his militia stood on the side of the government, and together with three other Scottish lowland legions, they formed a 9,000-strong government army against the 5,000-strong "James II Party" rebels composed of mercenaries and Scottish Highlanders. There are many Scots on both sides of this battle, so it is not entirely correct to regard it as a classic war case between England and Scotland. The famous battle ended in a crushing defeat of the rebels in only 40 minutes. The government forces hit the rebels hard at a small cost of 50 men. More than 1000 of James II Party's 5,000 troops were killed, and most of the rest were injured or captured. His coach, Charlie Edwards, fled to France in a hurry and began a long escape career. The Battle of Kaloden marked the complete disillusionment of James II's party to restore the Stuart dynasty, and made Scotland more strictly ruled by Britain. Since then, Scotland has never been separated from Great Britain because of military rebellion.
A memorial hall was built in the Kaloden moor where the decisive battle was fought that year. The process of the battle was introduced with pictures and videos, and a large number of weapons and equipment were displayed. In those days, the staff in military uniforms were a landscape.
It is also an unforgettable experience to actually visit the battle site. The red and blue flags marking the two fronts and the monuments of many victims are silently bleak on the battlefield ruins covered with wormwood. There is a big screen video in the exhibition hall. In the Battle of Kaloden, the guns and uniforms of government troops were uniform, and the tactics of shooting with guns were skillfully used. The rebels' equipment is messy, including long knives and shields from highland people, as well as muskets like government troops.
During the battle, brave highland people charged with various weapons, and a large number of highland people fell under the guns of government forces. Some people who rushed into government positions also died under bayonets or random guns. If the video reveals the real situation of the battle that year, then this battle is a killing. The backwardness of weapons and tactics made the rebels pay a heavy price in a short time. Just like the asymmetric war between the Qing army and the British army in the Opium War a hundred years later, the heroism of soldiers could not make up for the huge gap between weapons and tactics.
After the Battle of Kaloden, in order to contain the rebellion of the James II Party, a castle was built on the seashore about 18 km northeast of Furness, which lasted eleven years from 1748. The original budget was 90,000 pounds, but it was actually 200,000 pounds. Maybe it's a building from King George's time, and the name of the castle is Fort George.
The design of the castle is quite outstanding. On the one hand, it faces the sea and can block enemies from the sea. The gun at the corner is equipped with a circular slide rail, which makes the shooting direction of the gun more flexible. It also has its own offshore wharf, which is used for replenishment at sea, even when it is necessary to retreat from the sea. On the other side is the entrance to the land, first a winding trench corridor, then a small piece of open land and a wide trench, and a long bridge becomes the entrance and exit passage of the castle. This military fortress adopts star-shaped design, which effectively increases the defense area and has multi-directional gun shooting angles.
The garrison size of the fortress was originally designed to be 1000, but it was not baptized by any war after its completion. Up to now, it is not only well preserved, but also a barracks in use. There is a great chance to meet soldiers during the trip. If you are lucky, you can also meet the exercises or training of the Highland Corps.
The Kaloden Battlefield Site and the seaside Fort George are located in the suburbs of the northern Scottish city of Furness. I feel that they have been driving for a long time on roads with few traces of cars, and they are all remote places. The Battle of Kaloden made the large-scale conflict between Scotland and England a thing of the past, and it remained stable for nearly 300 years.
1999, according to the Scottish Act passed by the British Labour government, Scotland has its own parliament, which can legislate on a series of issues such as law, finance, education, medical care and welfare within the scope approved by the British parliament. It is reported that Scotland plans to hold a referendum in the autumn of 20 14 to decide whether to become independent from Britain. The Coalition government opposes Scottish independence, but will still allow Scotland to hold an independent referendum, provided that the referendum is held as soon as possible. According to the results of recent polls, 38% of Scots who are sure to participate in the referendum support Scottish independence, and this proportion is still rising.