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Treaty of Berwick, 1586
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The Treaty of BerwiThe Treaty of Berwick was a 'league of amity' or peace agreement made on
6 July 1586 between Queen Elizabeth I of England and King James VI of
Scotland, after a week of meetings at the Tolbooth in Berwick upon
Tweed.
The English diplomat Thomas Randolph was sent to Scotland in February
1586 to commence negotiations on the proposed articles. His mission was
opposed in the Scottish court by the French ambassador, the Baron
d'Esneval, and Monsieur de Courcelles, the secretary of the French
ambassador in London, but his cause was helped by the banishing of James
Stewart, Earl of Arran.
Represented by Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (for the English) and
Francis Stewart, soon to be Earl of Bothwell (for the Scots), the two
countries signed a mutual defensive alliance pact to guarantee aid
should an invasion of either homeland, take place. The two largely
Protestant countries were threatened from abroad by the Catholic powers,
Spain and France.e believe Elizabeth only entered into the agreement to soften the
blow of her next political move - the execution of James' mother, Mary,
Queen of Scots. For James, his motivation was the chance of succeeding
to the English throne upon Elizabeth's death. A part of the agreement
ensured James would receive an annual pension of £4,000 from the English
state, which led many to assume Elizabeth already considered James as an
heir to her throne. James would succeed to the English throne in 1603.
James VI issued a proclamation on 5 July declaring extra penalties
against cross-borders raiders for the next forty days. A surviving paper
indicates that the Scottish commissioners were to discuss a closer
alliance beyond the twelve articles of the league; with an agreement for
mutual redress against piracy, the people of Scotland might be made
denizens of England and vice versa, so custom duties between England and
Scotland would be abolished. The same arrangement existed between
Scotland and France. Randolph had already indicated that this matter
could not be included in Berwick articles. |
Source
Sources for this article include:
Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 8 (London, 1914)
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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