Massacre of Berwick

King John Ballioli, who ascended to the throne in 1296, was a weak king, but he was nevertheless a king, something Scotland hadn’t had since 1286.  Edward I (Longshanks) had already conquered Wales, and he looked to Scotland as his next conquest. In 1296 he marched with 30,000 infantry and 5000 cavalry intent on defeating the troublesome Scots. There he massacred most of the inhabitants of Scotland’s main trading post. He had ordered his men to kill 7,500 souls of both sexes, and to make the mills "flow with the flow of their blood." The Massacre of Berwick forced the survivors of the region to submit to English rule.