Wars and conflicts.

4.2.1. Medieval times saw bitter clashes between England and Scotland. Scottish history knows many names of the patriots of the country, one of whom was William Wallace (c. 1270–1305). He led an army against the English forces of King Edward I, who had occupied Scotland, and defeated them in 1297. The following year Wallace was himself defeated, and was later captured and hanged. The film Braveheart (1995) was made about his life. The King of Scotland Robert the Bruce (1274–1329) joined William Wallace in trying to take power from the English in Scotland, but was defeated several times by the army of King Edward I. He finally defeated the English, and England recognized Scotland as an independent country.

4.2.2. There is a popular story about how Robert the Bruce, when he was hiding in a cave from the English, watched a spider repeatedly trying to attach its web to a rock until it finally succeeded. This made him determined to keep trying to defeat the English.

4.2.3. In 1348 an epidemic of the plague that was called the Black Death was brought to England from France. People died within 24 hours, soon one-third of England’s population had perished. Position of common people was very difficult that time as far as the country didn’t have enough laborers to work on the lords’ fields and their work was paid very little. In 1381 peasants revolted. Sixty thousand people from Essex and Kent marched to London led by Wat Tyler and Jack Straw. They wanted to see the king. The king promised to fulfill their demands, but didn’t keep his promise. Wat Tyler was murdered and the rebellion was suppressed.

4.2.4. England lost practically all its lands in France during the Hundred Years' War, which ended in 1453. Yet there was no peace in the country. Long before the end of this war, a feudal struggle had broken out. During the Hundred Years' War some of the barons, who were professional soldiers, built castles with high walls and kept private armies of thousands of men. They thought more about their "family politics" than about national politics and were a real threat to the king's power. Realizing the danger which these big barons represented to the Crown, Edward III tried to marry his sons to their daughters. But that did not help to strengthen the position of the reigning House. The feudal struggle grew into an open war – t he War of the Roses which ended with the battle of Bosworth in 1485. King Richard III of the House of York was killed in the battle, and, right in the field, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, was proclaimed King of England.

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