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William Wallace Research Paper

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WILLIAM WALLACE
By Laurence Simic-Bentley

LIFE and ACCOMPLISHMENTS (ASSESSMENT)

William Wallace was a Scottish born freedom fighter who fought for the independence of Scotland from England. Not much is known about his background although it is thought that he was born around 1270 CE. Historians suspect that Wallace was born either in Elderslie, Renfrewshire or Ellerslie, Ayrshire. His father is believed to be either Sir Malcom of Elderslie or a commoner by the name of Alan Wallace. The identity of his mother is not known.

As Wallace was growing up a political crisis was taking place in Scoctland. The former Scottish king, Alexander III, had died in March of 1286, without any male children. It was decided that Margret, Maid of Norway would …show more content…

He was taken to London, where, after a brief trial, he was hung, drawn and quartered, with the pieces of his body being sent to Perth, Stirling, Newcastle and Berwick.

Almost 23 years later on the 1st of May 1328 Edward III of England was forced by then Scottish king Robert the Bruce to to sign the Agreement of Edinburgh-Northampton. The Agreement finally recognized Scotland as an Independent Kingdom from England, fulfilling Wallace's legacy.

It is clear from this account that William Wallace was a very important figure in the fight for Scottish Independence. Not only did he assist much of Scotland to rebel from English rule and amass large armies, he also drove the English back from Scotland repeatedly, as well as freeing many towns from English rule. It is possible that Scotland may never have had become an Independent Kingdom without Wallace's military campaign and achievements, which continued to influence history hundreds of years after he died.
PRIMARY …show more content…

The letter, dated the 7th of November, 1300 and written in Latin, commands French agents to ask the current Pope (Boniface VIII) to “consider” the “beloved” Wallace with “favor” . This is a very significant source. Not only can one gather that the French King himself knew William Wallace personally but it can implied that Philip regarded Wallace very highly to refer to him as “beloved” and to ask the pope himself to aid Wallace. This is very significant when assessing the importance of Wallace as it seems strange that a King would ally himself with someone who could be considered to be a rouge or rebel, so this letter shows that Wallace must have been a very significant and important figure in Scottish history. This letter seems to be very reliable as a source as it is clearly from when Wallace lived (1300) and it is an official document written by a King. This source was obtained from:

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