1. The Declaration of Arbroath Scotland’s Most Famous Document

2. Why is it famous? The Declaration of Arbroath was a declaration of Scottish independence, and set out to confirm Scotland's status as an independent, sovereign state and its use of military action when unjustly attacked.Scottish independenceScotlandindependent sovereignstate It is in the form of a letter submitted to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320. Sealed by fifty-one magnates and nobles, the letter is the sole survivor of three created at the time.Pope John XXII6 April 1320 magnatesnobles

3. The Declaration made a number of points: That Scotland had always been independent, indeed for longer than England;England That Edward I of England had unjustly attacked Scotland;Edward I of England That Robert the Bruce had delivered the Scottish nation from this peril; nation And, most controversially, that the independence of Scotland was for the Scots people, rather than the King of Scots. In fact it stated that the nobility would choose someone else to be king if the current one did anything to threaten Scotland's independence.

5. The Declaration of Arbroath “For as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom — for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself”

6. Radical Views! Yet if he (Bruce) should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy.

7. Think … Can you think of any other country that has a document similar to the Declaration of Arbroath?

8. The USA Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.

9. Influence The radical ideas of the Declaration has made it famous both in Scotland and internationally, and it has been suggested that it had some influence on the drafters of the United States Declaration of Independence.United States Declaration of Independence

10. The People are Sovereign The document subsequently played an influential role in the history of Scottish national identity and the creation of the common belief that in Scotland it is the 'people' that are sovereign, rather than the monarch or parliament, as in England.Scottish national identity

11. Task In pairs write your own declaration. In it say why Scotland should be independent and the reasons why you think this. Remember and include it is for the people that Scotland should be governed, not for Kings!