Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences.
Edinburgh's West Register House houses the records of the Scottish Admiralty Court. Photo: Callum Black
Cartoon showing the Duke of Wellington; King George IV and George's brother William holding the Silver Oar of the Admiralty
The Royal Scots Navy was the navy of the Kingdom of Scotland from its origins in the Middle Ages until its merger with the Kingdom of England's Royal Navy per the Acts of Union 1707. There are mentions in Medieval records of fleets commanded by Scottish kings in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. King Robert I developed naval power to counter the English in the Wars of Independence (1296–1328). The build-up of naval capacity continued after the establishment of Scottish independence. In the late fourteenth century, naval warfare with England was conducted largely by hired Scots, Flemish and French merchantmen and privateers. King James I took a greater interest in naval power, establishing a shipbuilding yard at Leith and probably creating the office of Lord High Admiral.
Andrew Wood's flagship, The Yellow Carvel, in action, from a children's history book (1906)
A model of the Great Michael, the largest ship in the world when launched in 1511
The captured Salamander, in the English Anthony Roll
A Scottish armed merchantman engaged in the Baltic trade is attacked by a Hanseatic ship. Detail from Carta marina, by Olaus Magnus.