On this day in 1460

James II inherited the Scottish throne on the assassination of his father, James I, in 1437, and ruled until he was killed by an exploding cannon in 1460. He had been six years old when he became king (which would not have happened had his elder twin not died in infancy), and was just 29 at the time of his death.

Murderous king

Being so young when he came to the throne meant that for the early part of his reign he was not really in charge of the country. When he came of age, his first and enduring task was therefore to claim his own authority and eject those who had been ruling on his behalf – in particular the Douglases.

This was not an easy job, but James II was determined, and is said to have stabbed William Douglas 26 times, killing him. This wasn’t the end of the struggle with the Douglases, but James gradually won favour with the Douglas family’s allies, and their power ebbed away.

Siege of Roxburgh Castle

James was killed in the siege of Roxburgh Castle, which was then in English hands. The English put up a better fight than the king had anticipated, and James “commanded to charge all the Guns to give the Castle a new Volley,” wrote Robert Lindsay in his History of Scotland. “But while this Prince, more curious than became him, or the Majesty of a King, did stand nearhand the Gunners, when the Artillery was discharged, his Thigh-Bone was dung in two with a Piece of a misframed Gun, that brake in shooting; by which he was stricken to the Ground and died hastily.”

James III, who was then around eight years old, became king upon his father’s death.

 

...and on this day in 1829

Heavy rainfall at the start of August 1829 caused the River Dee to break its banks and flood Strathspey, killing eight people and making more than 500 homeless.

The Inverness Journal and Northern Advertiser of 7 August reported that “the distillery at Dandaleith has been wholly swept off. Our correspondent in Strathspey says, ‘many of the poor people in this and the neighbouring districts have suffered severely. The rain fell with that muffled tone, which indicated an overcharged atmosphere. The people in the vicinity of rivulets were under the necessity of carrying their furniture to the neighbouring eminences. The extent of the damage cannot yet be ascertained, but it must be excessive, as there is scarcely a bridge in the district that has not been partially injured, and the greater number fell before the violence of the storms. Several houses have been carried off.’”