Scottish Rebellion 1567



A.) Prehistory

In 1561, Mary Queen of Scots returned from France to reclaim her throne, 18 years old, beautiful, energetic, a widow. She respected Protestantism as Scotland's state confession but remained a Catholic. This, as well as her lifestyle, was the object of criticism from Scotland's protestant establishment.
In 1565 Mary Queen of Scots married Lord Darnley, a nobleman of poor reputation, Catholic, 4 years younger than herself. In 1566 Lord Darnley had David Rizzio, a courtier whom he suspected of loving the Queen, murdered. Quen Mary managed to flee and placed herself under the protection of James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell; Darnley's lodging was blown up; he died in the explosion (1567). The Earl of Hepburn then quickly divorced his wife and married Queen Mary. Queen Mary gave birth to James VI. and I., son of Lord Darnley.


B.) The Conflict

Scotland's Protestant Lords raised an army and, at Carberry Hill, took the Queen 'under their protection'. After a procession through the streets of Edinburgh which was intended to ridicule her, she was coerced to abdicate in favour of her son, James VI.


C.) The Legacy

Then she was held prisoner at the castle of Lochleven. In 1568 she escaped to England, where, after intriguing against Queen Elizabeth, she was executed in 1587.




EXTERNAL
FILES 		Biography of Lord Darnley, from Wikipedia
Scottish History Timeline 1542-1587 (Mary Queen of Scots), from scotland.com
James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, from Famous Scots
The Battle of Carberry Hill, 15 June 1567, from PRO
Carberry Hill, from Historiske Slag, in Danish
Article Mary Queen of Scots, from Catholic Encyclopedia
DOCUMENTS Mary, 1542-1567, from Scottish Coins
REFERENCE Fitzroy MacLean, Scotland : a Concise History, London : Thames and Hudson, 1993



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 9th 2003, last revised on January 26th 2005

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