APRIL 27 - A Battle for Independence, the birth of a Civil Rights Leaders & the death of an Explorer
- Christopher Jack
- May 10, 2019
- 3 min read
On this day in 1296, the Battle of Dunbar was fought as part of the First War of Scottish Independence. This battle was the only significant field action in 1296. Scotland had been invaded to punish King John Balliol for his refusal to support England in war against France. Evidence currently being examined at the battle sight near the Dunbar suggests that is was nothing more than an action between 2 groups of mounted men-at-arms. The Scots occupied the high ground but they were tricked into believing the English were leaving the field. Rather than maintain their position they advanced in a disorderly downhill charge only to find the English forces has reformed and were advancing in perfect order. The English forces defeated the Scots in a single charge. There were few casualties and about 100 Scottish lords, knights, and men-at-arms were taken prisoner. The survivors fled westward and the next day King Edward I appeared in person and Dunbar Castle surrounded. In total 200+ Scots were taken prisoner and sent the England. The Battle of Dunbar effectively ended the 1296 campaign with a decisive English victory. In July John Balliol surrendered and was stripped of his royal standing.
Born on this day in 1927 was the author, activist, and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King. Mrs. King was the daughter of Obadiah Scott and Bernice McMurry Scott and wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Mrs. Scott met her husband while attending graduate school in Boston and together they became increasingly active in the Civil Rights Movement. After her husband's assassination in 1968, Mrs. King took on a leadership role in the struggle for racial equality, as well as the Women’s Movement. She founded the King Center and worked to make her husbands birthday a national holiday. The was also an activist in other movements such as LGBT rights and her opposition to apartheid. She was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame, received the Gandhi Peace Prize, and was the first African American to lie in the George State Capitol. On 30 January 2006, Mrs. King passed away due to complications from ovarian cancer. Her funeral was attended by more than 10,000 people, including 4 of the 5 living presidents. She is interred next to her husband at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.
On this day in 1525, Ferdinand Magellan died at the age of 41. Magellan was born 3
February 1480 in Portugal to Rodrigo de Magalhães, Alcaide-Mor of Averio and Alda de Mesquita. At the age of 25, Magellan enlisted in the fleet of 22 ships sent to host Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of Portuguese India. He remained there for 8 years, where he participated in several battles. He later sailed under the command of Diogo Lopes de Sequeira in the first Portuguese embassy to Malacca. In 511, Magellan participated in the conquest of Malacca and finally returned to Portugal in 1512. In March of 1518, the King of Spain named Magellan as one of the 2 captains so they could travel in search of Spice Island. He proved a fleet of 5 sheeps and 270 crewmen. In August 1519, the 5 ships under Magellan’s command left Seville, Spain. On Easter of 1520 mutiny broke out involving 3 of the 5 ship captains. Magellan took quick and brutal action but ultimately forgave most of the men but those that were executed were reportedly drawn and quartered. In November the ships travelled through a strait now known as the Strait of Magellan. On the 28th of the month Magellan and his 3 remaining ships entered the South Pacific becoming the first Europeans to reach Tierra del Fuego. On 16 March, Magellan reach the island of Homonhon in the Philippines with 150 crewmen left. On 27 April 1521, Magellan sailed to the Kingdom of Mactan in the Philippines with the intention of converting Lapu-Lapu, the leader of the Mactan, to Christianity. In the resulting battle Magellan was struck by a spear before being surrounded and field.
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