AHC: Greater Scotland

Well you have Scotland gaining independence several years later. Beyond that....

Maybe a more successful Bruce war in Ireland after Robert tried to enthrone his brother could help? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_campaign_in_Ireland

Theres no shortage of Irish recruits, the Scots just need to train them as pikemen. Scots Gaelic and Irish still haven't diverged too much so theres little of a language barrier. English rule at the time in Ireland was limited to pretty much Leinster and parts of Munster, if they shattered the Norman control there, Ireland is free become a united kingdom like its northern cousin.

I'd say there might have been a bit more success if Edward hadn't overtly stated his intent was to claim the throne and that instead, they wished to aid their Gaelic brethren.
 
Ireland is free become a united kingdom like its northern cousin.
But it doesn't want to be "united"! :p



Maybe Scotland could have kept Berwick-on-Tweed (& the section of its hinterland that IOTL was lost to England), maybe Scotland could have gained the Faeroes along with the Orkneys & Shetlands, maybe Scotland could have acquired the Isle of Man (not just as a temporary vassal) at some point...
 
...Theres no shortage of Irish recruits, the Scots just need to train them as pikemen. Scots Gaelic and Irish still haven't diverged too much so theres little of a language barrier. English rule at the time in Ireland was limited to pretty much Leinster and parts of Munster, if they shattered the Norman control there, Ireland is free become a united kingdom like its northern cousin.

Just to touch on the Gaelic thing; a common misconception is that Gaelic was the predominant language of Scotland as an independent country. The truth is, that was only true in the Early Medieval Period (after displacing Pictish); from that point onward, it was (is?) Lowland Scots that is the "national tongue" and thus leaving Scottish Gaelic the language of the Highlands (far from the seat of Scottish government). The Scottish might be culturally Gaelic, but linguistically not so much. (And no, I'm not trying to carry over your other thread into this one, I just had to say something about this concept, nothing more).
 
The aftermath of the reign of Robert Bruce could have gone better if Edward III had died early, and, in fact, there could have been a union of the crowns much earlier than 1603 if Edward III and his brother had died without issue and sister Joan, wife of David II of Scotland, had inherited the throne and had children of her own. There's always a possibility of a different union: with a slightly earlier POD, the child Margaret could have been the heir of Scotland and Norway, and something like that could have happened later.

If there's no union, it's hard to see Scotland doing all that much better territorially than it did anyway and the other posts in this thread have run through the possibilities.
 
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