Royal Scots Navy: Difference between revisions

|command_structure = [[Military history of Scotland|Scottish Military]]

|battles = {{ListCollapsible collapsedlist|title=''See list''|[[Anglo-Scottish Wars]]|[[First Anglo-Dutch War|Anglo-Dutch War (1652–54)]]|[[War of the Spanish Succession]]}}

The '''Royal Scots Navy''' (or '''Old Scots Navy''') was the [[navy]] of the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] from its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the [[Kingdom of England]]'s [[Royal Navy]] per the [[Acts of Union 1707]]. There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. King [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert I]] (1274–1329, reignedr. 1306–1329), developed naval power to counter the English in the [[Scottish Wars of Independence|Wars of Independence]] (1296–1328),. andThe after the establishmentbuild-up of Scottishnaval independencecapacity continued toafter buildthe upestablishment navalof capacityScottish independence. In the late fourteenth century, naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, [[Flemish people|Flemish]] and [[Kingdom of France|French]] merchantmen and privateers. King [[James I of Scotland|James I]] (1394–1437, reignedr. 1406–1437), took a greater interest in naval power, establishing a shipbuilding yard at [[Leith]] and probably createdcreating the office of [[Lord High Admiral of Scotland|Lord High Admiral]].

King [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]] (1473–1513, reignedr. 1488–1513), put the enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour at [[Newhaven, Edinburgh|Newhaven]], near [[Edinburgh]], and a dockyard at the Pools of [[Airth]]. He acquired a total of 38 ships including the ''[[Michael (ship)|Great Michael]]'', at that time, the largest ship in Europe. Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king on his expeditions in the islands and intervened in conflicts in [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Baltic Sea]], but were sold after the [[Battle of Flodden|Flodden campaign]]. Thereafter Scottish naval efforts would rely on privateering captains and hired merchantmen. Despite truces between England and Scotland, there were periodic outbreaks of a ''[[guerre de course]]''. [[James V of Scotland|James V]] built a new harbour at [[Burntisland]] in 1542. The chief use of naval power in his reign was a series of expeditions to the Isles and France.

The [[Union of Crowns]] in 1603 ended Scottish conflict with England, but Scotland's involvement in England's foreign policy opened up opened up Scottish merchantmen to attack from privateers. In 1626, a squadron of three ships were bought and equipped for protection and there were several [[letter of marque|marque fleets]] of privateers. In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and privateers participated in the [[Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)|Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Re]] with a major expedition to the [[Bay of Biscay]]. The Scots also returned to the [[West Indies]] and in 1629 took part in the [[Surrender of Quebec|capture of [[Quebec]]. After the [[Bishop's Wars]] and the alliance with [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] in the [[English Civil War]], a "Scotch Guard" was established on the coast of Scotland of largely English ships, but with Scottish revenues and men, gradually becoming a more Scottish force. The Scottish naval forces were defeated by [[Oliver Cromwell]]'s navy and when Scotland became part of the [[Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland|Commonwealth]] in 1653, they were absorbed into the Commonwealth navy. After the [[Restoration (Scotland)|Restoration]] Scottish seamen received protection against arbitrary [[impressment]], but a fixed quota of conscripts for the English [[Royal Navy]] was levied from the sea-coast [[burgh]]s. Royal Navy patrols werestarted nowto foundextend intheir routes into Scottish waters, evenand in peacetime. In the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War|Second]] (1665–1667) and [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]]s (1672–1674), between 80 and 120 captains took Scottish letters of marque and privateers played a major part in the naval conflictconflicts. In the 1690s, a small fleet of five ships was established by merchants for the [[Darien Schemescheme]], and a professional navy of three warships was established to protect local shipping in 1696. After the [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union]] in 1707, these vessels and their crews were transferred to the British [[Royal Navy]].

By the late Middle Ages, the kingdomKingdom of Scotland participated in two related maritime traditions. In the West was the tradition of galley warfare that had its origins in the Viking [[thalassocracy|thalassocracies]] (sea-based lordships) of the Highlands and Islands and which stretched back before that to the sea power of [[Dál Riata]] that had spanned the Irish Sea. In the east, it participated in the common northern European sail-driven naval tradition.<ref name=Rodger2004pp166-7>N. A. M. Rodger, ''The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain 660-1649'' (London: Penguin, 2004), {{ISBN|0140297243}}, pp. 166-7.</ref> The key to the Viking success was the [[Viking ships|long-ship]], a long, narrow, light, wooden boat with a shallow draft hull designed for speed. This shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only {{convert|3|ft|m|0}} deep and permitted beach landings, while its light weight enabled it to be carried over [[portage]]s. Longships were also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without having to turn around.<ref>[http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/exhibitions/the-skuldelev-ships/skuldelev-2/ "Skuldelev 2 – The great longship"], Viking Ship Museum, Roskilde, retrieved 25 February 2012.</ref><ref>N. A. M. Rodger, ''The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain. Volume One 660-1649'' (London: Harper, 1997) pp. 13-14.</ref> The longship was gradually succeeded by (in ascending order of size) the [[birlinn]], highland [[galley]] and [[lymphad]],<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, pp. 2-3.</ref> which, were [[clinker-built]] ships, usually with a centrally-stepped mast, but also with oars that allowed them to be rowed. Like the longship, they had a high stem and stern, and were still small and light enough to be dragged across portages, but they replaced the steering- board with a stern- rudder from the late twelfth century.<ref>[http://www.mallaigheritage.org.uk/exhibit/galleys.htm "Highland Galleys"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510010157/http://www.mallaigheritage.org.uk/exhibit/galleys.htm |date=10 May 2006 }} Mallaig Heritage Centre, retrieved 25 February 2012.</ref> The major naval power in the Highlands and Islands werewas the [[Clan Donald|MacDonald]] [[Lord of the Isles]], who acted as largely independent kings and could raise large fleets for use even against their nominal overlord the King of Scots. They succeeded in playing off the king of Scotland against the kings of [[Norway]] and, after 1266, the king of England.<ref name=Rodger2004pp166-7/>

There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings including [[William the Lion]]<ref name=Tytler1829pp309-10>P. F. Tytler, ''History of Scotland, Volume 2'' (London: Black, 1829), pp. 309-10.</ref> and [[Alexander II of Scotland|Alexander II]]. The latter took personal command of a large naval force which sailed from the Firth of Clyde and anchored off the island of Kerrera in 1249, intended to transport his army in a campaign against the [[Kingdom of the Isles]], but he died before the campaign could begin.<ref>J. Hunter, ''Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland'' (London: Random House, 2011), {{ISBN|1-78057-006-6}}, pp. 106–111.</ref><ref name=Macquarrie2004p147>A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), {{ISBN|0-7509-2977-4}}, p. 147.</ref> [[Viking]] naval power was disrupted by conflicts between the Scandinavian kingdoms, but entered a period of resurgence in the thirteenth century when Norwegian kings began to build some of the largest ships seen in Northern European waters. These included kingKing [[Hakon Hakonsson]]'s ''Kristsúðin'', built at Bergen from 1262-3, which was {{convert|260|ft|m|0}} long, of 37 rooms.<ref>N. A. M. Rodger, ''The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain 660-1649'' (London: Penguin UK, 2004), {{ISBN|0-14-191257-X}}, pp. 74-5.</ref> In 1263 Hakon responded to [[Alexander III of Scotland|Alexander III]]'s designs on the Hebrides by personally leading a major fleet of forty vessels, including the ''Kristsúðin'', to the islands, where they were swelled by local allies to as many as 200 ships.<ref>P. J. Potter, ''Gothic Kings of Britain: the Lives of 31 Medieval Rulers, 1016-1399'' (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2008), {{ISBN|0-7864-4038-4}}, p. 157.</ref> Records indicate that Alexander had several large oared ships built at [[Ayr]], but he avoided a sea battle.<ref name=Tytler1829pp309-10/> Defeat on land at the [[Battle of Largs]] and winter storms forced the Norwegian fleet to return home, leaving the Scottish crown as the major power in the region and leading to the ceding of the Western Isles to Alexander in 1266.<ref name=Macquarrie2004p153>A. Macquarrie, ''Medieval Scotland: Kinship and Nation'' (Thrupp: Sutton, 2004), {{ISBN|0-7509-2977-4}}, p. 153.</ref>

English naval power was vital to King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]]'s successful campaigns in Scotland from 1296, using largely merchant ships from England, Ireland and his allies in the Islands to transport and supply his armies.<ref name=Rodger1997pp74-90>N. A. M. Rodger, ''The Safeguard of the Sea: A Naval History of Britain. Volume One 660-1649'' (London: Harper, 1997) pp. 74-90.</ref> Part of the reason for [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert I]]'s success was his ability to call on naval forces from the Islands. As a result of the expulsion of the Flemings from England in 1303, he gained the support of a major naval power in the North Sea.<ref name=Rodger1997pp74-90/> The development of naval power allowed Robert to successfully defeat English attempts to capture him in the Highlands and Islands and to blockade major English controlled fortresses at [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]] and [[Stirling]], the last forcing King [[Edward II of England|Edward II]] to attempt the relief that resulted at English defeat at [[Battle of Bannockburn|Bannockburn]] in 1314.<ref name=Rodger1997pp74-90/> Scottish naval forces allowed invasions of the [[Isle of Man]] in 1313 and 1317 and Ireland in 1315. They were also crucial in the blockade[[Siege of [[Berwick-upon-Tweed (1318)|siege of Berwick]], which led to its fall in 1318.<ref name=Rodger1997pp74-90/>

After the establishment of Scottish independence, King [[Robert the Bruce|Robert I]] turned his attention to building up a Scottish naval capacity. This was largely focused on the west coast, with the [[Exchequer Rolls of Scotland|Exchequer Rolls]] of 1326 recording the feudal duties of his vassals in that region to aid him with their vessels and crews. Towards the end of his reign, he supervised the building of at least one royal [[man-of-war]] near his palace at [[Cardross, Argyll and Bute|Cardross]] on the [[River Clyde]]. In the late fourteenth century naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers.<ref name=Grant>J. Grant, "The Old Scots Navy from 1689 to 1710", ''Publications of the Navy Records Society'', 44 (London: Navy Records Society, 1913-4), pp. i-xii.</ref> King [[James I of Scotland]] (1394-1437, reigned 1406–1437), took a greater interest in naval power. After his return to Scotland in 1424, he established a shipbuilding yard at [[Leith]], a house for marine stores, and a workshop. King's ships were built and equipped there to be used for trade as well as war, one of which accompanied him on his expedition to the Islands in 1429. The office of [[Lord High Admiral of Scotland|Lord High Admiral]] was probably founded in this period.<ref name=Grant/> It would soon become a hereditary office, in the control of the [[Earls of Bothwell]] in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and the [[Earls of Lennox]] in the seventeenth century.<ref name=Murdoch2010p10>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 10.</ref>

King [[James II of Scotland|James II]] (1430-1460, reigned 1437–1460) is known to have purchased a [[caravel]] by 1449.<ref name=Rodger2004pp166-7/> Around 1476 the Scottish merchant John Barton received [[letters of marque]] that allowed him to gain compensation for the capture of his vessels by the Portuguese by capturing ships under their colours. These letters would be repeated to his three sons John, [[Andrew Barton (privateer)|Andrew]] and [[Robert Barton of Over Barnton|Robert]], who would play a major part in the Scottish naval effort into the sixteenth century.<ref>E. P. Statham, ''Privateers and Privateering'' (Cambridge University Press, 2011), {{ISBN|110802629X}}, pp. 19-20.</ref> In his struggles with his nobles in 1488 [[James III of Scotland|James III]] (r. 1451–88) received assistance from his two warships the ''Flower'' and the ''King's Carvel'' also known as the ''Yellow Carvel'', commanded by [[Andrew Wood of Largo]].<ref name=Grant/> After the king's death Wood served his son [[James IV of Scotland|James IV]] (r. 1488-1513), defeating an English incursion into the [[River Forth|Forth]] by five English ships in 1489 and three more heavily armed English ships off the mouth of the [[River Tay]] the next year.<ref>N. Tranter, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XehBsBLGMTsC&pg=PT124&dq=sir+andrew+wood+yellow&hlpg=en&sa=X&ei=c24jUrO_EMGM0AWCi4C4Dg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=sir%20andrew%20wood%20yellow&f=falsePT124 ''The Story of Scotland''] (Neil Wilson, 2012), {{ISBN|1906476683}}.</ref>

[[File:Model of 'The Michael', Newhaven Primary School, Edinburgh.JPG|thumb|upright|right|A model of the ''[[Michael (ship)|the Great Michael]]'', the largest ship in the world when launched in 1511]]

James IV put the naval enterprise on a new footing, founding a harbour at [[Newhaven, Edinburgh|Newhaven]] in May 1504, and two years later orderingordered the[[Andrew constructionAytoun]] ofto construct a dockyard at the Pools of [[Airth]]. The upper reaches of the Forth were protected by new fortifications on [[Inchgarvie]].<ref>N. Macdougall, ''James IV'' (Tuckwell, 1997), {{ISBN|0859766632}}, p. 235.</ref> Scottish ships had some success against privateers, accompanied the king in his expeditions in the islands and intervened in conflicts in [[Scandinavia]] and the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref name=Grantppi-xii>J. Grant, "The Old Scots Navy from 1689 to 1710", ''Publications of the Navy Records Society'', 44 (London: Navy Records Society, 1913–14), pp. i-xii.</ref> Expeditions to the Highlands to Islands to curb the power of the [[Clan Donald|MacDonald]] [[Lord of the Isles]] were largely ineffective until in 1504 the king accompanied a squadron under Wood heavily armed with artillery, which battered the MacDonald strongholds into submission. Since some of these island fortresses could only be attacked from seaward, naval historian N. A. M. Rodger has suggested this may have marked the end of medieval naval warfare in the [[British Isles]], ushering in a new tradition of [[Naval artillery in the Age of Sail|artillery warfare]].<ref name=Rodger2004pp166-7/>

In The1509, timber was cut in the forest of [[Darnaway Castle|Darnaway]] for the king's ships.<ref>George Burnett & [[Aeneas James George Mackay|Aeneas Mackay]], ''Exchequer Rolls'', vol. 13 (Edinburgh, 1891), pp. clxxxiv, 209-10.</ref> James IV acquired a total of 38 ships for the Royal ScottishScots Navy, including the ''[[Scottish warship Margaret|Margaret]]'', and the [[carrack]] ''[[Great Michael (ship)|Michael]]'' or ''Great Michael'', the largest warship of its time (1511).<ref name=Smout1992p45>T. Christopher Smout, ''Scotland and the Sea'' (Edinburgh: Rowman and Littlefield, 1992), {{ISBN|0-85976-338-2}}, p. 45.</ref> The latter, built at great expense at Newhaven and launched in 1511, was {{convert|240|ft|m|0}} in length, weighed 1,000&nbsp;tons, had 24 cannon, and was, at that time, the largest ship in [[Europe]].<ref name=Smout1992p45/><ref name="S. Murdoch, 2010 pp. 33-4">S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, pp. 33-4.</ref> It marked a shift in designeddesign as it was designed specifically to carry a main armament of heavy artillery.<ref name=Rodger2004pp166-7/>

Scots privateers and pirates preyed upon shipping in the North Sea and off the Atlantic coast of France. Scotland's [[Admiralty court]] judged whether a captured ship was a lawful prize and dealt with the recovery of goods. As the court was entitled to a tenth of the value of a prize, it was a profitable business for the admiral. The privateers Andrew and Robert Barton were still using their letters of reprisal of 1506 against the Portuguese in 1561. The Bartons operated down the east coast of Britain from Leven and the Firth of Forth, while others used the French Channel ports such as Rouen and Dieppe or the Atlantic port of Brest as bases.<ref name=Dawson2007pp181-2>J. E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-Formed, 1488–1587'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748614559}}, pp. 181-2.</ref> In 1507 Robert Barton with the ''[[The Lion (Warship)|Lion]]'' took a Portuguese ship, but was detained by the Dutch authorities at [[Veere]] for piracy. James IV managed to engineer his release, but in 1509 John Barton with the ''Lion'' took a Portuguese vessel that was carrying Portuguese and English goods. In 1511 Andrew Barton headed south with the ''Jennet Purwyn'' and another ship to continue the private war, and took prizes that he claimed were Portuguese, but contained English goods. He was intercepted in the [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|English Downs]] by [[Lord Thomas Howard]] and [[Edward Howard (admiral)|Sir Edward Howard]]. Barton was killed and his two ships captured and transferred to the English navy.<ref name="Murdoch2010pp81-2">S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, pp. 81-2.</ref>

[[File:AnthonyRoll-27 Salamander.jpg|thumb|left|The captured ''[[Salamander of Leith|Salamander]]'', in the English [[Anthony Roll]]]]

James V entered his majority in 1524. He did not share his father's interest in developing a navy, relying on French gifts such as the ''[[Salamander of Leith|Salamander]]'', or captured ships like the English [[HMS Mary Willoughby|''Mary Willoughby'']]. Scotland's shipbuilding remained largely at the level of boat building and ship repairs and fell behind the Low Countries which led the way into semi-industrialised ship buildingshipbuilding.<ref name="Dawson2007pp181-2"/> Despite truces between England and Scotland there were periodic outbreaks of a ''[[guerre de course]]'' in the 1530s with at least four of a known six men-at-war were royal naval vessels on the Scottish side.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|9004185682}}, p. 39.</ref> James V built a new harbour at [[Burntisland]] in 1542, called 'Our Lady Port' or 'New Haven,' described in 1544 as having three blockhouses with guns and a pier for great ships to lie in a dock.<ref>T. Andrea, ''The Princelie Majestie: The Court of James V of Scotland 1528–1542'' (Birlinn, 2005), {{ISBN|085976611X}}, p. 164.</ref>

The chief employment of naval power in his reign was in a series of expeditions to the Isles and France. In 1536 the king circumnavigated the Isles, embarking at [[PittenweenPittenweem]] in [[Fife]] and landing [[Whithorn]] in [[Galloway]].<ref>J. Cameron, ''James V'' (Tuckwell, 1998), {{ISBN|1904607780}}, p. 239.</ref> Later in the year he sailed from [[Kirkcaldy]] with six ships including the 600 ton ''Mary Willoughby'', and arrived at [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]] to begin his courtship of his first wife [[Madeleine of Valois]].<ref>J. Cameron, ''James V'' (Tuckwell, 1998), {{ISBN|1904607780}}, pp. 152-53.</ref> After his marriage he sailed from [[Le Havre]] in the ''Mary Willoughby'' to Leith with four great Scottish ships and ten French. After the death of Queen Madeleine, John Barton, in the ''Salamander'' returned to France in 1538 to pick up the new queen, [[Mary of Guise]], with the ''Moriset'' and ''Mary Willoughby''.<ref>TA. AndreaThomas, ''The Princelie Majestie: The Court of James V of Scotland 1528–1542'' (Birlinn, 2005), pp. 158-9.</ref> In 1538 James V embarked on the newly equipped ''Salamander'' at Leith and accompanied by the ''Mary Willoughby'', the ''Great Unicorn'', the ''Little Unicorn'', the ''Lion'' and twelve other ships sailed to [[Kirkwall]] on [[Orkney]]. Then he went to [[Isle of Lewis|Lewis]] in the West, perhaps using the newly compiled charts from his first voyage known as Alexander Lindsay's [[Rutter (nautical)|Rutter]].<ref name="A. Dawson, 2007 p. 76">J. E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-Formed, 1488–1587'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0-7486-1455-9}}, p. 76.</ref>{{clear}}

During the Rough Wooing, the attempt to force a marriage between James V's heir [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] and [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]]'s son, the future [[Edward VI]], in 1542, the ''Mary Willoughby'', the ''Lion'', and the ''Salamander'' under the command of John Barton, son of Robert Barton, attacked merchants and fishermen off [[Whitby]]. They later blockaded a London merchant ship called the ''Antony of Bruges'' in a creek on the coast of Brittany.<ref>M. Merriman, ''The Rough Wooings'' (Tuckwell, 2000), p. 181.</ref> In 1544 Edinburgh was attacked by an [[Burning of Edinburgh (1544)|English marine force and burnt]]. The ''Salamander'' and the Scottish-built ''Unicorn'' were captured at Leith. The Scots still had two royal naval vessels and numerous smaller private vessels.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|9004185682}}, p. 50.</ref>

When, as a result of the series of international treaties, [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] declared war upon Scotland in 1544, the Scots were able to engage in a highly profitable campaign of privateering that lasted six years and the gains of which probably outweighed the losses in trade with the Low[[Habsburg CountriesNetherlands]].<ref name=Dawson2007pp181-2/> The ''Great Lion'' was captured off Dover in March 1547<ref>A. Cameron, ed., ''The Scottish Correspondence of Mary of Lorraine'', Scottish History Society (1927), pp. 176, 180 and 186.</ref> by Sir [[Andrew Dudley]], brother of the [[John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland|Duke of Northumberland]].<ref>Strype, John, ''Ecclesiastical Memorials'', vol. 2 part 2 (1822), 14-15.</ref> The ''Mary Willoughby'' and the ''Great Spaniard'' were blockading Dieppe and Le Havre in April 1547<ref>''Calendar State Papers Foreign Edward'', Longman (1861), 10.</ref> when the ''Mary Willoughby'' was recaptured by [[Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset|Lord Hertford]].<ref>M, Merriman, ''The Rough Wooings'' (Tuckwell, 2000), p. 72.</ref> In 1547 [[Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln|Edward Clinton's]] invasion fleet of 60 ships, 35 of them warships, supported the English advance into Scotland. The naval superiority of the English fleet was demonstrated when Thethe ''Mary Willoughby'' was recaptured, along with the ''Bosse'' and an English prize, the ''Anthony'' of Newcastle, without opposition off [[Blackness Castle|Blackness]]. In successive campaigns, the Scots had lost all four of their royal ships. They would have to rely on privateers until the re-establishment of a royal fleet in the 1620s.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|9004185682}}, pp. 50 and 76.</ref> However, as the English fleet retreated for winter, the remaining Scots ships began to pick off stragglers and unwary English merchantmen. In June 1548 the situation was transformed by the arrival of a French squadron of three warships, 16 galleys and transports carrying 6,000 men. The English lost ''Pansy'' in an engagement with the galley fleet and their strategic situation began to deteriorate on land and sea, and the [[Treaty of Boulogne]] (1550) marked the end of the Rough Wooing and opened up a period of French dominance of Scottish affairs.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, pp. 59-62.</ref>

The Scots operated in the [[West Indies]] from the 1540s, joining the French in the capture of [[Borburata|Burburuta]] in 1567.<ref name=Murdoch2010p172>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 172.</ref> English and Scottish naval warfare and privateering broke out sporadically in the 1550s.<ref name=Rodger2004p197/> When Anglo-Scottish relations deteriorated again in 1557 as part of a wider [[Italian War of 1551–59|war between Spain and France]], small ships called 'shallops' were noted between Leith and France, passing as fishermen, but bringing munitions and money. Private merchant ships were rigged at Leith, Aberdeen and [[Dundee]] as men-of-war, and the regent Mary of Guise claimed English prizes, one over 200 tons, for her fleet.<ref>John Strype, ''Ecclesiastical Memorials'', vol. 3, part 2 (Oxford, 1822), p. 81.</ref> The re-fitted ''Mary Willoughby'' sailed with 11 other ships against Scotland in August 1557, landing troops and six field guns on [[Orkney]] to attack the [[Kirkwall Castle]], [[St Magnus Cathedral]] and the [[Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall|Bishop's Palace]]. The English were repulsed by a Scottish force numbering 3000, and the English vice-admiral [[John Clere (c. 1511–57)|Sir John Clere]] of [[Ormesby St Margaret with Scratby|Ormesby]] was killed, but none of the English ships were lost.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=upwNAAAAQAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s John Strype, ''Ecclesiastical Memorials'', vol. 3 part 2 (Oxford, 1822), pp. 67-9, 86-87], and G. Buchanan, ''History of Scotland'', trans Aikman, vol. 2 (1827), 396, bk. 16, cap. 19: R. Holinshed, Raphael, ''Chronicles: Scotland'', vol. 5 (1808), p. 585.</ref>

After [[Mary, Queen of Scots]] was captured at the [[battleBattle of Carberry Hill]], the [[Earl of Bothwell]] took ship to Shetland. The [[Privy Council of Scotland|Privy Council]] sent [[William Kirkcaldy of Grange]] and [[William Murray of Tullibardine]] in pursuit in August 1567. Some of their ships came from Dundee, including the ''James'', the ''Primrose'', and the ''Robert''.<ref>John Hill Burton, ''Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1545-1569'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 1877), p. 544.</ref> They encountered Bothwell in [[Bressay]] Sound near [[Lerwick]]. Four of Bothwell's ships in the Sound set sail north to [[Unst]], where Bothwell was negotiating with German captains to hire more ships. Kirkcaldy's flagship, the ''[[Lion (warship)|Lion]]'', chased one of Bothwell's ships, and both ships were damaged on a submerged rock.<ref>''Register of the Privy Seal of Scotland'', vol. 8 (Edinburgh, 1982), pp. 66-67, no. 397: Guy, John, ''Queen of Scots, the True Life'' (2005) p. 360.</ref> Bothwell sent his treasure ship to [[Scalloway]], and fought a three-hour-long sea battle off the [[Baltasound|Port of Unst]], where the mast of one of Bothwell's ships was shot away. Subsequently, a storm forced him to sail towards Norway.<ref>Strickland, Agnes, ed., ''Letters of Mary Queen of Scots'', vol. 1 (London, 1842), pp. 244-248: Reid, David ed., ''Hume of Godscroft's History of the House of Angus'', vol. 1 (Edinburgh, 2005), p. 171.</ref>

When Mary's supporters, led by Kirkcaldy, held [[Edinburgh Castle]] in April 1573, prolonging civil war in Scotland, the guns from [[Stirling Castle]] were brought to Leith in four boats. [[Regent Morton]] hired two ships in Leith with their masters John Cockburn and William Downy and 80 men for eight days. These masters of Leith sailed to [[Berwick upon Tweed]] to meet and convoy the English ships carrying the guns to bombard Edinburgh Castle.<ref>''Accounts of the Lord High Treasurer'', vol. 12 (Edinburgh (1970), 344.</ref>

[[James VI]] hired ships for his ambassadors and other uses, and in 1588 the ''James Royall'' of [[Ayr]], belonging to [[Robert Jameson (shipowner)|Robert Jameson]], was fitted out for Sir [[William Stewart of Monkton|William Stewart]] of [[Carstairs]] to pursue tothe rebel [[John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell|Lord Maxwell]] with 120 musketeers or "hagbutters". In October 1589 James VI decided to sail to Norway to meet his bride [[Anne of Denmark]]. His courtiers, led by the [[Chancellor of Scotland]] [[John Maitland, 1st Lord Maitland of Thirlestane|John Maitland]] of [[Thirlestane Castle|Thirlestane]] equipped a small fleet of six ships.<ref>''HMC Salisbury Hatfield'', vol. 3 (London, 1889), p. 438.</ref> Maitland's[[Patrick expensesVans, includeLord theBarnbarroch|Patrick preparationVans of a shipBarnbarroch]] hired from Robert Jameson, proabably the ''JamesFalcon Royallof Leith'', whichfrom was equipped with cannon by the Comptroller of Ordinance [[John Chisholm (soldier)|John Chisholm]] for the use of the royal gunner James RocknowGibson, usuallydescribed basedas ata Edinburghlittle Castle. The guns were probably intended for firing salutes. James VI sent Robert Dog from Denmark to [[Lübeck]] to buy gunpowder which he shipped to Edinburgh castleship.<ref>Miles[[Robert KerrVans-Peterson & Michael PearceAgnew]], 'James VI'sCorrespondence Englishof SubsidySir andRobert DanishWaus Dowryof Accounts, 1588-1596Barnbarroch'', ''Scottishvol. History Society Miscellany XVI''2 (WoodbridgeEdinburgh, 20201887), pp. 29447, 37452-3.</ref>

After the [[Union of Crowns]] in 1603 conflict between Scotland and England ended, but Scotland found itselfbecame involved in England's foreign policy, opening up Scottish merchant shipping to attack. In the 1620s, Scotland foundbecame herselfengaged fightingin a naval warconflict as England's ally, first [[Anglo-Spanish War (1625)|against Spain]] and then also [[Anglo-French War (1627–1629)|against France]], while simultaneously embroiled in undeclared North Sea commitments in the [[Thirty Years' War#Danish intervention (1625–1629)|Danish intervention in the Thirty Years' War]]. In 1626 a squadron of three ships was bought and equipped, at a cost of at least £5,200 sterling, to guard against privateers operating out of Spanish-controlled [[Dunkirk]] and other ships were armed in preparation for potential action.<ref name="S. Murdoch, 2010 pp. 33-4"/> The acting High Admiral [[John Gordon, 1st Viscount of Kenmure|John Gordon of Lochinvar]] organised as many as three [[letter of marque|marque fleets]] of privateers.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 169.</ref> It was probably one of Lochinvar's marque fleets that waswere sent to support the English Royal Navy in defending Irish waters in 1626.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 168.</ref> In 1627, the Royal Scots Navy and accompanying contingents of burgh privateers participated in the [[Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)|major expedition to Biscay]].<ref>R. B. Manning, ''An Apprenticeship in Arms: The Origins of the British Army 1585–1702'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), {{ISBN|0199261490}}, p. 118.</ref> The Scots also returned to the West Indies, with Lochinvar taking French prizes and foundingestablishing the [[Scottish colonization of the Americas|Scottish colony]] of [[Floreana Island|Charles Island]].<ref name="Murdoch2010p172"/> In 1629 two squadrons of privateers led by Lochinvar and William Lord Alexander, sailed for Canada, taking part in the campaign that resulted in the [[Surrender of Quebec|capture of [[Quebec]] from the French, which was handed back after the subsequent peace.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 174.</ref>

During the [[Bishops' Wars]] (1639–40) the king attempted to blockade Scotland and disrupt trade and the transport of returning troops from the continent. The king planned amphibious assaults from England on the East coast and from Ireland to the West, but they failed to materialise.<ref name=Wheeler2002pp19-21>J. S. Wheeler, ''The Irish and British Wars, 1637–1654: Triumph, Tragedy, and Failure'' (London: Routledge, 2002), {{ISBN|0415221315}}, pp. 19-21.</ref> Scottish privateers took a number of English prizes and the [[Covenanters]] planned to fit out Dutch ships with Scottish and Dutch crews to join the naval war effort.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, p. 198.</ref> After the Covenanters allied with the [[Roundhead|English Parliament]] they established two patrol squadrons for the Atlantic and North Sea coasts, known collectively as the "Scotch Guard". These patrols guarded against Royalist attempts to move men, money and munitions and raids on Scottish shipping, particularly from the [[Confederate Ireland|Irish Confederate]] fleet at [[Wexford]] and Royalist forces at Dunkirk. They consisted mainly of small English warships, controlled by the Commissioners of the Navy based in London, but it always relied heavily on Scottish officers and revenues, and after 1646 the West Coast squadron became much more a Scottish force.<ref>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|90-04-18568-2}}, pp. 204-10.</ref> The Scottish navy was easily overcome by the English fleet that accompanied the army led by [[Oliver Cromwell]] that [[Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652)|conquered Scotland]] in 1649–51 and after his victory the Scottish ships and crews were divided among the [[Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland|Commonwealth]] fleet.<ref name=Murdoch2010p239>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|9004185682}}, p. 239.</ref>

Although Scottish seamen received protection against arbitrary [[impressment]] thanks to [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], a fixed quota of conscripts for the Royal Navy was levied from the sea-coast [[burgh]]s during the second half of the seventeenth century.<ref>D. Brunsman, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ypImFPnX_1UC&pg=PT77&dq=press+gang+scotland+royal+navy&hlpg=en&sa=X&ei=zBPCUZLBO7Kb0wXbuoGABA&redir_esc=yPT77 ''The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World''] (University of Virginia Press, 2013), {{ISBN|0813933528}}.</ref> Royal Navy patrols were now found in Scottish waters even in peacetime, such as the small ship-of-the-line [[HMS Kingfisher (1675)|HMS ''Kingfisher'']], which bombarded [[Carrick Castle]] during the [[Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll|Earl of Argyll]]'s rebellion in 1685.<ref>A. Campbell, ''A History Of Clan Campbell: From The Restoration To The Present Day'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2004), {{ISBN|0748617906}}, p. 44.</ref> Scotland went to war against the Dutch and their allies in the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War|Second]] (1665–67) and [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]]s (1672–74) as an independent kingdom. A very large number of Scottish captains, at least as many as 80 and perhaps 120, took letters of marque, and privateers played a major part in the naval conflict of the wars.<ref name=Murdoch2010pp239-41>S. Murdoch, ''The Terror of the Seas?: Scottish Maritime Warfare 1513–1713'' (Leiden: Brill, 2010), {{ISBN|9004185682}}, pp. 239-41.</ref>

By 1697 the English Royal Navy had 323 warships, while Scotland was still dependent on merchantmanmerchantmen and privateers. In the 1690s, two separate schemes for larger naval forces were put in motion. As usual, the larger part was played by the merchant community rather than the government. The first was the [[Darien Scheme]] to found a Scottish colony in Spanish -controlled America. It was undertaken by the [[Company of Scotland]], who created a fleet of five ships, including the ''Caledonia'' and the ''St. Andrew'', all built or chartered in Holland and Hamburg. It sailed to the [[Isthmus of Darien]] in 1698, but the venture failed and only one ship returned to Scotland.<ref>A. I. MacInnes and A. H. Williamson, eds., ''Shaping the Stuart World, 1603–1714: The Atlantic Connection'' (Brill, 2006), {{ISBN|900414711X}}, p. 349.</ref> In the same period it was decided to establish a professional navy for the protection of commerce in home waters during the [[Nine Years' War]] (1688–97) with France, with three purpose-built warships bought from English shipbuilders in 1696. These were the ''Royal William'', a 32-gun [[fifth rate]] and two smaller ships, the ''Royal Mary'' and the ''Dumbarton Castle'', each of 24 guns, generally described as frigates.<ref name=Grantp48/>

After the [[Acts of Union 1707|Act of Union]] in 1707, the Scottish Navy merged with that of England. The office of Lord High Admiral was subsumed within the office of the [[List of Lords High Admiral|Admiral of Great Britain]].<ref name=Murdoch2010p10/> The three vessels of the small Royal Scottish Navy were transferred to the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=Grantp48>J. Grant, "The Old Scots Navy from 1689 to 1710", ''Publications of the Navy Records Society'', 44 (London: Navy Records Society, 1913–14), p. 48.</ref> A number of Scottish officers eventually left the Royal Navy for service in the fledgling [[Imperial Russian Navy|Russian navy]] of [[Peter the Great]]. These included the captain of the ''Royal Mary'' [[Thomas Gordon (Royal Scots Navy officer)|Thomas Gordon]], who became a commodore in 1717 took service and rose to be Admiral and commander-in-chief of the [[Baltic Fleet]].<ref>R. Wills, ''The Jacobites and Russia, 1715-1750'' (Dundurn, 2002), {{ISBN|1862321426}}, pp. 27-8.</ref>

The most accessible work on the Old Scots Navy and Scots naval matters, prior tobefore 1649, is [[N. A. M. Rodger]], ''The Safeguard of the Sea'' (1997), which provides extensive coverage in context, particularly for the Wars of Independence and the reign of James IV. The bibliography provided by Rodger is considerable, and includes works on the Early and High Medieval periods. The second volume of Rodger's history, ''The Command of the Ocean'' (2004), offers comparatively little coverage of Scotland.

Jamie Cameron's ''James V'' (1998) adds detail from published and manuscript sources to the stories of the king's voyages, and gives a detailed analysis of their historichistorical context.

[[Category:Royal ScottishScots Navy| ]]