<P> Within two years, the Rough Wooing, Henry VIII's military attempt to force a marriage between Mary and his son, Edward, had begun . This took the form of border skirmishing . To avoid the "rough wooing", Mary was sent to France at the age of five, as the intended bride of the heir to the French throne . Her mother stayed in Scotland to look after the interests of Mary--and of France--although the Earl of Arran acted officially as regent . </P> <P> In 1547, after the death of Henry VIII, forces under the English regent Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset were victorious at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh, the climax of the Rough Wooing and followed up by occupying Edinburgh . However it was to no avail since much of Scotland was still an unstable environment . She did not do well and after only seven turbulent years, at the end of which Protestants had gained complete control of Scotland, she had perforce to abdicate . Imprisoned for a time in Loch Leven Castle, she eventually escaped and attempted to regain the throne by force . After her defeat at the Battle of Langside in 1568 she took refuge in England, leaving her young son, James VI, in the hands of regents . In England she became a focal point for Catholic conspirators and was eventually executed on the orders of her kinswoman Elizabeth I . </P> <P> During the 16th century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation . In the earlier part of the century, the teachings of first Martin Luther and then John Calvin began to influence Scotland . the execution of a number of Protestant preachers, most notably the Lutheran influenced Patrick Hamilton in 1528 and later the proto - Calvinist George Wishart in 1546 who was burnt at the stake in St. Andrews by Cardinal Beaton for heresy, did nothing to stem the growth of these ideas . Beaton was assassinated shortly after the execution of George Wishart . </P> <P> The eventual Reformation of the Scottish Church followed a brief civil war in 1559--60, in which English intervention on the Protestant side was decisive . A Reformed confession of faith was adopted by Parliament in 1560, while the young Mary, Queen of Scots, was still in France . The most influential figure was John Knox, who had been a disciple of both John Calvin and George Wishart . Roman Catholicism was not totally eliminated, and remained strong particularly in parts of the highlands . </P>

Which country gained the most from the colonial wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centurie