Scotland falls
The Battle of Dunbar on 27 April 1296 was a catastrophe for Scotland. Edward I of England, having sacked Berwick six weeks earlier, marched north and met the Scottish army near Dunbar in East Lothian. The Scots were heavily defeated, and the military resistance to Edward's invasion collapsed almost overnight.
The consequences were devastating. King John Balliol was captured and publicly humiliated — Edward stripped him of his royal insignia in a ceremony designed to degrade, earning Balliol the nickname "Toom Tabard" (empty coat). Edward then marched through Scotland virtually unopposed, seizing castles, extracting oaths of allegiance, and removing the symbols of Scottish sovereignty. He took the Stone of Destiny from Scone — the stone upon which Scottish kings had been crowned for centuries — and installed it beneath the Coronation Chair at Westminster Abbey.
Edward also confiscated the Scottish Crown Jewels and removed important state documents. He appointed English officials to govern Scotland and installed garrisons across the country. In his own mind, Scotland had ceased to exist as an independent kingdom. He was wrong.
The humiliation of Dunbar and the occupation that followed lit a fire in Scotland. Within a year, William Wallace rose in revolt. Andrew Murray launched a guerrilla campaign in the north. Together, they won the stunning victory at Stirling Bridge in September 1297. Scotland was not finished — it was just beginning to fight. The Wars of Independence would last another 30 years and produce Robert the Bruce, Bannockburn, and the Declaration of Arbroath. Dunbar was the lowest point; everything that followed was a response to it.