Burning of Edinburgh (1544)

Burning of Edinburgh
Part of Anglo-Scottish Wars
Date 7 May 1544 Location Edinburgh, Scotland Result town surrendered to English and burnt: Edinburgh Castle defended
Belligerents
Kingdom of Scotland	Kingdom of England
Commanders and leaders
Regent Arran James Hamilton of Stenhouse, Captain of Edinburgh Castle Adam Otterburn, Provost of Edinburgh	Lord Hertford Earl of Shrewsbury Viscount Lisle, Lord Admiral
Strength
approx 6000 horsemen with infantry (not engaged)	200 troop-ships 12,000 infantry 4000 border horsemen
Casualties and losses
more than 400	40

The Burning of Edinburgh in 1544 by an English sea-borne army was the first major action of the war of the Rough Wooing. A Scottish army observed the landing on 3 May 1544 but did not engage with the English force. The Provost of Edinburgh was compelled to allow the English to sack Leith and Edinburgh. However, the Scottish artillery within Edinburgh Castle harassed the English forces, who had neither the time nor the resources to besiege the Castle. The English fleet sailed away loaded with captured goods, and with two ships that had belonged to James V of Scotland.

Henry VIII of England wished to unite the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England, or at least bring the kingdom under his hegemony. He had contracted with the Regent Arran that Mary, Queen of Scots would marry his son, Prince Edward. But Arran allowed the Parliament of Scotland to revoke this agreement prompting Henry to declare war in December 1543, and now the Regent was making ground against his rebels who still supported the English marriage, such as the Earl of Lennox, Earl of Glencairn, the Earl of Cassillis and the Earl of Angus. These nobles were in touch with Henry VIII via Lennox's secretary Thomas Bishop and Angus's chaplain, Master John Penven. Their letters to Henry VIII requested intervention, and in March he replied that a 'main army' was in preparation. Henry's Privy Council issued his instructions for the invasion force on 10 April 1544, and they were to;

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