WI A More Brutal England

This WI is a bit vague, but hopefully you can understand the gist of it.

What if England was more brutal in its quest for domination over the British Isles? As in conquoring Wales, Ireland and Scotland by force. I know 1 and 2 were done, but they never achieved 3, instead opting for royal union and the Act of Union in 1707.

What kind of resistance would develope? Would Scotland become to England what Poland became to the Russian Empire, or more like Finland?
 
This WI is a bit vague, but hopefully you can understand the gist of it.

What if England was more brutal in its quest for domination over the British Isles? As in conquoring Wales, Ireland and Scotland by force. I know 1 and 2 were done, but they never achieved 3, instead opting for royal union and the Act of Union in 1707.

What kind of resistance would develope? Would Scotland become to England what Poland became to the Russian Empire, or more like Finland?

Rekjavik

Would probably depend largely on the time and circumstances. Wouldn't take too much for England to conquer Scotland during the wars in the 13th and early 14th century, or more dangerously perhaps for the Scots a partial conquest. Say the absorption of the former English lands of Lothian and the neighbouring area of Galloway. Especially since there was not a definite national identity at that time. A stronger king after Edward I especially.

Later on the Scottish identity was stronger and they had more securely absorbed Lothian and the border areas. As such would be more difficult unless you did have a brutal and prolonged conquest. Which might have been an option after the end of the 100 Years War. I think the major factor was even after an English identity re-emerged after the Norman period it was largely centred around the south and looked towards the continent. As such, except when the Scots were being aggressive and raiding in strength, the attention of the decision makers in London were directed elsewhere.

Steve
 

Keenir

Banned
What if England was more brutal in its quest for domination over the British Isles? As in conquoring Wales, Ireland and Scotland by force. I know 1 and 2 were done,

more of Wales being brought in through descent - remember the Tydders?

What kind of resistance would develope? Would Scotland become to England what Poland became to the Russian Empire, or more like Finland?

probably more like the Seminoles to the Americans.
 

maverick

Banned
You mean the evil smelly englishmen could have been even more brutal and evil than they were in real life!:p

3, the invasion of Scotland, would either require Edward II (was he the one to invade Scotland? you know, Longshanks) to have more money to complete his strategy of Controllig Scotland...or another pre-James I POD...

You know, Mary Stewart was married to a protestant and there was a war about it called the "rough wooing"...maybe that conflict could be expanded into a war of conquest...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough_wooing
 
This WI is a bit vague, but hopefully you can understand the gist of it.

What if England was more brutal in its quest for domination over the British Isles? As in conquoring Wales, Ireland and Scotland by force. I know 1 and 2 were done, but they never achieved 3, instead opting for royal union and the Act of Union in 1707.

What kind of resistance would develope? Would Scotland become to England what Poland became to the Russian Empire, or more like Finland?

Cromwell would account for the last two.
 

maverick

Banned
OF COURSE!! Cromwell! a surviving Republic of England crushing the Scots and the Irish and sending thousands of refugees to the new world colonies!

Maybe with a more brutal War of the Three Kingdoms and a more repressive Commonwealth...if that is possible...we could have the clearances of the Highlands under Cromwell and a more successful Cromwell Jr. continuing in Ireland and the Lowlands...
 
OF COURSE!! Cromwell! a surviving Republic of England crushing the Scots and the Irish and sending thousands of refugees to the new world colonies!

Maybe with a more brutal War of the Three Kingdoms and a more repressive Commonwealth...if that is possible...we could have the clearances of the Highlands under Cromwell and a more successful Cromwell Jr. continuing in Ireland and the Lowlands...

Maverick

Could easily have had a more repressive Commonwealth. If the plan had been carried out in Ireland of forcible relocating the bulk of the Catholic population to Connaught then that would have had serious effects on the future of the two nations.

In terms of Scotland I read once that the Commonwealth [or possibly Cromwell, a while since I read it] basically viewed the Scots as misguided and hence took a fairly moderate and tolerant line. Given the bitterness after a long war followed by not one but two attempts by Scots armies to impose a Stuart king on England it might well have followed a different path. [It is virtually always possible for things to get even worse, even when they are very bad]. However this late in time, unless you get something like the planned Irish solution it would be unlikely to make much difference other than considerably worsening relations between the two nations and hence considerably weakening both.

Steve
 
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