Written and researched by Francesco Joseph Dougan

https://independent.academia.edu/FrankDougan/Papers
https://maryqueenofscots1587.wordpress.com
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14th of December 1542. King James V. of Scotland held his seven-day-old baby daughter Mary in his arms and with his last breath may have whispered to her?

‘My darling lassie, I’m so sorry to leave you in these dreadful times surrounded by devils. Now you will be queen, as I fear my life slipping away’.

With the death of James V. dawned an era that was about to change the world, and especially Scotland for the worst.

The Reformation and the doom and gloom of Protestantism that would plunge the country into the bloodiest period it had ever witnessed in its troubled history.

Never before or since had there been a more devious collection of contemptuous Vultures accumulated on the political stage of Scotland or England who created havoc and division, that would last for hundreds of years.

The number one culprit in the scenario was without a doubt John Knox, who betrayed everything starting with God, Queen, and Country and that was before he started to get serious.

Henry VIII and his illegitimate daughter Elizabeth I…. came in second and third though in all honesty it was a photo finish.

A whole posse of Scottish so called Nobles are included in the scenario, and if one can imagine the henchmen of Adolph Hitler’s Nazi party and the horrors that they committed prior to and during the second world war, then that will give one a pretty clear idea of the Scottish Nobility at the time.

The devil’s personal servant the illegitimate half brother of Queen Mary of Scotland, James Stuart, Prior of St. Andrews, later to become the Earl of Moray, who was a murderous lying cheat and protector of Knox.

The Earl of Bothwell, Morton, Ruthven, James and Andrew Melville, along with the sadistic child abuser George Buchanan ‘theologian’? to mention but a few all pursued demonic ideals and forced the Scottish Proletariat to follow them.

I will include the author J. Mackintosh who’s History of Scotland, circa 1891, is almost dedicated to the promotion of the devil’s own faith, Protestantism.

The Reign of James V had given hope to Scotland

When Europe was on the verge of the Reformation the Scottish king James IV had been killed in battle at Flodden in September 1513. October 1513 his son an infant was crowned James V at Scone in Perth and his mother was named as Regent, but this only lasted for one year due to her marriage with the Earl of Angus. Some of the of nobles wanted the Duke of Albany to be Regent, he was a son of Alexander Stuart a brother of King James III and after the infant king was next heir to the crown, he had been living in France and accepted the role and arrived in Scotland in May 1515.

The task of restoring order among the nobles was enormously difficult he was French in manner and custom and was at the disadvantage of being unacquainted with the habits of the Scots, although a very talented man he soon found the obstacles that the nobles put in front of him impossible to deal with and within a short space of time realised the hopelessness of his task.

He returned often to France to escape the constant turmoil and after a fluctuating sway of eight years his regency ended in 1524. The Earl of Angus who during the duke of Albany’s Regency had been up to some missdoings had been forced to flee from Scotland and with the concurrence of the Earl of Arran, Angus returned and started to push for power. He took on the mantle of chancellor and made his uncle treasurer. He became the guardian of the young king James V, though in reality he held James as a prisoner and they compelled the young king to sign everything which they presented to him, with the aid of some loyal nobles the young king escaped from the imprisonment imposed upon him and from that day in May 1528, until the end of his life James hunted and pursued Angus and his accomplices with relentless vigour and severity.

The Earl of Angus’s estates were forfeited and he fled to England under the protection of Henry VIII where he stayed until the plot with Henry, to return to Scotland and steal the baby queen Mary after the death of King James V.

Once James had found his freedom he started making drastic changes in the government. He appointed the archbishop of Glasgow as chancellor and leaned more towards the clergy to help him govern the country and the king pursued his policy of crushing the nobles. 1541 parliament passed an act confirming the revocation of all grants of land customs borough rents fishing and gifts, which the king had been compelled to sign while being held prisoner under the Earl of Angus.

Another act which enraged the nobles annexed to the crown the Western Isles and Orkney and Shetland the act also took over Bothwell, Preston, Douglas, Tantallon, Crawford, Lindsay, Bonhill, Jedbourgh Forest, Glammis, Liddesdale, Evandale and the Earldom of Angus and everything that belonged to it. These acts were within the constitution but overbold, as the crown had not the power to enforce them the nobles were nervously apprehensive and they were sure to make a move against the king.

1542, Henry VIII demanded King James V to attend a conference at York, James failed to attend and Henry proclaimed war on Scotland. James mustered his army and marched to meet his enemy, now the opportunity arose for the nobles to destroy their king.

He was daring and fearless in leading his army but the traitorous Nobles turned back with their men and left the king defenceless, not unlike the scenarios that William Wallace and Bonnie Prince Charlie also endured, James had no alternative other than to turn back.

Shortly afterwards the king managed to raise a small force to be led by Oliver Sinclair as its commander he was a close friend of the king and James knew he couldn’t trust the nobles, as the army was approaching English ground the nobles started arguing with the commander, and a great deal of confusion arose as to who was to do this or that.

The English commander, Lord Dacre, observed this and while the Scots were arguing with each other three hundred English cavalry dashed into the Scottish ranks and slaughtered them. As these were his only loyal soldiers he knew he was finished it sapped all his strength and he died with his newborn baby Mary in his arms on l4th of December 1542.

The Reformation brought a distorted notion of society to Scotland

To understand this, one must go directly to the official word of the Protestant church referring to its power over the civil government.

‘This power and ecclesiastical polity is different and distinct from that which is called the civil power, and belongs to the civil government of the commonwealth; Although they are both of God and tend to the same end, if they be rightly used, namely, to advance the glory of God, and to have good subjects.

This ecclesiastical power flows immediately from God and the Mediator, Christ Jesus, and is spiritual, not having a temporal head on earth, but only Christ, the spiritual King and Governor of His Church.

Therefore this power and polity of the Church should lean upon the Word of God immediately, as the only ground thereof, and should be taken from the pure fountains of the Scriptures, hearing the voice of Christ, the only spiritual King, and being ruled by His laws….

The civil power should command the spiritual to exercise and perform their office according to the Word of God.

The spiritual rulers should require the Christian magistrates to administer justice and punish vice; and to maintain the liberty and peace of the Church within their bound….

The magistrate ought to assist, maintain, and fortify the jurisdiction of the Church.

The ministers ought to assist their princes in all things agreeable to the Word of God, provided they do not neglect their own charge by involving themselves in civil affairs.’

What I seem to understand from the mentioned constitution, is that it leans heavily towards the powers of the land and to protect the Church a Church that was imposed upon the Proletariat, and the absolute destruction of the Roman Catholic Church and as has been seen in later years the turmoil against the Episcopalian Church, and the split into 1000s of factions of the Protestant Churches.

The Scottish Protestants seemed to think that they were the only people capable of determining the way that God should be worshipped, contrary to the way that Jesus Christ wished.

Yet, St. Peter and the Apostles were ordained to carry the Word and the Message of Christ, and to ordain in His name and appoint successors on earth for them to continue spreading His Word. Lets face it for over 1500 years these appointed people carried out a pretty good method of going about what they did. Eleven very frighten men and some women in fear of death brought His Word all the nations of the world, not all accept it but all respect it.

Yet in Scotland in the mid sixteenth century all that was undone to the extent that even the very grass roots preacher, in the humblest of parishes had to be appointed or nominated by the Noble, or Earl, or Lord, actually by anyone as long as they were above the Proletariat and this system existed for hundreds of years, and the truth is that was what created the original grounds for the Reformation.

The people were conned and the Nobility took the spoils and riches of the Catholic Church and set up the system of a Bourgeoisie Church.

Perhaps the biggest thought provoker was the cancellation of the foundation of Christianity the feast and celebration of Christmas and Easter the very essence of the faith.

As a Catholic, my understanding of Jesus Christ is that he is the Son of God. But, I fail to find in the constitution of the Protestant Church this acknowledgment.

The term Mediator is used King and Governor is also used, these terms could refer to anyone and was this the reason for the abolishment of Easter the most important feast for all Christians, as the rising of Jesus Christ from the dead proved that he was The Son of God…

To be a follower of Jesus you have to accept and believe this if you don’t well try again ’cause if you want to He will come to you only if you want Him.

From the early days of the reformation in Scotland it was total chaos, as this was a business move for the Nobles and a handful of greedy power grabbing vain men, who preyed on the weakness of the poor serf classes who were easily aroused by their false hopes and promises that never materialized as we now look back from the twenty first century.

Over four hundred years have passed from the days of Knox and in reality it is only since the end of the Second World War though mostly from the 1960s onward, and the great labour movements have the Proletariat moved out of slums and into slightly better housing and education.

Prior to this period under the Protestant rule from London by the undemocratic government based there ruling the Scots through the House of Lords a government or parliament of the Bourgeoisie, lets face it the Protestant thing did not aid the Proletariat.

A state religion developed for the upper classes who reaped all the cream off the top and created a power for themselves, with the support of the Protestant Church’s leaders.

The Scots prior to the reformation enjoyed one of the most progressive free societies in the then known world. The political and religious freedom was centuries ahead of England and the cultural exchanges between our European neighbours were superb.

For hundreds of years the English had been constantly at war and had neglected the real issues in the quality of life of their peoples, and the Hierarchy constantly suppressed the Proletariat mostly for the purpose to fight wars for them as still exists today.

I am sure that the Scots and many decent English prior to the Reformation, wanted desperately to live in harmony and peace and the rulers of Scotland up to the death of James V. encouraged what was then a good deal of democracy, that was eyed by the English Bourgeoisie as a threat to its totalitarian state.

This is something that in the twentieth century one has witnessed throughout the world, brought directly into our homes by the technology that is available these days. The most prominent issue in the present day life of the Scottish population is the judicial system, how can a society be free and equal when the Courts of Law and the Judiciary are so strongly entwined with the Church of Scotland.

I have stated that the end of Protestantism is imminent, though I must emphasize that the dying beast has a sharp bite with strong jaws that cannot easily be prized open.

Until recently the Judges of the Court of Session the highest court in the land, have paraded themselves unashamedly in their ridiculous outdated robes and wigs, at St. Giles the Church stolen from Scottish Catholics in Edinburgh on Protestant appointed days.

I cannot see what these acts do to contribute to an equal and democratic society for everyone of any persuasion to enjoy, without the subliminal feeling of inadequacy.

These ‘special’ days are also attended by the Bourgeoisie from Scottish Universities and medical associations who all by their very presence at these events, are actually endorsing Protestant dominance over the Scottish Proletariat, and as we now live in a multifarious society this is an outrageous scandal and humiliation towards the whole of the image of the Scottish nation in the eyes of the civilized democratic world, to which part Scotland has yet to participate.

The more that I delve into the history of the Reformation and life after it brings a wry smile to my lips, and to come to the conclusion that one would have to be an out and out idiot to believe all the gush that has been stuffed down Protestant throats but what can one say when Protestant stalwarts such as Meikle, and not opposed by one of his contemporaries the so called ’eminent scholar’ Professor Gordon Donaldson that it is grand to be a bad Christian but great to be a good Protestant?

For many years Knox had been in league with known English collaborators, Cockburn of Ormiston, George Wishart, David and George Forrest, and many others had been planted by the English under Henry VIII, after Scotland had been invaded in 1544 and with the destruction of the Scottish religious institutions by the English allowed the Knox led traitors to lay down plans for the over throw of the Catholic people of Scotland, and eventually the Scottish government by bad Christians but Good Protestants.

The hard and true facts about Scotland as a nation she had enjoyed independence for over two hundred years until the ugly head of the reformation sold the soul of Scotland to the English, without a doubt due to the leadership of the John Knox’s Protestant Church from then until now, Scotland has ceased to be a nation in her own right.

Having lived in many European countries and Hong Kong over the past twenty years I am sad to say that so many Europeans think that Scotland is just an area in the north of England and that is the people with some understanding of geography others less knowledgeable though not less intelligent scratch their heads and look bemused, as to the exact location and purpose of claiming to be Scottish rather than British as in the eyes of the world the nation of Scotland the country is no more than an English colony with tens of 1000s of English troops based in Scotland in one guise or another even today!

Although I have had quite a few heated discussions with foreign nationals over the status of my country of birth I cannot other than agree that Scotland is nothing more than a satellite state of England.

So let me tell you the story of how Scotland fell…

The Hatred and Bitterness of Henry VIII

After Henry VIII’s apostasy from the Catholic Church, his bitterness and evilly-distorted hatred towards the Scottish people was brought to the fore, along with his detestation of anyone who opposed him. His hatred against the Scottish Cardinal Beaton, who was the chief opponent of his wicked policies, was pre-eminent.

Many of the Scots nobles also had plots to murder the Cardinal and Henry offered a reward to anyone who would kill him. Cardinal Beaton evaded his enemies during 1544, but all around him were major plotters notably, the Earl of Cassillis, the Earl of Glencairn. The Laird of Brunston, the Laird of Ormiston and the Laird of Calder and a Protestant preacher was implicated; all were traitorously deeply in league with Henry VIII. and were plotting the murder of Cardinal Beaton.

The Protestant preacher George Wishart had the support of the Earls and Lairds and Henry and during January 1546 he was preaching at Haddington against the Cardinal accompanied by John Knox he was apprehended by the Earl of Bothwell and was taken to Edinburgh and shortly afterword was conveyed to St. Andrews. He was tried and convicted of heresy and implicated in the plot to murder Cardinal Beaton the last bastion of Scottish freedom against Henry VIII and his fiendish ambitions to enslave the Scots.

Wishart was condemned to death and was executed on 11 march 1546 for his part in the invasion by English forces that had destroyed the major Scottish learning institutions and Abbeys.

Cardinal Beaton had endeavoured in every way possible to strengthen his position by discrediting the rogue nobles, constantly the vultures were hovering and late in May 1546 the Cardinal received word that Henry was preparing another invasion of Scotland and he put his castle on a defensive footing for the forthcoming English attack.

The Cardinal was in residence at his castle opposite the magnificent cathedral and centre of pilgrimage in St. Andrews the ancient capital of Scotland named after the brother of St. Peter the Apostle because the relics of the bones of St. Andrew first arrived at this place in Scotland.

Early on the morning of 29th. May 1546 Cardinal Beaton was brutally murdered.

Norman Lesley and James Melville along with a group of armed traitors told the gatekeeper that they had arranged an interview with Cardinal Beaton as he had no knowledge of this and noting they were all heavily armed the gatekeeper told them to wait until he reported to the Cardinal, the traitors immediately pounced on the helpless fellow and stabbed him to death in the name of Protestantism. Within a matter of minutes the gang were inside the castle grounds but the noise of the commotion aroused the defenders.

The Cardinal was woken and rose from his bed as he was coming downstairs from his bed chamber Lesley and Melville with the others in the dastardly party confronted him and ruthlessly murdered him Henry VIII had his wish come true. From that moment marked the last days of freedom for Scotland as an nation in her own right as the country was to be plunged into hundreds of years of Presbyterian doom and gloom.

29th of May 1546 was and still is a tragic day in the annuls of Scottish history! Cardinal Beaton was one of the last bastions of an independent Scottish nation in her own right, and with his murder Scotland was thrown into the hands of evil and treacherous devils.

Henry VIII unbeknown to him had less than a year of his life left perhaps for invoking the name of God the demon king of England was riddled by the venereal disease syphilis.

His bones were to rot and he would go blind and his brain would be totally deteriorated and paralysis would encompass his whole body, a dreadful agonising death confronted Henry as he pursued the destruction of the Scots and the holy faith; Scotland was thrown into a period of unmatched turmoil in her history.

The murderous conspirator’s ranks were soon swelled to over one hundred and fifty traitors within the castle at St. Andrew’s

The Earl of Arran who was the regent a limp wrist fellow tried for more that a year to oust the rogues.

During April 1547 John Knox joined the rebels he had been in hiding awaiting a safe time to return.

Knox had wanted to be a Catholic priest but he didn’t like the discipline and faith demanded by the Church of Rome, or for that matter the law and order of his own Scottish government as he was paid and supported by the English invaders waiting in their war ships laying off the coast at St.Andrew’s. He rejected his faith a faith that fed and educated him then his government and was in league with the enemy who had burned murdered and destroyed half of Scotland and her people for hundreds of years this is not unique in history that the common people can be duped and brainwashed into the desires of one man with lieutenants of a similar train of thought as can be seen from recent history.

The Scottish Parliament asked her French allies to come to their aid to get the English ships away from the ancient capital and to help recapture the castle, in the hope of keeping Scotland free from English domination. June 1547 French galleys attacked the English and destroyed them and recaptured the castle after a bloody battle. The traitors surrendered to the French commander and were deported to France John Knox was among those imprisoned and taken to France. Though on the intervention of the English government he would be set free two years later to continue his insatiable desire to crush the Catholics of Scotland.

Queen Mary drove Knox from Scotland

Although the monster Henry VIII had died in January 1547 and the French had helped to take back the castle at St. Andrew’s his evil policy was continued for the destruction of Scotland, and the search for the child Mary Queen of Scots. Lord Hertford now titled the Duke of Somerset was engaged of bringing the Scots to their knees with the great atrocities that the English were imposing on the nation. The Scots had no army to defend herself and what little defenders they had were slaughtered at Pinkie in the later part of 1541.

Emissaries were dispatched to France with the young queen Mary for her safekeeping.

The following year seven thousand French forces landed in Scotland and they mustard the Scots into some form of self belief to rise something of an army and the Scots together with their old trusted allies fought the English who still had control of many castles in Scotland, not without tremendous battles and struggles against the formidable fortifications the enemy had enveloped around her plundering murderous armies did the allies give the enemy a taste of there own medicine and drove the remnants of the invaders out of the country.

By 1550 at last Scotland had rid herself of the oppressors but an uneasy peace rained and the seeds of discontent had been sown and John Knox had been freed by the French as he was in the employ of the English where he was a Royal chaplain though he had never taken any vows to Edward VI. who was a boy and England was being run by the Duke of Northumberland who was acting as regent.

He had assumed this mantle from the discredited Duke of Somerset the butcher who ruthlessly tried to obliterate the Scots when he was the Earl of Hertford, he was to lose his head-on the chopping block in the turmoil of the English political mayhem.

During the next few years there was much to-ing and fro-ing over the reform movement in Scotland, and the child queen Mary of Scots was in the safekeeping of the French meanwhile in England another Mary the daughter of Henry VIII queen Mary 1 of England married Philip II of Spain in 1554 and restored the Roman Catholic Church into England.

On Mary’s accession to throne of England John Knox deserted his post as royal chaplain to the court of England and fled abroad again due to his popularity? In Scotland the young queen Mary’s mother Mary of Guise, the widow of King James V was exerting all her influence to take over as Regent, the Earl of Arran’s Regency was a flop and through the vacillating character of the government his estimation in the eyes of the nation was zero.

Arran resigned the regency of Scotland in April 1554 and the queen mother Mary of Guise took his place she was a woman of exceptional talents and had during her time in Scotland acquired a love and knowledge of the character and habits of her adopted nation. She ruled with remarkable moderation and showed herself to be tactful and considerate but she had many adverse influences and circumstances to contend with.

The nobles were never to be trusted and John Knox returned to Scotland in September 1555 and was defiantly preaching against his mother church the prior of St. Andrew’s who later became the Regent Moray the Earl of Argyle then Lord Lorne and others who had an eye on the church’s property were supporting Knox as he was an ideal patsy for them to manipulate or so they thought as he became the puppet master.

Knox was preaching zealously and venomously against the doctrines of the Catholic Church and he wanted to impose on the Scots the strict and drastic theocracy of John Calvin a Frenchman living in Geneva. His theology is centred on predestination under which the elect are predestined by God to salvation.

John Knox had betrayed his own church and country and sided with Henry VIII now he wanted his fellow Scots to believe his ways to be good, true and faithful. He had an intense hatred against the Scottish Catholic Church perhaps because he never rose above the position of a scribe.

The Catholic clergy were alarmed at the sermons Knox was preaching against the church and they realised the ulterior motives of the nobles, who were now openly supporting Knox. Many of the nobles had been in exile living under the wing of Henry VIII and had slunk back into Scotland after their protectors death during the weak regency of Arran.

Knox was summoned to appear before the court in Edinburgh on 15th of May 1556 but when Erskine and other nobles turned out with a massive force and demanded the citation to be withdrawn, instead of appearing before the court Knox preached to the gullible forces under the command of Erskine and the other rogue nobles.

Knox fled Scotland once again soon after this as other law-abiding nobles were searching for him and he escaped to Geneva, meanwhile as Scotland seemed to be slipping into a dark abyss the rest of the world was enjoying the discovery of new and colourful worlds.

Columbus had found the Americas by accident as he sailed to discover a new sea-route to the spice world of India spices were a vital part of life especially for keeping foodstuffs preserved. Pepper was the most valuable spice and accounted for seventy per cent of the requirements of Europe and the best of pepper was native to the sub continent of India, therefore whoever discovered a fast route to India could control the economic power of the spices. Great explorers emerged such as Columbus, Vasco de Gama, Vespucci and Magellan on tiny skips they sailed uncharted seas and brought back news of new discoveries of lands and peoples.

Instead of being a part of this new adventures the Scots economy and resources had been drained with over forty years of war with the English under Henry VIII.

(To be continued)