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November 17 in Scottish History

On November 17 1292 John Balliol acceded to Scottish throne. Following the premature death of Margaret, "the Maid of Norway" and heiress to the Scottish crown, thirteen claimants to the throne had appealed to Edward I to choose which of them should be the next Scottish king. On this date, Edward awarded the crown to John Balliol, as he seemed the easiest man to manipulate. Edward's price for adjudicating was recognition of his overlordship of Scotland. Balliol and the other claimants had agreed to this, but it soon began to cause problems when the scale of the demands became clear. John rebelled and Edward forced him to abdicate. War ensued. Scotland remained without a true king until Robert the Bruce, the grandson of one of Balliol's rival claimants, took the crown in 1306.

On this day in 1823 Lord Erskine, the Lord Chancellor, died. During his lifetime he became Britain's foremost advocate through his defence of people accused of treason and corruption. His defence of Thomas Paine, accused of high treason for his Republican treatise 'The Rights of Man', cost him his position as Attorney General to the Prince of Wales. Later, Erskine totally alientated George IV by defending Queen Caroline against her husband's attempt to deprive her of her rights and title.