biography
| name: |
James II (of Scotland)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1430–60)
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| biography:
| King of Scots (1437–60), the son of James I. He was six years old at his father's murder, and three rival families vied for power until James was able to assume control after his marriage to Mary of Gueldres (1449). He confiscated the estates of the Livingstone family, then quarrelled with William, Earl of Douglas, killed him in a brawl (1450), and confiscated the Douglas estates (1453). A growing stability in domestic politics was made ineffective by his involvement in the English struggles between the houses of York and Lancaster. In 1460 he marched for England with a powerful army, and laid siege to Roxburgh Castle, which had been held by the English for over a century, but was killed by the bursting of a cannon. |
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