Archibald Douglas "Desperate" ( born Archibald Douglas "Bell-the-Cat" ; 1449 - November 19, 1513 ), 5th Earl of Angus (since 1463) - Scottish Baron from the sort of "Red Douglas" , leader of the uprisings against the king Jacob III Stuart .
| Archibald Douglas | |||||||
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| Archibald douglas | |||||||
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| Predecessor | George Douglas | ||||||
| Successor | Archibald Douglas | ||||||
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| Predecessor | Colin Campbell | ||||||
| Successor | George gordon | ||||||
| Birth | 1449 | ||||||
| Death | November 19, 1513 Abbey of St. Ninian, Galloway | ||||||
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| Rod | Douglas | ||||||
| Father | George Douglas | ||||||
| Mother | Isabel Sibbald | ||||||
| Spouse | Elizabeth Boyd (1468), daughter of Robert Boyd ; Janet Kennedy (1498); Katherine Stirling | ||||||
| Children | George Douglas, Master of Angus William Douglas Gavin Douglas , Bishop Dunkeld | ||||||
Archibald Douglas was the son of George Douglas, 4th Earl of Angus. During the reign of Jacob III, Count Angus led the Scottish barons, dissatisfied with the reign of the king. The main reasons for dissatisfaction were the lack of guarantees for the stability of land ownership, the dominance of the king's favorites in the highest authorities and the inefficiency of the royal administration. Archibald Douglas himself was forced to cede part of his possessions to one of Jacob III’s confidants.
In 1480, Angus' troops, without the king’s sanction, invaded England and burned the Bamborough fortress, which caused the renewal of the Anglo-Scottish war . There is an opinion that by this act Angus wanted to provoke an internal political crisis in Scotland. He succeeded: in July 1482, Jacob III was forced to convene a noble militia in Loder , which Angus immediately took advantage of. On his initiative and under his leadership, the Scottish barons lynched the favorites and captured the king himself.
However, Archibald Douglas lacked the talents of a statesman: the initiator of the Loder Rebellion was soon pushed aside by the Duke of Albany , who seized power in the country. On February 11, 1483, Angus made a pact with the English king Edward IV to support Albany in his efforts to get the Scottish crown, recognizing the sovereignty of England. But soon Jacob III, supported by the Scottish Parliament , was able to regain his power and expel the Duke of Albany. Angus was removed from all posts in the royal administration and was forbidden to appear at the court.
In 1488, Archibald Douglas again became one of the initiators of the revolt of the barons against Jacob III. This time at the head of the uprising stood the crown prince, who was able to unite considerable forces, defeat the royal army under Sycibern and become the new king of Scotland under the name of Jacob IV .
Despite the support of Jacob IV during his struggle with his father, Angus did not receive any posts in the new administration. The king rightly thought that Archibald Douglas’s abilities were more destructive than creative. Disgruntled Angus in 1491 again tried to organize opposition to the royal power, but the decisive policy of Jacob IV and his reliance on broad sections of the nobility did not allow Archibald "Desperate" to again manifest itself. On the contrary, Angus was temporarily enlisted in the civil service: in 1493–98 he served as the chancellor of Scotland.
A few months after the death of his sons and King Jacob IV, in the Battle of Flouden in 1513, Count Angus died.