The Maxwell family, as hereditary wardens of the Scottish West March, conducted periodic enforcement sweeps through Annandale to demonstrate authority and extract dues from the smaller reiver families. In 1585 such a sweep under Lord Maxwell served the dual purpose of genuine warden enforcement and building up Maxwell's private military following. The Maxwells used their warden powers to benefit their own family at the expense of neutral justice — a practice endemic to the Border warden system and impossible for central government to prevent given its distance from the west march.
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