WILLIAM WALLACE - TERRORIST OR FREEDOM FIGHTER?

by James Horne

Wallace came to prominence with the English and Scottish in the year 1297. Wallace was a strong minded man, although he stood only about 5 feet tall. William Wallace, in the beginning, wanted to be a leader or ruler of Scotland, but because he was the second son of a knight, he was not in line for the throne. However this did not put him off. With determination and courage he fought a few battles, the most famous of which was the battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, where he defeated the English, even though he had about 60% less men. This led to the independence of Scotland.

William Wallace now became guardian of Scotland. Revolts had started all over Scotland after the victory, with many poor people supporting these revolts. They went on to attack the English and recapture castles, and burning them to the ground so as they could not be reused by the English. They had a famous killing - and English sheriff, they captured important government papers, but the most important find of all was the monies which was most crucial for the funding of weapons and their cause. Little did Wallace know this was to be short-lived. Wallace found this out when he was defeated at Falkirk, which in turn was to lead to his downfall. This led to his capture, where he was kept prisoner until his sentence. Where King Edward was to repare a horrible death for Wallace, as he was accused of being a terrorist and robber, he was to be. Hung, drawn and quartered, the reasons for this was to show an example to others who might be thinking about following on in Wallace's footsteps.

This will explain his careers which some though Wallace was a terrorist and others agreed he was a freedom fight. Me myself believe he was a freedom fighter, for he believed in his cause for a free Scotland.