A forgotten war between Scotland and England became a theater of the Hundred Years' War
The Second War of Scottish Independence began in 1332 as a dynastic struggle, but it quickly escalated into a complex international conflict. As France covertly financed Scottish resistance to undermine English power, the struggle transformed from a regional border dispute into a subsidiary front of the century-long Anglo-French war.
The conflict ignited in 1332 when Edward Balliol, son of former king John Balliol, launched an English-backed invasion to claim the Scottish throne from the eight-year-old David II. Despite initial military successes, such as the crushing victory at Dupplin Moor, Balliol struggled to maintain control. His reliance on English support and the subsequent cession of eight Scottish counties to Edward III alienated local nobles, leading to a volatile cycle of occupation and rebellion.
The war's character shifted as France, bound by the Auld Alliance, intervened to check English expansion. By 1337, tensions over English fiefs in France and support for Scottish loyalists culminated in the start of the Hundred Years' War. Scotland became a strategic distraction for Edward III, who was forced to split his military resources between northern campaigns and the continental theater. This division of focus allowed Scottish forces, often employing scorched-earth tactics, to slowly erode English influence.
The war reached a turning point in 1346 when David II, responding to urgent French pleas, invaded northern England while Edward III was campaigning in France. The Scottish army was decisively defeated at the Battle of Neville's Cross, where David II was captured. This loss, combined with internal factionalism among Scottish nobles, effectively halted large-scale offensive operations. The conflict eventually concluded with the 1357 Treaty of Berwick, which secured David's release for a ransom of 100,000 marks and established a long-lasting, though fragile, truce between the two nations.
