How Scottish Important Figures Affected the World and the British Empire - William Wallace - Term Paper Example

How Scottish important figures affected the world and the British Empire - William Wallace As a tribe, Scottish is considered as indispensable part of Britain. In fact, it was about the 5th century that ‘Scottish appeared in Britain, at the northern part of the country’ (Scott 7). Moreover, Scottish ‘originated from Irish’ (Scott 7) and not from Celts who were related to another part of British population, named as Picts (Scott 7). Through the centuries, Scottish, who had came to Britain from Ireland, have tried to establish their own cultural and social framework, as independent community from Britain’s existing population, the English, who was mostly related to Romans and Celts (Scott 7). However, the relevant efforts have been proved quite challenging mostly because of the willingness of English to secure their superiority in all the territory of Britain. The conflict between Scotland and Britain has been quite long and characterized by extensive brutality from both sides. In regard to Scottish, their willingness for independency has led them to a long lasting war with Britain, a war that ‘had lasted for centuries’ (Burns 90). It should be noted that not all the governors of Scotland have been supporters of the above war. Reference can be made, for example, to the duke Alexander, a member of the ‘Stuart kings of Scotland’ (Burns 90). Also, James III, another king of Scotland, tried for several times, with no success, to develop an alliance with English (Burns 90). It should be noted that the period from the 13th to the 16th centuries has been the most critical ones in regard to the conflict between English and Scottish (Burns 90). In order to secure their victory the latter have decided to proceed to an alliance with France, an alliance that had helped Scottish to increase their power, not only in regard to the field of the battle but, mostly, in regard to political influence (Burns 90). The history of Scottish, as a tribe with unique culture and social traditions, has been related to William Wallace, an individual who is considered as a Scottish hero (Watson 26). Wallace originated from the lowest levels of the Scottish society, as his family has been quite poor (Watson 26). At the age of 22, in early 1290s, Wallace started his fight against English aiming to liberate Scottish from English control (Watson 26). For about ten years Wallace, with the support of several men who shared Wallace’s ideas on Scotland’s need for independency, managed to cause critical damages to English (Watson 26). Wallace, as also the members of his team of warriors, had an important advantage: the exceptional physical strength which allowed him to defeat his opponents quite easily (Watson 26). Wallace has played a critical role in Scotland’s efforts to establish its independency. The involvement of Wallace in the political life of Scotland has been related to a particular fact: ‘the assassination of Alexander III, Scotland’s King, in 1286’ (Murison 178). After the above incident, efforts were made by English for offering the governance of Scotland to ‘the granddaughter of Edward I of England’ (Murison 178). Scottish, by their side, opposed to the above efforts and organized a movement aiming to support a Scottish as the king of Scotland (Murison 178). Wallace was considered as the most appropriate leader for the particular movement (Scott 71). Having lived in poverty, due to the social status of his family, Wallace was distinguished from other leaders at a critical point: he was not egoist and he didn’t set his own interests as a priority (Scott 71). In fact, Wallace has been a patriot not considering his safety when fighting against English; Wallace has set the achievement of Scotland’s independency as the priority of his leadership (Scott 71). Moreover, Wallace’s braveness has been distinctive, making Wallace popular worldwide, as a fearless leader (Watson 26). The film ‘Brave-heart’, with Mel Gibson as Wallace, shows key parts of Wallace’s life and his involvement in Scotland’s political and social life (Watson 26). In the above film the pride that Wallace has caused to people across Scotland is explained by referring to Wallace’s choices as a leader but also as an individual (Watson 26). The decision for showing Wallace’s life through the cinema has been based on the following fact: Wallace has become a critical part of Scotland’s history setting the basis for the nation’s fight for independency (Watson 26). In addition, the involvement of Wallace in Scotland’s fight against Britain has influenced British Empire, as also analyzed further below. The choice of Wallace as the leader of Scottish in their fight against English has been based on several criteria: a) Wallace has not been a noble; he could not be attracted by wealth, at least not at the same level as people at the high levels of the society (Scott 71), b) because of the ‘killing of an Englishman’ (Scott 71) Wallace has become ‘an out-law’ (Scott 71); in this context, he could not expected to search for alliances with English since in this case his safety would be set in risk (Scott 71), c) Wallace had unique behavioral characteristics; his concern for the life conditions and the safety of others made Wallace a popular leader; Scottish who were willing to support the fight against English would be expected to be more motivated with Wallace as a leader (Scott 71). In addition, the choice of Wallace as the leader of Scottish has been the result of specific circumstances: after the incident mentioned above, i.e. the killing of the Englishman, Wallace had searched for a place to hide; other Scottish who had to face similar problems with the law followed him; a team was established the members of which were increased day – by – day (Scott 71). Soon, a powerful group of warriors was established; the victories in battles against English, as followed, established the appropriateness of Wallace as a leader of Scottish in their efforts to become independent from English (Scott 72). The decisions and the actions of Wallace, as the leader of Scottish, have had critical effects on British Empire. The specific issue has been explored in the literature and different aspects of Wallace’s involvement in the history and the development of British Empire have been highlighted. Up to the appointment of Wallace as the leader of Scottish the English army had no particular reason to worry in regard to the domination of Scotland. In addition, English have failed in understanding the potentials of Wallace as a military leader. This failure has been probably related to the following two facts: a) Wallace’s family belonged in Scotland’s lower social class; in this context, Wallace could not be expected to have allies that would be powerful in terms of their economic or social status, b) Wallace, because of his involvement in a critical offense, had become an out-law, a fact that could severely affect his potentials to attract followers in regard to his plan to free Scotland from Britain (Burn 30). However, Wallace managed to turn the above two disadvantages into advantages: a) in the hills of Scotland, where he searched for a shelter after committing the killing of an Englishman, Wallace met a few people who were at the same condition with him (Burn 30), b) because of his social background, as a member of a poor family, Wallace managed to gain the trust of those people; at the next level, due to his courage and his passion to fight for the independency of Scotland Wallace was considered as the ideal leader of Scottish in their fight against English (Burn 30). Scottish who were strongly opposed to the domination of Scotland from English have been willing to follow Wallace, as a leader in the field of the battle. Indeed, in a quite short period of time Wallace has been able to establish an army so strong that English were unable to face in a battle (Burn 30). Therefore, Wallace has challenged the power of Britain, a nation that has been among the dominant powers at international level (Burn 30). In fact, after winning the battle at Stirling, in 1297, Wallace verified his military superiority, over English generals (Burn 30). After the above battle Scottish people declared ‘Wallace and Murray as Governors of Scotland’ (Burn 30). That was the first time that Scotland’s independency from Britain was made clear; with Wallace as a leader Scottish have managed to establish a political and military system that would be independent from Britain, a fact that set the basis for the establishment of Scotland as an independent state (Burn 30). Such prospect would be quite important at the level that, up to then, there had been no chance of a region/ state which had been occupied by Britain and which had won its independency after fighting against the British Empire. In other words, Wallace challenged the power of Britain to keep the control of its territory. From a similar point of view Macinnes emphasized on the following aspect of Wallace’s leadership: Wallace had supported the efforts of Scotland to become ‘an equal partner with Britain’ (Macinnes 34). Indeed, as explained earlier, Wallace had tried to show to Britain that Scotland has the power to support the independency of its political and economic system from foreign states, including Britain (Macinnes 34). At the same time, Wallace had noted that the independency of Scotland from Britain would be based on certain terms other the safety of Britain’s territory could be severely threatened (Macinnes 34). However, Wallace was not a supporter of the elimination of any bond between Scotland and Britain. In fact, Wallace stated clearly his thoughts in regard to the relationship between Scotland and Britain; the above relationship still faces problems and challenges but it has been kept strong mostly due to the efforts of individuals at lower levels of the political, economic and social hierarchy (Macinnes 34). The role of Wallace in securing unity in England is verified through the following fact: in 1603, almost after three hundred years since the first appearance of military projects against English, the rulers of Scotland and of England, have accepted the introduction of a common framework/ political and social system in England (McCulloch 203); the above system was based on the cooperation of Britain and England as equal members of England (McCulloch 203). The particular system/ framework established the union between Scotland and Britain but without setting the interests of Scotland in risk (McCullogh 203). In this context it is believed that Wallace has been the creator of the ‘unionism-nationalism’ (McCullogh 203), a trend that has become quite strong through the decades. In the past, the combination of different theoretical frameworks for securing the interests of states has been uncommon practice; the case of Scotland can be considered as an excellent example of the potential co-existence of different sociological frameworks in the context of a state (McCullogh 203). In Scotland, up to the appearance of Wallace, neither unionism nor nationalism has been included in the country’s identity; rather, feudal system was extensively used across the country/ region as the key political and economic system (McCullogh 203). For Britain, the feudal system of Scotland was considered as rather favorable for securing the control of the region: in the context of this system Britain would be able to achieve the control of Scotland simply if it would be able to secure the support/ consent of the feudal lords (McCullogh 203). However, because of the intervention of Wallace Britain had to change its approach for controlling Scotland: instead of promoting feudalism in Scotland Britain suggested the combination of two, different, theoretical frameworks, such as unionism and nationalism (McCullogh 203). In other words, Wallace has obliged Britain to change its plans in regard to the control of Scotland: under the pressure of Wallace’s victories in the field of the battle, Britain had to accept the claims of Scotland for independency, at least partially, a fact that had decreased its benefits as an occupier. In general, at the time that Wallace was appointed as Scotland’s leader, Britain was a powerful, and almost unbeaten, Empire. Wallace proved that the above belief could not be considered as absolute: British Empire could be beaten, even by a group of individuals that had no prior experience in the field of the battle and who had limited support, as of their military equipment (McCrone 48). For most people, Wallace has revealed a key weakness of British Empire: the inability to inspire its warriors (McCrone 48). In opposition, Wallace has managed to gain the admiration and the support of his followers, becoming the unique example of the leader who challenged the domination of a key global power, Britain. Works Cited Burn, Robert. History and present state of the British empire. Oxford: University of Oxford, 1864. Burns, William. Brief History: Brief History of Great Britain. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Macinnes, Allan. Union and Empire: The Making of the United Kingdom in 1707. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. McCrone, David. The Sociology of Nationalism: Tomorrows Ancestors. London: Routledge, 2002. McCulloch, John. A descriptive and statistical account of the British Empire: exhibiting its extent, physical capacities, population, industry, and civil and religious institutions, Volume II. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1847. Murison, Alexander. William Wallace: Guardian of Scotland. Mineola: Courier Dover Publications, 2012. Scott, Walter. The History of Scotland. London: Longmann, 1845. Watson, Catherine. Destination Scotland. Copenhagen: Gyldendal Uddannelse, 2004. Read More