Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Independence on the Cards?
As of 2010, the SNP didn't have the
votes in Parliament to make Scotland an
independent country. It is trying to get
support to hold a referendum, asking
Scottish voters if they favor indepen-
dence—as it stands, the country is
divided on the matter and it is not at all
clear whether they would favor it.
2
EARLY HISTORY
Standing stones,
brochs
(circular stone towers), and burial
chambers are the best remaining signs of Scotland's earliest residents, but little is
known about these first tribes that were living in parts of the country hundreds, indeed
thousands, of years before the Romans arrived. When the Romans invaded in about
a.d. 82, much of the land was occupied by a people they called the
Picts
(the Painted
Ones). Despite some spectacular bloodletting, the Romans never really conquered the
indigenous people of Scotland, and the building of Hadrian's Wall (well south of the
current border with England) effectively marked the northern limits of Rome's influ-
ence. Sometime before a.d. 500, however, the Irish Celtic tribes, called (confusingly)
“Scots,” began to successfully colonize the land, bringing Christianity and creating the
kingdom
Dalriada,
west and northwest of Glasgow on the coast. Celtic Christianity,
already introduced by Saints Ninian and
Mungo
to Strathclyde and Galloway, became
more widespread. In Glasgow, a cathedral still stands at the spot where St. Mungo (or
Kentigern) settled, established an enclave, and was later buried.
THE DARK & MIDDLE AGES
The Celtic Scots and the Picts were united
around 843, while pressures of invasion from the south and Scandinavia helped
mold Scotland into a relatively cohesive unit. Under
Malcolm II
(1005-34), tribes
who occupied the southwest and southeast parts of the Scottish mainland were
merged with the Scots and the Picts.
Malcolm III
(1031-93), with his English-
born wife, Margaret, drove forward church reforms that soon replaced the Gaelic
form of Christianity. She led a life of great piety, founded Edinburgh on Castle Hill,
and was later canonized as St. Margaret in 1251. King
David I
(1081-1153)
embarked on one of the most lavish building sprees in Scottish history, erecting
many abbeys, including Jedburgh, Kelso, and Melrose, while also establishing royal
burghs such as Edinburgh.
Some of Scotland's most legendary heroes lived during the 13th century, particu-
larly
William Wallace
(1270-1305), who drove the English out of Perth and Stir-
ling. Later
Robert the Bruce
(1274-1329) beat English forces at Bannockburn in
1314. In 1320, after decades of war, barons loyal to Scottish King put their names
on a letter to the Pope, the Declaration of Arbroath. In the 15th and 16th centuries,
the royal
Stuart
line was established, providing a succession of kings (and one
notable queen:
Mary, Queen of Scots
).
THE REFORMATION
The passions of the Protestant Reformation arrived on an
already turbulent Scottish scene in the 16th century. The main protagonist was
undoubtedly
John Knox,
who had a peculiar mixture of piety, conservatism, strict
morality, and intellectual independence that many see as a pronounced feature of the
Scottish character today. From his pulpit in Edinburgh, Knox helped shape the demo-
cratic form of the Scottish Church: Primary among his tenets were provisions for
a self-governing congregation, including schools. Thus, Knox effectively encouraged
