Robert the Bruce was born in 1274 at Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. Up until1286 he lived in a Scotland ruled by the Scottish king Alexander III. In 1286 Alexander III died, leaving the crown to Margaret, his granddaughter and daughter of the King of Norway. It was then that the King Edward of England began to try and work his way into Scotland. He suggested that Margaret marry his son and that Scotland would remain an independent nation. However, she died, going to Scotland leaving the crown open. John Balliol and Robert the Bruce were the two obvious candidates for the crown. Edward wanted Balliol as the King of Scotland because Balliol was an English noble who would be a weak ruler. Edward figured it would be easier to steal the kingship away from him than from Robert the Bruce. So in 1292 Balliol was made King of Scotland.
As soon as Balliol was made king, Edward began to exploit him. Edward said that because he had put Balliol in power Scotland should actually answer to England. Edward commanded that Scotland support England's war against France both monetarily and with actual troops. Balliol refused and allied himself with France. In response Edward marched into Scotland easily decimating Scottish opposition. Edward's army murdered, raped and pillaged the Scottish people, which gave Edward the moniker "Hammer of Scotland". He then forced around 2000 Scots to take an oath of loyalty to England. After such humiliating defeat, Balliol surrendered his crown to Edward and was sent to jail in England. Edward set up garrisons of his own troops in many Scottish towns to keep control over the Scottish people. However the English occupiers did not treat the Scots well. They essentially did as they pleased, stealing from them, having their way with the Scottish women and even murdering Scots, with no repercussions. .
The murder of William Wallace's wife by an English sheriff is what is said to have sparked the beginning of the revolution against English occupation.
