As historical documents go, it was somewhere between the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (Déclaration des droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) and the Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Arbroath is without doubt the most famous document in Scottish history, a collection of revisionist history with sweeping statements on the nature of human freedom. Its foundational principles are said to have inspired the American Declaration of Independence.

On this day, April 6, in 1320, the Declaration of Arboath was drafted and sent, in the form of a letter to Pope John XXII, declaring Scotland’s independence and the right to defend herself if attacked.

The most important clauses in the text, on the nature of kings, replaced religious sentiments with political ones. Scotland was excommunicated by the Church for choosing to fight its own wars rather than joining in the Muslim Crusades and in its letters essentially rejected the notion their king was divinely commanded. They declared instead that he was chosen in a political act by the people, who could just as easily choose another.