John of Islay, Earl of Ross

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "John of Islay, Earl of Ross" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

John of Islay (or John MacDonald) (1434–1503), Earl of Ross, fourth (and last) Lord of the Isles, and Mac Domhnaill (chief of Clan Donald), was a pivotal figure in late medieval Scotland: specifically in the struggle for power with James Stewart, James III of Scotland, in the remoter formerly Norse-dominated regions of the kingdom. His defeat in this conflict led to rebellion against John by his illegitimate son Angus Óg, resulting in the defeat of John's fleet at the Battle of Bloody Bay in the early 1480s. Thereafter and until his death in 1503 John remained an inconsequential figure while, until his murder in 1490, Angus continued to dominate the affairs of Clan Donald. In 1493 James IV brought the Lordship of the Isles to an end.