In 1462, John MacDonald of Islay, Earl of Ross had entered into a secret treaty, in which he agreed to become a vassal of Edward IV of England in return for help in conquering northern Scotland. When James III of Scotland discovered this agreement in 1476, he stripped John of his possessions on the mainland. John spent the next few years trying to reclaim the land he thought was his. When he lent most of his forces to his kinsman Donald Balloch of Islay to ravage the West Coast, John took 500-600 men around the north of Scotland to the Dornoch Firth on the east coast. It's not clear what his intention was, but he landed a few miles from Dunrobin Castle, home to Clan Sutherland who controlled much of the far north of Scotland.