Scottish Wars of Independence - william wallace's leadership

1. Scottish Wars of Independence
William
Wallace’s
leadership

2. In today’s class, I am learning to:
• Explain why many Scots supported
William Wallace’s leadership
• Explain why some Scots opposed
William Wallace’s leadership
William Wallace’s leadership

3. William Wallace is remembered as a great Scottish
leader. In his life there were many that agreed with
this, but also others who opposed this leadership.
William Wallace’s leadership

4. Wallace’s military success
gained him backers.
At first Wallace had little or
no supporters. However his
successes had attracted
more Scots to his side.
With more victories came
even more followers,
making Wallace popular.
William Wallace’s leadership

5. Leading his men into
battle also gained more
supporters for Wallace.
In some battles the men
who gave orders did not
always fight. However
Wallace took an active part
in the fighting, and this
example led to more men
joining his rebellion.
William Wallace’s leadership

6. Wallace’s lack of personal
ambition gained him
supporters too.
Wallace wanted to return
John Balliol to the throne,
rather than himself
becoming king. Many Scots
then believed Wallace was
motivated by what was
best for Scotland.
William Wallace’s leadership

7. The fact that Wallace did
not want to be king also
allowed many nobles to
safely back him.
These nobles believed that
if Wallace led a successful
rebellion it would be them
to be the next king, so they
helped Wallace with
military support.
William Wallace’s leadership

8. The fact that Wallace was
not from a noble
background helped the
nobles back him.
If Wallace’s rebellion failed,
Scotland’s nobles could
deny involvement and say
to King Edward that it was
not them that had fought
against English rule.
William Wallace’s leadership

9. Equally many people
opposed Wallace’s
leadership.
Many rich Scots looked
down on Wallace. This was
because he was from a
minor noble family, and
thus they believed he could
not be expected to lead the
country.
William Wallace’s leadership

10. Other nobles were jealous
of Wallace.
He led the Scots to victory
at Stirling Bridge and was
able to gain volunteers to
back his cause.
Many of Scotland’s nobles
had failed in their own
rebellion attempts.
William Wallace’s leadership

11. Defeat at Falkirk also
caused many to lose faith
in Wallace.
Some nobles only backed
Wallace because he was
winning. Therefore when
he was defeated this led to
them withdrawing their
support for him.
William Wallace’s leadership

12. Wallace’s actions at Falkirk
also came in for criticism.
Wallace was blamed by
many people for choosing
the wrong time and
location in which to fight.
Some Scots therefore
believed that Wallace’s
military skills were poor.
William Wallace’s leadership

13. Some noble Scots opposed
Wallace to try and protect
them and their land.
King Edward wanted
Wallace arrested and
killed, and so any Scots
found to be supporting him
risked facing the same type
of punishment, costing
Wallace support.
William Wallace’s leadership

14. Wallace’s support for King
John Balliol also angered
many wealthy Scots.
Some nobles had given
their backing to Wallace
(including military support)
in the hope that he would
back their claims to the
throne, not to help Balliol
return as the king.
William Wallace’s leadership

15. Many Scots also simply
wanted an end to war.
Scotland and England had
been in conflict since the
death of King Alexander III.
Many of these Scots had
already agreed to end the
rebellion, so were
embarrassed by Wallace.
William Wallace’s leadership