Edinburgh, Treaty of, ended the civil war in Scotland between Scottish Protestants and Scottish Roman Catholics backed by France. The war, which took place from 1558 to 1560, was part of the Scottish Reformation, which resulted in Protestantism replacing Roman Catholicism as the national religion of Scotland. The treaty is sometimes called the Treaty of Leith for a port that was the scene of some of the fighting.
During the civil war, many Scottish nobles who supported the Protestant reformers also fought to end the growing French influence in Scotland. They invited English troops to help them fight the French. In the Treaty of Edinburgh, France and England agreed to withdraw from Scotland and not to interfere in Scottish affairs. The French also recognized Elizabeth I, the English Protestant queen, as the rightful queen of England.
The treaty further required that a Scottish parliament be called. This was done, and the parliament removed Roman Catholicism as the official religion in Scotland.
See also Scotland, History of (The Reformation).
