The king who lost his head
The execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 sent shockwaves through Scotland. Many Scots were horrified by regicide — whatever their quarrels with the king, the idea of putting an anointed monarch on trial and beheading him outside his own palace was deeply shocking. Scotland had, after all, been the homeland of the Stuart dynasty.
The Scottish reaction was swift and consequential. Within days of Charles's execution, the Scottish Parliament proclaimed his son Charles II as king — the only kingdom to do so. This was a direct challenge to the English republic and to Oliver Cromwell. It would provoke exactly the response the Scots feared.
Cromwell invaded Scotland in 1650, defeating the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar and then at Worcester in 1651. Scotland was occupied by English garrisons. Cromwell built forts at Inverness, Perth, Ayr, and Leith. The Scottish Parliament was suspended. Scottish trade was disrupted. It was, in effect, a military conquest.
The occupation lasted until the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. For many Highlanders and Lowlanders alike, the Cromwellian period was a time of humiliation and suffering. The forts Cromwell built across Scotland were later demolished, but some traces remain — including the Cromwell Tower in Inverness. The experience left a lasting mark on Scottish attitudes toward English interference in Scottish affairs.