Scottish Blog

Last week I began writing about the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. If you haven’t read my previous article on Edinburgh I strongly recommend that you do so.

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After the destruction of the Holyrood abbey and the consequent rebuild of Edinburgh, the city became a large factor in the Scottish Reformation, which once again lead to another long period of bloodshed for the city.

It began with the return of Queen Mary to Scotland, and stemmed into six years of what some say were the darkest for Edinburgh. This was followed by the succession of King James VI to the throne; and his removal of his court from Edinburgh, resulting in a large loss in trade for the city.

A few years later, Charles the First was crowned at Holyrood abbey. Later in his reign Charles I sent a new prayer book to all the churches in Scotland, commanding that it be used as the new standard. This gave rise to a considerable amount of objection, and the creation and signing of the “National Convent” at a church in Edinburgh. The prayer book was soon withdrawn by Charles the First, but even with the withdrawal more violence came to Edinburgh and Edinburgh Castle was attacked and seized by Sir Alexander Leslie in 1639.

The destruction and violence began again in 1650 when Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland and took over Edinburgh. The years that followed were filled with yet more violence, religious and civil repression and prosecution. The hostility took another recession in 1745 when Prince Charles Edward took possession of Edinburgh and proclaimed his father, James VIII as king.

In 1707 Scotland entered a union of parliaments with England, this brought on a rain of prosperity that could not have been achieved during the turbulence of the war with England.

With the peace the outer lands of Edinburgh became easily farmable, bringing in a large amount of wealth, and from this wealth came a great social and physical expansion of what is now known as “Old Town”.

Soon the Nor’Loch was drained to make way for development; a new area of town was created and is now known as “New Town”.

Construction also included the creation of wet docks, both Catholic and Protestant churches, a canal to Glasgow, a prison and also a repair of the original road between the castle and Holyrood abbey.

Edinburgh continues to expand up to the present day, with new history being written constantly. With such a long history of expansion and reconstruction it is understandable why Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities in the world today.