Orilon
Template:Short description Template:About Template:Pp-vandalism Template:Pp-move Template:Very long Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox UK country Scotland (Template:Lang-sco, Template:Lang-gd Template:IPA-gd) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain,<ref name="Stats 1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Country">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> mainland Scotland has a Template:Convert border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands,<ref name="Scottish Executive">Template:Cite web</ref> principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands.
Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas.<ref name="cosla.gov.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scottish Government to each subdivision.<ref name="cosla.gov.uk"/> Scotland is the second-largest country in the United Kingdom, and accounted for 8.3% of the population in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Kingdom of Scotland emerged in the 9th century, from the merging of the Gaelic Kingdom of Dál Riata and the Kingdom of the Picts, and continued to exist as an independent sovereign state until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI of Scotland became king of England and Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain.<ref name=Keay/><ref name=Mackie/> The union also created the Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (in 1922, the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being officially renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles and other royal symbols of statehood specific to the pre-union Kingdom of Scotland. The legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law.<ref>Collier, J. G. (2001) Conflict of Laws (Third edition)(pdf) Cambridge University Press. "For the purposes of the English conflict of laws, every country in the world which is not part of England and Wales is a foreign country and its foreign laws. This means that not only totally foreign independent countries such as France or Russia ... are foreign countries but also British Colonies such as the Falkland Islands. Moreover, the other parts of the United KingdomTemplate:Spaced en dashScotland and Northern IrelandTemplate:Spaced en dashare foreign countries for present purposes, as are the other British Islands, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey."</ref> The continued existence of legal, educational, religious and other institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the 1707 incorporating union with England.<ref name="administrative control">Devine, T. M. (1999), The Scottish Nation 1700–2000, P.288–289, Template:ISBN "created a new and powerful local state run by the Scottish bourgeoisie and reflecting their political and religious values. It was this local state, rather than a distant and usually indifferent Westminster authority, that in effect routinely governed Scotland"</ref>
In 1999, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The head of the Scottish Government is the first minister, who is supported by the deputy first minister.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland is represented in the United Kingdom Parliament by 59 members of parliament (MPs). It is also a member of the British–Irish Council,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> sending five members of the Scottish Parliament to the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as well as being part of the Heads of Government Council, represented by the first minister,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Inter-ministerial Standing Committee Council, represented by relevant cabinet secretaries and ministers in areas relating to education, finance and economy, environment and trade and investment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:TOC limit
Etymology
Scotland comes from Template:Lang, the Latin name for the Gaels. Philip Freeman has speculated on the likelihood of a group of raiders adopting a name from an Indo-European root, *skot, citing the parallel in Greek Template:Lang (Template:Lang), meaning "darkness, gloom".<ref>P. Freeman, Ireland and the Classical World, Austin, 2001, pp. 93.</ref> The Late Latin word Template:Lang ('land of the Gaels') was initially used to refer to Ireland,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and likewise in early Old English Template:Lang was used for Ireland.<ref>Lemke, Andreas: The Old English Translation of Bede's Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum in its Historical and Cultural Context, Chapter II: The OEHE: The Material Evidence; page 71 (Universitätsdrucke Göttingen, 2015)</ref> By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Template:Lang.<ref name="Brewer">Template:Cite book</ref> The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.<ref name=Keay/>
Prehistory
Template:Main Template:For timeline Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the Mesolithic period. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation.<ref>The earliest known evidence is a flint arrowhead from Islay. See Moffat, Alistair (2005) Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. London. Thames & Hudson. Page 42.</ref> At the time, Scotland was covered in forests, had more bog-land, and the main form of transport was by water.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp These settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Neolithic habitation, burial, and ritual sites are particularly common and well preserved in the Northern Isles and Western Isles, where a lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Evidence of sophisticated pre-Christian belief systems is demonstrated by sites such as the Callanish Stones on Lewis and the Maes Howe on Orkney, which were built in the third millennium BC.<ref name="short"/>Template:Rp
History
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Early history
The first written reference to Scotland was in 320 BC by Greek sailor Pytheas, who called the northern tip of Britain "Orcas", the source of the name of the Orkney islands.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp During the first millennium BC, the society changed dramatically to a chiefdom model, as consolidation of settlement led to the concentration of wealth and underground stores of surplus food.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp
The Roman conquest of Britain was never completed, and most of modern Scotland was not brought under Roman political control.<ref name=":4">Template:Citation</ref> The first Roman incursion into Scotland occurred in 79 AD, when Agricola invaded Scotland; he defeated a Caledonian army at the Battle of Mons Graupius in 83 AD.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp After the Roman victory, Roman forts were briefly set along the Gask Ridge close to the Highland line, but by three years after the battle, the Roman armies had withdrawn to the Southern Uplands.<ref>Hanson, William S. The Roman Presence: Brief Interludes, in Edwards, Kevin J. & Ralston, Ian B.M. (Eds) (2003). Scotland After the Ice Age: Environment, Archeology and History, 8000 BC—AD 1000. Edinburgh. Edinburgh University Press.</ref> Remains of Roman forts established in the 1st century have been found as far north as the Moray Firth.<ref name=":4"/> By the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (Template:Reign), Roman control had lapsed to Britain south of a line between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth.<ref name=":8">Template:Citation</ref> Along this line, Trajan's successor Hadrian (Template:Reign) erected Hadrian's Wall in northern England<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire.<ref>Robertson, Anne S. (1960). The Antonine Wall. Glasgow Archaeological Society.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Roman influence on the southern part of the country was considerable, and they introduced Christianity to Scotland.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp<ref name="short"/>Template:Rp
The Antonine Wall was built from 142 at the order of Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius (Template:Reign), defending the Roman part of Scotland from the unadministered part of the island, north of a line between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth. The Roman invasion of Caledonia 208–210 was undertaken by emperors of the imperial Severan dynasty in response to the breaking of treaty by the Caledonians in 197,<ref name=":4"/> but permanent conquest of the whole of Great Britain was forestalled by Roman forces becoming bogged down in punishing guerrilla warfare and the death of the senior emperor Septimius Severus (Template:Reign) at Eboracum (York) after taking ill while on campaign. Although forts erected by the Roman army of the Severan campaign were placed near those established by Agricola and were clustered at the mouths of the glens in the Highlands, the Caledonians were again in revolt in 210–211 and these were overrun.<ref name=":4"/>
To the Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio, the Scottish Highlands and the area north of the River Forth was called Caledonia.<ref name=":4"/> According to Cassius Dio, the inhabitants of Caledonia were the Caledonians and the Maeatae.<ref name=":4"/> Other ancient authors used the adjective "Caledonian" to pertain to anywhere in northern or inland Britain, often mentioning the region's people and animals, its cold climate, its pearls, and a noteworthy region of wooden hills (Template:Lang-la) which the 2nd-century AD Roman philosopher Ptolemy, in his Geography, described as being south-west of the Beauly Firth.<ref name=":4"/> The name Caledonia is echoed in the place names of Dunkeld, Rohallion, and Schiehallion.<ref name=":4"/>
The Great Conspiracy constituted a seemingly coordinated invasion against Roman rule in Britain in the later 4th century, which included the participation of the Gaelic Scoti and the Caledonians, who were then known as Picts by the Romans. This was defeated by the comes Theodosius, however, Roman military government was withdrawn from the island altogether by the early 5th century, resulting in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the immigration of the Saxons to southeastern Scotland and the rest of eastern Great Britain.<ref name=":8"/>
Kingdom of Scotland
Template:Main Template:Multiple image Beginning in the sixth century, the area that is now Scotland was divided into three areas: Pictland, a patchwork of small lordships in central Scotland;<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, which had conquered southeastern Scotland;<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp and Dál Riata, which included territory in western Scotland and northern Ireland, and spread Gaelic language and culture into Scotland.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> These societies were based on the family unit and had sharp divisions in wealth, although the vast majority were poor and worked full-time in subsistence agriculture. The Picts kept slaves (mostly captured in war) through the ninth century.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp
Gaelic influence over Pictland and Northumbria was facilitated by the large number of Gaelic-speaking clerics working as missionaries.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp Operating in the sixth century on the island of Iona, Saint Columba was one of the earliest and best-known missionaries.<ref name="short">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp The Vikings began to raid Scotland in the eighth century. Although the raiders sought slaves and luxury items, their main motivation was to acquire land. The oldest Norse settlements were in northwest Scotland, but they eventually conquered many areas along the coast. Old Norse entirely displaced Gaelic in the Northern Isles.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp
In the ninth century, the Norse threat allowed a Gael named Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth I) to seize power over Pictland, establishing a royal dynasty to which the modern monarchs trace their lineage, and marking the beginning of the end of Pictish culture.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The kingdom of Cináed and his descendants, called Alba, was Gaelic in character but existed on the same area as Pictland. By the end of the tenth century, the Pictish language went extinct as its speakers shifted to Gaelic.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp From a base in eastern Scotland north of the River Forth and south of the River Spey, the kingdom expanded first southwards, into the former Northumbrian lands, and northwards into Moray.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp Around the turn of the millennium, there was a centralization in agricultural lands and the first towns began to be established.<ref name="Forsyth"/>Template:Rp
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, much of Scotland was under the control of a single ruler. Initially, Gaelic culture predominated, but immigrants from France, England and Flanders steadily created a more diverse society, with the Gaelic language starting to be replaced by Scots. Altogether, a modern nation-state emerged from this. At the end of this period, war against England started the growth of a Scottish national consciousness.Template:R<ref name="Barrell 2000">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp David I (1124–1153) and his successors centralized royal power<ref name="Stringer"/>Template:Rp and united mainland Scotland, capturing regions such as Moray, Galloway, and Caithness, although he did not succeed at extending his power over the Hebrides, which had been ruled by various Scottish clans following the death of Somerled in 1164.<ref name="Stringer"/>Template:Rp The system of feudalism was consolidated, with both Anglo-Norman incomers and native Gaelic chieftains being granted land in exchange for serving the king.<ref name="Stringer"/>Template:Rp The complex relationship with Scotland's southern neighbour over this period is characterised by Scottish kings making successful and unsuccessful attempts to exploit English political turmoil, followed by the longest period of peace between Scotland and England in the mediaeval period: from 1217Template:En dash1296.Template:R
Wars of Scottish Independence
The death of Alexander III in March 1286 broke the succession line of Scotland's kings. Edward I of England arbitrated between various claimants for the Scottish crown. In return for surrendering Scotland's nominal independence, John Balliol was pronounced king in 1292.<ref name="Stringer"/>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1294, Balliol and other Scottish lords refused Edward's demands to serve in his army against the French. Scotland and France sealed a treaty on 23 October 1295, known as the Auld Alliance. War ensued, and John was deposed by Edward who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace initially emerged as the principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in the Wars of Scottish Independence,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> until Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland in 1306.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 proved the Scots had regained control of their kingdom. In 1320 the world's first documented declaration of independence, the Declaration of Arbroath, won the support of Pope John XXII, leading to the legal recognition of Scottish sovereignty by the English Crown. <ref name="Brown"/>Template:Rp
A civil war between the Bruce dynasty and their long-term rivals of the House of Comyn and House of Balliol lasted until the middle of the 14th century. Although the Bruce faction was successful, David II's lack of an heir allowed his half-nephew Robert II, the Lord High Steward of Scotland, to come to the throne and establish the House of Stewart.<ref name="Brown"/>Template:Rp The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the remainder of the Middle Ages. The country they ruled experienced greater prosperity from the end of the 14th century through the Scottish Renaissance to the Reformation,<ref name="Mason">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp despite the effects of the Black Death in 1349<ref name="Brown"/>Template:Rp and increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands.<ref name="Brown"/>Template:Rp Multiple truces reduced warfare on the southern border.<ref name="Brown"/>Template:Rp
Union of the Crowns
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The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed in 1502 by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England. James married Henry's daughter, Margaret Tudor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> James invaded England in support of France under the terms of the Auld Alliance and became the last British monarch to die in battle, at Flodden in 1513.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The war with England during the minority years of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1543 and 1551 is known as the Rough Wooing.<ref>Marcus Merriman, The Rough Wooings (East Linton: Tuckwell, 2000), p. 6.</ref>
In 1560, the Treaty of Edinburgh brought an end to the Siege of Leith and recognized the Protestant Elizabeth I as Queen of England.<ref name="Mason"/>Template:Rp The Parliament of Scotland met and immediately adopted the Scots Confession, which signalled the Scottish Reformation's sharp break from papal authority and Roman Catholic teaching.<ref name="short"/>Template:Rp The Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in 1567.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the thrones of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland in the Union of the Crowns, and moved to London.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The first Union Jack was designed at James's behest, to be flown in addition to the St Andrew's Cross on Scots vessels at sea. James VI and I intended to create a single kingdom of Great Britain, but was thwarted in his attempt to do so by the Parliament of England, which supported the wrecking proposal that a full legal union be sought instead, a proposal to which the Scots Parliament would not assent, causing the king to withdraw the plan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
With the exception of a short period under the Protectorate, Scotland remained a separate state in the 17th century, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the Covenanters over the form of church government.<ref name="Wormald"/>Template:Rp The military was strengthened, allowing the imposition of royal authority on the western Highland clans. The 1609 Statutes of Iona compelled the cultural integration of Hebridean clan leaders.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp In 1641 and again in 1643, the Parliament of Scotland unsuccessfully sought a union with England which was "federative" and not "incorporating", in which Scotland would retain a separate parliament.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> The issue of union split the parliament in 1648.<ref name=":5"/>
After the execution of the Scottish king at Whitehall in 1649, amid the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and its events in Scotland, Oliver Cromwell, the victorious Lord Protector, imposed the British Isles' first written constitution – the Instrument of Government – on Scotland in 1652 as part of the republican Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland.<ref name=":5"/> The Protectorate Parliament was the first Westminster parliament to include representatives nominally from Scotland. The monarchy of the House of Stuart was resumed with the Restoration in Scotland in 1660.
The Parliament of Scotland sought a commercial union with England in 1664; the proposal was rejected in 1668.<ref name=":5"/> In 1670 the Parliament of England rejected a proposed political union with Scotland.<ref name=":5"/> English proposals along the same lines were abandoned in 1674 and in 1685.<ref name=":5"/> The Battle of Altimarlach in 1680 was the last significant clan battle fought between highland clans.<ref>"Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E". Dennis E. Showalter (2007). Springer. p.41</ref> After the fall and flight into exile of the Catholic Stuart king, James VII and II the Glorious Revolution in Scotland and the Convention of Estates replaced the House of Stuart in favour of William III and Mary II who was Mary Stuart.<ref name="Wormald"/>Template:Rp The Scots Parliament rejected proposals for a political union in 1689.<ref name=":5"/> Jacobitism, the political support for the exiled Catholic Stuart dynasty, remained a threat to the security of the British state under the Protestant House of Orange and the succeeding House of Hanover until the defeat of the Jacobite rising of 1745.<ref name=":5"/>
In common with countries such as France, Norway, Sweden and Finland, Scotland experienced famines during the 1690s. Mortality, reduced childbirths and increased emigration reduced the population of parts of the country about 10–15%.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 1698, the Company of Scotland attempted a project to secure a trading colony on the Isthmus of Panama. Almost every Scottish landowner who had money to spare is said to have invested in the Darien scheme.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref>
Treaty of Union
After another proposal from the English House of Lords was rejected in 1695, and a further Lords motion was voted down in the House of Commons in 1700, the Parliament of Scotland again rejected union in 1702.<ref name=":5"/> The failure of the Darien Scheme bankrupted the landowners who had invested, though not the burghs. Nevertheless, the nobles' bankruptcy, along with the threat of an English invasion, played a leading role in convincing the Scots elite to back a union with England.<ref name=":6"/><ref name=":7"/> On 22 July 1706, the Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Scots Parliament and the Parliament of England. The following year, twin Acts of Union were passed by both parliaments to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain with effect from 1 May 1707<ref name="Mackie"/> with popular opposition and anti-union riots in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and elsewhere.<ref name="1707 protests">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The newly formed Parliament of Great Britain rejected proposals from the Parliament of Ireland that the third kingdom be incorporated in the union.<ref name=":5"/>
With trade tariffs with England abolished, trade blossomed, especially with Colonial America. The clippers belonging to the Glasgow Tobacco Lords were the fastest ships on the route to Virginia. Until the American War of Independence in 1776, Glasgow was the world's premier tobacco port, dominating world trade.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The disparity between the wealth of the merchant classes of the Scottish Lowlands and the ancient clans of the Scottish Highlands grew, amplifying centuries of division.
The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly amongst non-Presbyterians, including Roman Catholics and Episcopalian Protestants. Two major Jacobite risings launched in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. The threat of the Jacobite movement to the United Kingdom and its monarchs effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden, Great Britain's last pitched battle.
In the Highlands, clan chiefs gradually started to think of themselves more as commercial landlords than leaders of their people. These social and economic changes included the first phase of the Highland Clearances and, ultimately, the demise of clanship.<ref name="Devine 1994">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp
Industrial age and the Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution turned Scotland into an intellectual, commercial and industrial powerhouse<ref>"Some Dates in Scottish History from 1745 to 1914 Template:Webarchive", The University of Iowa.</ref> — so much so Voltaire said "We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With the demise of Jacobitism and the advent of the Union, thousands of Scots, mainly Lowlanders, took up numerous positions of power in politics, civil service, the army and navy, trade, economics, colonial enterprises and other areas across the nascent British Empire. Historian Neil Davidson notes "after 1746 there was an entirely new level of participation by Scots in political life, particularly outside Scotland." Davidson also states "far from being 'peripheral' to the British economy, Scotland – or more precisely, the Lowlands – lay at its core."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Scottish Reform Act 1832 increased the number of Scottish MPs and widened the franchise to include more of the middle classes.<ref name="Devine&Finlay1996pp64-5">T. M. Devine and R. J. Finlay, Scotland in the Twentieth Century (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1996), pp. 64–65.</ref> From the mid-century, there were increasing calls for Home Rule for Scotland and the post of Secretary of State for Scotland was revived.<ref>F. Requejo and K-J Nagel, Federalism Beyond Federations: Asymmetry and Processes of Re-symmetrization in Europe (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011), p. 39.</ref> Towards the end of the century Prime Ministers of Scottish descent included William Gladstone,<ref name="Quinault2007">R. Quinault, "Scots on Top? Tartan Power at Westminster 1707–2007", History Today, 2007 57(7): 30–36. Template:ISSN Fulltext: Ebsco.</ref> and the Earl of Rosebery.<ref>K. Kumar, The Making of English National Identity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 183.</ref> In the late 19th century the growing importance of the working classes was marked by Keir Hardie's success in the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888, leading to the foundation of the Scottish Labour Party, which was absorbed into the Independent Labour Party in 1895, with Hardie as its first leader.<ref>D. Howell, British Workers and the Independent Labour Party, 1888–1906 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984), p. 144.</ref>
Glasgow became one of the largest cities in the world and known as "the Second City of the Empire" after London.<ref>J. F. MacKenzie, "The second city of the Empire: Glasgow – imperial municipality", in F. Driver and D. Gilbert, eds, Imperial Cities: Landscape, Display and Identity (2003), pp. 215–223.</ref> After 1860, the Clydeside shipyards specialised in steamships made of iron (after 1870, made of steel), which rapidly replaced the wooden sailing vessels of both the merchant fleets and the battle fleets of the world. It became the world's pre-eminent shipbuilding centre.<ref name="Shields1949">J. Shields, Clyde Built: a History of Ship-Building on the River Clyde (1949).</ref> The industrial developments, while they brought work and wealth, were so rapid that housing, town-planning, and provision for public health did not keep pace with them, and for a time living conditions in some of the towns and cities were notoriously bad, with overcrowding, high infant mortality, and growing rates of tuberculosis.<ref>C. H. Lee, Scotland and the United Kingdom: the Economy and the Union in the Twentieth Century (1995), p. 43.</ref>
While the Scottish Enlightenment is traditionally considered to have concluded toward the end of the 18th century,<ref name="Magnusson">Template:Citation</ref> disproportionately large Scottish contributions to British science and letters continued for another 50 years or more, thanks to such figures as the physicists James Clerk Maxwell and Lord Kelvin, and the engineers and inventors James Watt and William Murdoch, whose work was critical to the technological developments of the Industrial Revolution throughout Britain.<ref>E. Wills, Scottish Firsts: a Celebration of Innovation and Achievement (Edinburgh: Mainstream, 2002).</ref> In literature, the most successful figure of the mid-19th century was Walter Scott. His first prose work, Waverley in 1814, is often called the first historical novel.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> It launched a highly successful career that probably more than any other helped define and popularise Scottish cultural identity.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In the late 19th century, a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Scotland also played a major part in the development of art and architecture. The Glasgow School, which developed in the late 19th century, and flourished in the early 20th century, produced a distinctive blend of influences including the Celtic Revival the Arts and Crafts movement, and Japonism, which found favour throughout the modern art world of continental Europe and helped define the Art Nouveau style. Proponents included architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh.<ref>Stephan Tschudi-Madsen, The Art Nouveau Style: a Comprehensive Guide (Courier Dover, 2002), pp. 283–284.</ref>
This period saw a process of rehabilitation for Highland culture. In the 1820s, as part of the Romantic revival, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe,<ref>J. L. Roberts, The Jacobite Wars, pp. 193–195.</ref><ref name="Sievers2007">M. Sievers, The Highland Myth as an Invented Tradition of 18th and 19th century and Its Significance for the Image of Scotland (GRIN Verlag, 2007), pp. 22–25.</ref> prompted by the popularity of Macpherson's Ossian cycle<ref>P. Morère, Scotland and France in the Enlightenment (Bucknell University Press, 2004), pp. 75–76.</ref><ref>William Ferguson, The identity of the Scottish Nation: an Historic Quest (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1998), p. 227.</ref> and then Walter Scott's Waverley novels.<ref>Divine, Scottish Nation pp. 292–295.</ref> The Highlands remained poor and the only part of mainland Britain with a recurrent famine. A small range of products were exported from the region, which had negligible industrial production and a continued population growth that tested the subsistence agriculture. These problems, and the desire to improve agriculture and profits were the driving forces of the ongoing Highland Clearances, in which many of the population of the Highlands suffered eviction as lands were enclosed, principally so that they could be used for sheep farming. The first phase of the clearances followed patterns of agricultural change throughout Britain. The second phase was driven by overpopulation, the Highland Potato Famine and the collapse of industries that had relied on the wartime economy of the Napoleonic Wars.<ref>E. Richards, The Highland Clearances: People, Landlords and Rural Turmoil (2008).</ref> The population of Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century, from 1,608,000 in the census of 1801 to 2,889,000 in 1851 and 4,472,000 in 1901.<ref>A. K. Cairncross, The Scottish Economy: A Statistical Account of Scottish Life by Members of the Staff of Glasgow University (Glasgow: Glasgow University Press, 1953), p. 10.</ref> Even with the development of industry, there were not enough good jobs. As a result, during the period 1841–1931, about 2 million Scots migrated to North America and Australia, and another 750,000 Scots relocated to England.<ref name="Huston&Knox2001pxxxii">R. A. Houston and W. W. Knox, eds, The New Penguin History of Scotland (Penguin, 2001), p. xxxii.</ref>
After prolonged years of struggle in the Kirk, the Evangelicals gained control of the General Assembly in 1834 and passed the Veto Act, which allowed congregations to reject unwanted "intrusive" presentations to livings by patrons. The following "Ten Years' Conflict" of legal and political wrangling ended in defeat for the non-intrusionists in the civil courts. The result was a schism from the church by some of the non-intrusionists led by Dr Thomas Chalmers, known as the Great Disruption of 1843. Roughly a third of the clergy, mainly from the North and Highlands, formed the separate Free Church of Scotland.<ref name="Robb1990">G. Robb, "Popular Religion and the Christianization of the Scottish Highlands in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries", Journal of Religious History, 1990, 16(1): 18–34.</ref> In the late 19th century growing divisions between fundamentalist Calvinists and theological liberals resulted in a further split in the Free Church as the rigid Calvinists broke away to form the Free Presbyterian Church in 1893.<ref name="Koch2006p416-7">J. T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia, Volumes 1–5 (ABC-CLIO, 2006), pp. 416–417.</ref> Catholic emancipation in 1829 and the influx of large numbers of Irish immigrants, particularly after the famine years of the late 1840s, mainly to the growing lowland centres like Glasgow, led to a transformation in the fortunes of Catholicism. In 1878, despite opposition, a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy was restored to the country, and Catholicism became a significant denomination within Scotland.<ref name=Koch2006p416-7/>
Industrialisation, urbanisation and the Disruption of 1843 all undermined the tradition of parish schools. From 1830 the state began to fund buildings with grants; then from 1846 it was funding schools by direct sponsorship; and in 1872 Scotland moved to a system like that in England of state-sponsored largely free schools, run by local school boards.<ref name="Devine2001p91-100">T. M. Devine, The Scottish Nation, pp. 91–100.</ref> The historic University of Glasgow became a leader in British higher education by providing the educational needs of youth from the urban and commercial classes, as opposed to the upper class.<ref>Paul L. Robertson, "The Development of an Urban University: Glasgow, 1860–1914", History of Education Quarterly, Winter 1990, vol. 30 (1), pp. 47–78.</ref> The University of St Andrews pioneered the admission of women to Scottish universities. From 1892 Scottish universities could admit and graduate women and the numbers of women at Scottish universities steadily increased until the early 20th century.<ref name="Rayner-Canham2008">M. F. Rayner-Canham and G. Rayner-Canham, Chemistry was Their Life: Pioneering British Women Chemists, 1880–1949, (Imperial College Press, 2008), p. 264.</ref>
Caused by the advent of refrigeration and imports of lamb, mutton and wool from overseas, the 1870s brought with them a collapse of sheep prices and an abrupt halt in the previous sheep farming boom.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Land prices subsequently plummeted, too, and accelerated the process of the so-called "Balmoralisation" of Scotland, an era in the second half of the 19th century that saw an increase in tourism and the establishment of large estates dedicated to field sports like deer stalking and grouse shooting, especially in the Scottish Highlands.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> The process was named after Balmoral estate, purchased by Queen Victoria in 1848, that fuelled the romanticisation of upland Scotland and initiated an influx of the newly wealthy acquiring similar estates in the following decades.<ref name=":0"/><ref name=":1"/> In the late 19th century just 118 people owned half of Scotland, with nearly 60 per cent of the whole country being part of shooting estates.<ref name=":0"/> While their relative importance has somewhat declined due to changing recreational interests throughout the 20th century, deer stalking and grouse shooting remain of prime importance on many private estates in Scotland.<ref name=":0"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
World War I, II and Industrial growth
Scotland played a major role in the British effort in the First World War. It especially provided manpower, ships, machinery, fish and money.<ref>Richard J. Finlay, Modern Scotland 1914–2000 (2006), pp 1–33</ref> With a population of 4.8 million in 1911, Scotland sent over half a million men to the war, of whom over a quarter died in combat or from disease, and 150,000 were seriously wounded.<ref>R. A. Houston and W. W. J. Knox, eds. The New Penguin History of Scotland (2001) p 426.[1] Niall Ferguson points out in "The Pity of War" that the proportion of enlisted Scots who died was third highest in the war behind Serbia and Turkey and a much higher proportion than in other parts of the UK.[2] [3]</ref> Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig was Britain's commander on the Western Front.
The war saw the emergence of a radical movement called "Red Clydeside" led by militant trades unionists. Formerly a Liberal stronghold, the industrial districts switched to Labour by 1922, with a base among the Irish Catholic working-class districts. Women were especially active in building neighbourhood solidarity on housing issues. The "Reds" operated within the Labour Party with little influence in Parliament and the mood changed to passive despair by the late 1920s.<ref>Iain McLean, The Legend of Red Clydeside (1983)</ref>
The shipbuilding industry expanded by a third and expected renewed prosperity, but instead, a serious depression hit the economy by 1922 and it did not fully recover until 1939. The interwar years were marked by economic stagnation in rural and urban areas, and high unemployment.<ref>Finlay, Modern Scotland 1914–2000 (2006), pp 34–72</ref> Indeed, the war brought with it deep social, cultural, economic, and political dislocations. Thoughtful Scots pondered their declension, as the main social indicators such as poor health, bad housing, and long-term mass unemployment, pointed to terminal social and economic stagnation at best, or even a downward spiral. Service abroad on behalf of the Empire lost its allure to ambitious young people, who left Scotland permanently. The heavy dependence on obsolescent heavy industry and mining was a central problem, and no one offered workable solutions. The despair reflected what Finlay (1994) describes as a widespread sense of hopelessness that prepared local business and political leaders to accept a new orthodoxy of centralised government economic planning when it arrived during the Second World War.<ref>Richard J. Finlay, "National identity in Crisis: Politicians, Intellectuals and the 'End of Scotland', 1920–1939", History, June 1994, Vol. 79 Issue 256, pp 242–259</ref>
During the Second World War, Scotland was targeted by Nazi Germany largely due to its factories, shipyards, and coal mines.<ref name="blitz">Template:Cite web</ref> Cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh were targeted by German bombers, as were smaller towns mostly located in the central belt of the country.<ref name="blitz"/> Perhaps the most significant air-raid in Scotland was the Clydebank Blitz of March 1941, which intended to destroy naval shipbuilding in the area.<ref name="Clydebank blitz">Template:Cite web</ref> 528 people were killed and 4,000 homes totally destroyed.<ref name="Clydebank blitz"/>
Perhaps Scotland's most unusual wartime episode occurred in 1941 when Rudolf Hess flew to Renfrewshire, possibly intending to broker a peace deal through the Duke of Hamilton.<ref>J. Leasor Rudolf Hess: The Uninvited Envoy (Kelly Bray: House of Stratus, 2001), Template:ISBN, p. 15.</ref> Before his departure from Germany, Hess had given his adjutant, Karlheinz Pintsch, a letter addressed to Hitler that detailed his intentions to open peace negotiations with the British. Pintsch delivered the letter to Hitler at the Berghof around noon on 11 May.Template:Sfn Albert Speer later said Hitler described Hess's departure as one of the worst personal blows of his life, as he considered it a personal betrayal.Template:Sfn Hitler worried that his allies, Italy and Japan, would perceive Hess's act as an attempt by Hitler to secretly open peace negotiations with the British.
As in World War I, Scapa Flow in Orkney served as an important Royal Navy base. Attacks on Scapa Flow and Rosyth gave RAF fighters their first successes downing bombers in the Firth of Forth and East Lothian.<ref>P. Wykeham, Fighter Command (Manchester: Ayer, rpt., 1979), Template:ISBN, p. 87.</ref> The shipyards and heavy engineering factories in Glasgow and Clydeside played a key part in the war effort, and suffered attacks from the Luftwaffe, enduring great destruction and loss of life.<ref name="Buchanan2003p51">J. Buchanan, Scotland (Langenscheidt, 3rd edn., 2003), Template:ISBN, p. 51.</ref> As transatlantic voyages involved negotiating north-west Britain, Scotland played a key part in the battle of the North Atlantic.<ref>J. Creswell, Sea Warfare 1939–1945 (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2nd edn., 1967), p. 52.</ref> Shetland's relative proximity to occupied Norway resulted in the Shetland bus by which fishing boats helped Norwegians flee the Nazis, and expeditions across the North Sea to assist resistance.<ref>D. Howarth, The Shetland Bus: A WWII Epic of Escape, Survival, and Adventure (Guilford, Delaware: Lyons Press, 2008), Template:ISBN.</ref>
Scottish industry came out of the depression slump by a dramatic expansion of its industrial activity, absorbing unemployed men and many women as well. The shipyards were the centre of more activity, but many smaller industries produced the machinery needed by the British bombers, tanks and warships.<ref name=Buchanan2003p51/> Agriculture prospered, as did all sectors except for coal mining, which was operating mines near exhaustion. Real wages, adjusted for inflation, rose 25% and unemployment temporarily vanished. Increased income, and the more equal distribution of food, obtained through a tight rationing system, dramatically improved the health and nutrition.
After 1945, Scotland's economic situation worsened due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes.<ref>Harvie, Christopher No Gods and Precious Few Heroes (Edward Arnold, 1989) pp 54–63.</ref> Only in recent decades has the country enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors contributing to this recovery included a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing, (see Silicon Glen),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the North Sea oil and gas industry.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The introduction in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher's government of the Community Charge (widely known as the Poll Tax) one year before the rest of Great Britain,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> contributed to a growing movement for Scottish control over domestic affairs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following a referendum on devolution proposals in 1997, the Scotland Act 1998<ref>"The Scotland Act 1998" Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 22 April 2008.</ref> was passed by the British Parliament, which established a devolved Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government with responsibility for most laws specific to Scotland.<ref>"Devolution > Scottish responsibilities" Scottish Government publication, (web-page last updated November 2010)</ref> The Scottish Parliament was reconvened in Edinburgh on 4 July 1999.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The first to hold the office of first minister of Scotland was Donald Dewar, who served until his sudden death in 2000.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
21st century
The Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood opened in October 2004 after lengthy construction delays and running over budget.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Scottish Parliament's form of proportional representation (the additional member system) resulted in no one party having an overall majority for the first three Scottish parliament elections. The pro-independence Scottish National Party led by Alex Salmond achieved an overall majority in the 2011 election, winning 69 of the 129 seats available.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The success of the SNP in achieving a majority in the Scottish Parliament paved the way for the September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. The majority voted against the proposition, with 55% voting no to independence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> More powers, particularly in relation to taxation, were devolved to the Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission.
Geography and natural history
The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe. The total area is Template:Convert,<ref name="Whitaker">Whitaker's Almanack (1991) London. J. Whitaker and Sons.</ref> comparable to the size of the Czech Republic. Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for Template:Convert between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only Template:Convert from the south-western peninsula of Kintyre;<ref>North Channel, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 May 2016.</ref> Norway is Template:Convert to the east and the Faroe Islands, Template:Convert to the north.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and the Kingdom of England<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway.<ref name="Mackie">Mackie, J.D. (1969) A History of Scotland. London. Penguin.</ref> Important exceptions include the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland, which were acquired from Norway in 1472;<ref name=Whitaker/> and Berwick-upon-Tweed, lost to England in 1482
The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.<ref>See "Centre of Scotland" Newtonmore.com. Retrieved 7 September 2012.</ref> Rising to Template:Convert above sea level, Scotland's highest point is the summit of Ben Nevis, in Lochaber, while Scotland's longest river, the River Tay, flows for a distance of Template:Convert.<ref>Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. Pages 734 and 930.</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Geology and geomorphology
The whole of Scotland was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages and the landscape is much affected by glaciation. From a geological perspective, the country has three main sub-divisions.
The Highlands and Islands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland largely comprises ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian, which were uplifted during the later Caledonian orogeny. It is interspersed with igneous intrusions of a more recent age, remnants of which formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and Skye Cuillins.Template:Citation needed In north-eastern mainland Scotland weathering of rock that occurred before the Last Ice Age has shaped much of the landscape.<ref name="Hall1986">Template:Cite journal</ref>
A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstones found principally along the Moray Firth coast. The Highlands are generally mountainous and the highest elevations in the British Isles are found here. Scotland has over 790 islands divided into four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. There are numerous bodies of freshwater including Loch Lomond and Loch Ness. Some parts of the coastline consist of machair, a low-lying dune pasture land.
The Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations. Many of these sediments have economic significance for it is here that the coal and iron bearing rocks that fuelled Scotland's industrial revolution are found. This area has also experienced intense volcanism, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh being the remnant of a once much larger volcano. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the Ochils and Campsie Fells are rarely far from view.
The Southern Uplands are a range of hills almost Template:Convert long, interspersed with broad valleys. They lie south of a second fault line (the Southern Uplands fault) that runs from Girvan to Dunbar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Scotland Today » ITKT">Template:Cite web</ref> The geological foundations largely comprise Silurian deposits laid down some 400 to 500 million years ago. The high point of the Southern Uplands is Merrick with an elevation of Template:Convert.<ref name="Keay">Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins.</ref><ref>Murray, W.H. (1973) The Islands of Western Scotland. London. Eyre Methuen Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Murray, W.H. (1968) The Companion Guide to the West Highlands of Scotland. London. Collins. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Johnstone, Scott et al. (1990) The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills. Edinburgh. Scottish Mountaineering Trust. Page 9.</ref> The Southern Uplands is home to Scotland's highest village, Wanlockhead (Template:Convert above sea level).<ref name="Scotland Today » ITKT"/>
Climate
The climate of most of Scotland is temperate and oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. As it is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, it has much milder winters (but cooler, wetter summers) than areas on similar latitudes, such as Labrador, southern Scandinavia, the Moscow region in Russia, and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the opposite side of Eurasia. Temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the temperature of Template:Convert recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on 11 February 1895, the coldest ever recorded anywhere in the UK.<ref>Template:Cite web The same temperature was also recorded in Braemar on 10 January 1982 and at Altnaharra, Highland, on 30 December 1995.</ref> Winter maxima average Template:Convert in the Lowlands, with summer maxima averaging Template:Convert. The highest temperature recorded was Template:Convert at Floors Castle, Scottish Borders on 19 July 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, owing to the influence of Atlantic ocean currents and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea. Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, is one of the sunniest places in the country: it had more than 300 hours of sunshine in May 1975.<ref name="Metext">Template:Cite web</ref> Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest, with annual rainfall in a few places exceeding Template:Convert.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than Template:Convert annually.<ref name="Meteast">Template:Cite web</ref> Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar has an average of 59 snow days per year,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while many coastal areas average fewer than 10 days of lying snow per year.<ref name=Meteast/>
Flora and fauna
Scotland's wildlife is typical of the north-west of Europe, although several of the larger mammals such as the lynx, brown bear, wolf, elk and walrus were hunted to extinction in historic times. There are important populations of seals and internationally significant nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds such as gannets.<ref>Fraser Darling, F. & Boyd, J. M. (1969) Natural History in the Highlands and Islands. London. Bloomsbury.</ref> The golden eagle is something of a national icon.<ref>Benvie, Neil (2004) Scotland's Wildlife. London. Aurum Press. Template:ISBN p. 12.</ref>
On the high mountain tops, species including ptarmigan, mountain hare and stoat can be seen in their white colour phase during winter months.<ref>"State of the Park Report. Chapter 2: Natural Resources"(pdf) (2006) Cairngorms National Park Authority. Retrieved 14 October 2007.</ref> Remnants of the native Scots pine forest exist<ref>Preston, C. D., Pearman, D. A., & Dines, T. D. (2002) New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora. Oxford University Press.</ref> and within these areas the Scottish crossbill, the UK's only endemic bird species and vertebrate, can be found alongside capercaillie, Scottish wildcat, red squirrel and pine marten.<ref>Gooders, J. (1994) Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland. London. Kingfisher.</ref><ref>Matthews, L. H. (1968) British Mammals. London. Bloomsbury.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Various animals have been re-introduced, including the white-tailed eagle in 1975, the red kite in the 1980s,<ref>"East Scotland Sea Eagles" RSPB. Retrieved 3 January 2014.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and there have been experimental projects involving the beaver and wild boar. Today, much of the remaining native Caledonian Forest lies within the Cairngorms National Park and remnants of the forest remain at 84 locations across Scotland. On the west coast, remnants of ancient Celtic Rainforest still remain, particularly on the Taynish peninsula in Argyll, these forests are particularly rare due to high rates of deforestation throughout Scottish history.<ref>Ross, David (26 November 2009) "Wild Boar: our new eco warriors" The Herald. Glasgow.</ref><ref name="BBC News">Template:Cite news</ref>
The flora of the country is varied incorporating both deciduous and coniferous woodland as well as moorland and tundra species. Large-scale commercial tree planting and management of upland moorland habitat for the grazing of sheep and field sport activities like deer stalking and driven grouse shooting impacts the distribution of indigenous plants and animals.<ref>Integrated Upland Management for Wildlife, Field Sports, Agriculture & Public Enjoyment (pdf) (September 1999) Scottish Natural Heritage. Retrieved 14 October 2007.</ref> The UK's tallest tree is a grand fir planted beside Loch Fyne, Argyll in the 1870s, and the Fortingall Yew may be 5,000 years old and is probably the oldest living thing in Europe.Template:Dubious<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Copping, Jasper (4 June 2011) "Britain's record-breaking trees identified" London. The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2011.</ref> Although the number of native vascular plants is low by world standards, Scotland's substantial bryophyte flora is of global importance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="RBGE">Template:Cite web</ref>
Demographics
Template:Main Template:See also
Population
The population of Scotland at the 2001 Census was 5,062,011. This rose to 5,295,400, the highest ever, at the 2011 Census.<ref name="autogenerated1">Template:Cite web</ref> The most recent ONS estimate, for mid-2019, was 5,463,300.<ref name="ONS-pop-ests-June2018">Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2011 Census, 62% of Scotland's population stated their national identity as 'Scottish only', 18% as 'Scottish and British', 8% as 'British only', and 4% chose 'other identity only'.<ref>Census 2011: Detailed characteristics on Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion in Scotland – Release 3A. Scotland Census 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2014.</ref>
In August 2012, the Scottish population reached an all-time high of 5.25 million people.<ref name="thecourier1">Template:Cite web</ref> The reasons given were that, in Scotland, births were outnumbering the number of deaths, and immigrants were moving to Scotland from overseas. In 2011, 43,700 people moved from Wales, Northern Ireland or England to live in Scotland.<ref name="thecourier1"/>
Mid-2020 Scottish Government estimates the population of Scotland to stand at 5,470,824 inhabitants.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The most recent census in Scotland was conducted by the Scottish Government and the National Records of Scotland in March 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Over the course of its history, Scotland has long had a tradition of migration from Scotland and immigration into Scotland. In 2021, the Scottish Government released figures showing that an estimated 41,000 people had immigrated from other international countries into Scotland, whilst an average of 22,100 people had migrated from Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scottish Government data from 2002 shows that by 2021, there had been a sharp increase in immigration to Scotland, with 2002 estimates standing at 27,800 immigrants. While immigration had increased from 2002, migration from Scotland had dropped, with 2002 estimates standing at 26,200 people migrating from Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Urbanisation
Although Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland, the largest city is Glasgow, which has just over 584,000 inhabitants. The Greater Glasgow conurbation, with a population of almost 1.2 million, is home to nearly a quarter of Scotland's population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Central Belt is where most of the main towns and cities are located, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Perth. Scotland's only major city outside the Central Belt is Aberdeen. The Scottish Lowlands host 80% of the total population, where the Central Belt accounts for 3.5 million people.
In general, only the more accessible and larger islands remain inhabited. Currently, fewer than 90 remain inhabited. The Southern Uplands are essentially rural in nature and dominated by agriculture and forestry.<ref>Clapperton, C.M. (ed) (1983) Scotland: A New Study. London. David & Charles.</ref><ref>Miller, J. (2004) Inverness. Edinburgh. Birlinn. Template:ISBN</ref> Because of housing problems in Glasgow and Edinburgh, five new towns were designated between 1947 and 1966. They are East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston, and Irvine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Languages
Scotland has three officially recognised languages: English, Scots, and Scottish Gaelic.<ref>Gaelic Language Plan, www.gov.scot. Retrieved 2 October 2014</ref><ref>Scots Language Policy, Gov.scot, Retrieved 2 October 2014</ref> Scottish Standard English, a variety of English as spoken in Scotland, is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum, with broad Scots at the other.<ref>Stuart-Smith J. Scottish English: Phonology in Varieties of English: The British Isles, Kortman & Upton (Eds), Mouton de Gruyter, New York 2008. p. 47</ref> Scottish Standard English may have been influenced to varying degrees by Scots.<ref name="Stuart-Smith J. 2008. p.48">Stuart-Smith J. Scottish English: Phonology in Varieties of English: The British Isles, Kortman & Upton (Eds), Mouton de Gruyter, New York 2008. p.48</ref><ref>Macafee C. Scots in Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, Vol. 11, Elsevier, Oxford, 2005. p. 33</ref> The 2011 census indicated that 63% of the population had "no skills in Scots".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Others speak Highland English. Gaelic is mostly spoken in the Western Isles, where a large proportion of people still speak it. Nationally, its use is confined to 1% of the population.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland dropped from 250,000 in 1881 to 60,000 in 2008.<ref>"Can TV's evolution ignite a Gaelic revolution?". The Scotsman. 16 September 2008.</ref>
Immigration since World War II has given Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee small South Asian communities.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2011, there were an estimated 49,000 ethnically Pakistani people living in Scotland, making them the largest non-White ethnic group.<ref name="ethnicity">Template:Cite web</ref> Since the enlargement of the European Union more people from Central and Eastern Europe have moved to Scotland, and the 2011 census indicated that 61,000 Poles live there.<ref name="ethnicity"/><ref>The Pole Position (6 August 2005). Glasgow. Sunday Herald newspaper.</ref>
There are many more people with Scottish ancestry living abroad than the total population of Scotland. In the 2000 Census, 9.2 million Americans self-reported some degree of Scottish descent.<ref>The US Census 2000 Template:Webarchive. The [4] Template:Webarchive American Community Survey 2004 by the US Census Bureau estimates 5,752,571 people claiming Scottish ancestry and 5,323,888 people claiming Scotch-Irish ancestry. Template:Cite web</ref> Ulster's Protestant population is mainly of lowland Scottish descent,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and it is estimated that there are more than 27 million descendants of the Scots-Irish migration now living in the US.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In Canada, the Scottish-Canadian community accounts for 4.7 million people.<ref name="cancensus">Template:Cite web</ref> About 20% of the original European settler population of New Zealand came from Scotland.<ref>Linguistic Archaeology: The Scottish Input to New Zealand English Phonology Trudgill et al. Journal of English Linguistics.2003; 31: 103–124</ref>
Living and healthcare standards
The total fertility rate (TFR) in Scotland is below the replacement rate of 2.1 (the TFR was 1.73 in 2011<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>). The majority of births are to unmarried women (51.3% of births were outside of marriage in 2012<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>).
Life expectancy for those born in Scotland between 2012 and 2014 is 77.1 years for males and 81.1 years for females.<ref name="life expectancy 2015">Template:Cite report</ref> This is the lowest of any of the four countries of the UK.<ref name="life expectancy 2015"/> The number of hospital admissions in Scotland for diseases such as cancer was 2,528 in 2002. Over the next ten years, by 2012, this had increased to 2,669.<ref name="hospitaladmissions">Hospital Admissions: a data cube spreadsheet, Scottish Government</ref> Hospital admissions for other diseases, such as coronary heart disease (CHD) were lower, with 727 admissions in 2002, and decreasing to 489 in 2012.<ref name="hospitaladmissions"/>
Data collated by the Scottish Government in 2018/2019 asked the general population of Scotland to self assess their general health to provide a large sample for subnational analysis. The data collated highlighted that 72% of people in Scotland ranked their general health as "good or very good", 19.8% as "fair" and 8.1% of people saying that their general health is "bad or very bad".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Religion
Forms of Christianity have dominated religious life in what is now the Scotland for more than 1,400 years.<ref>L. Alcock, Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain AD 550–850 (Edinburgh: Society of Antiquaries of Scotland), Template:ISBN, p. 63.</ref><ref>Lucas Quensel von Kalben, "The British Church and the Emergence of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom", in T. Dickinson and D. Griffiths, eds, Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaeology and History, 10: Papers for the 47th Sachsensymposium, York, September 1996 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), Template:ISBN, p. 93.</ref> In 2011 just over half (54%) of the Scottish population reported being a Christian while nearly 37% reported not having a religion in a 2011 census.<ref name="2011 census religion">Template:Cite web</ref> Since the Scottish Reformation of 1560, the national church (the Church of Scotland, also known as The Kirk) has been Protestant in classification and Reformed in theology. Since 1689 it has had a Presbyterian system of church government and enjoys independence from the state.<ref name=Keay/> Its membership dropped just below 300,000 in 2020 (5% of the total population) <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="scotsman.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Church operates a territorial parish structure, with every community in Scotland having a local congregation.
Scotland also has a significant Roman Catholic population, 19% professing that faith, particularly in Greater Glasgow and the north-west.<ref>Andrew Collier, "Scotland's Confident Catholics", The Tablet 10 January 2009, 16.</ref> After the Reformation, Roman Catholicism in Scotland continued in the Highlands and some western islands like Uist and Barra, and it was strengthened during the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. Other Christian denominations in Scotland include the Free Church of Scotland, and various other Presbyterian offshoots. Scotland's third largest church is the Scottish Episcopal Church.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
There are an estimated 75,000 Muslims in Scotland (about 1.4% of the population),<ref name="2011 census religion"/><ref name="GROSCOT">Template:Cite web</ref> and significant but smaller Jewish, Hindu and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow.<ref name="GROSCOT"/> The Samyé Ling monastery near Eskdalemuir, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007, is the first Buddhist monastery in western Europe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Education
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Education in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government and is overseen by its executive agency Education Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Scottish education system has always been distinct from the rest of the United Kingdom, with a characteristic emphasis on a broad education.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the 15th century, the Humanist emphasis on education cumulated with the passing of the Education Act 1496, which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools to learn "perfyct Latyne", resulting in an increase in literacy among a male and wealthy elite.<ref name="Bawcutt&Williams2006pp29-30">P. J. Bawcutt and J. H. Williams, A Companion to Medieval Scottish Poetry (Woodbridge: Brewer, 2006), Template:ISBN, pp. 29–30.</ref> In the Reformation, the 1560 First Book of Discipline set out a plan for a school in every parish, but this proved financially impossible.<ref>R. A. Houston, Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), Template:ISBN, p. 5.</ref> In 1616 an act in Privy council commanded every parish to establish a school.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> By the late seventeenth century there was a largely complete network of parish schools in the lowlands, but in the Highlands basic education was still lacking in many areas.<ref name="Anderson2003">R. Anderson, "The history of Scottish Education pre-1980", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, Scottish Education: Post-Devolution (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2003), Template:ISBN, pp. 219–228.</ref> Education remained a matter for the church rather than the state until the Education (Scotland) Act 1872.<ref>"Schools and schooling" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 561–563.</ref>
The Curriculum for Excellence, Scotland's national school curriculum, presently provides the curricular framework for children and young people from age 3 to 18.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> All 3- and 4-year-old children in Scotland are entitled to a free nursery place. Formal primary education begins at approximately 5 years old and lasts for 7 years (P1–P7); children in Scotland study National Qualifications of the Curriculum for Excellence between the ages of 14 and 18. The school leaving age is 16, after which students may choose to remain at school and study further qualifications. A small number of students at certain private schools may follow the English system and study towards GCSEs and A and AS-Levels instead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
There are fifteen Scottish universities, some of which are amongst the oldest in the world.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The four universities founded before the end of the 16th century – the University of St Andrews, the University of Glasgow, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh – are collectively known as the ancient universities of Scotland, all of which rank among the 200 best universities in the world in the THE rankings, with Edinburgh placing in the top 50.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland had more universities per capita in QS' World University Rankings' top 100 in 2012 than any other nation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The country produces 1% of the world's published research with less than 0.1% of the world's population, and higher education institutions account for 9% of Scotland's service sector exports.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland's University Courts are the only bodies in Scotland authorised to award degrees.
Tuition fees are handled by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), which pays the fees of what it defines as "Young Students". Young Students are defined as those under 25, without children, marriage, civil partnership or cohabiting partner, who have not been outside of full-time education for more than three years. Fees must be paid by those outside the young student definition, typically from £1,200 to £1,800 for undergraduate courses, dependent on year of application and type of qualification. Postgraduate fees can be up to £3,400.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The system has been in place since 2007 when graduate endowments were abolished.<ref name="www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/02/28172530">Template:Cite web</ref> Labour's education spokesperson Rhona Brankin criticised the Scottish system for failing to address student poverty.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Scotland's universities are complemented in the provision of Further and Higher Education by 43 colleges. Colleges offer National Certificates, Higher National Certificates, and Higher National Diplomas. These Group Awards, alongside Scottish Vocational Qualifications, aim to ensure Scotland's population has the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet workplace needs. In 2014, research reported by the Office for National Statistics found that Scotland was the most highly educated country in Europe and among the most well-educated in the world in terms of tertiary education attainment, with roughly 40% of people in Scotland aged 16–64 educated to NVQ level 4 and above.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Based on the original data for EU statistical regions, all four Scottish regions ranked significantly above the European average for completion of tertiary-level education by 25- to 64-year-olds.<ref name="Eurostat">Template:Cite web</ref>
Kilmarnock Academy in East Ayrshire is one of only two schools in the UK, and the only school in Scotland, to have educated two Nobel Prize Laureates – Alexander Fleming, discoverer of Penicillin, and John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, for his scientific research into nutrition and his work as the first Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Health care
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Health care in Scotland is mainly provided by NHS Scotland, Scotland's public health care system. This was founded by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 (later repealed by the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978) that took effect on 5 July 1948 to coincide with the launch of the NHS in England and Wales. Prior to 1948, half of Scotland's landmass was already covered by state-funded health care, provided by the Highlands and Islands Medical Service.<ref>Highlands and Islands Medical Service (HIMS) Template:Webarchive www.60yearsofnhsscotland.co.uk. Retrieved 28 July 2008.</ref> Healthcare policy and funding is the responsibility of the Scottish Government's Health Directorates.
In 2014, the NHS in Scotland had around 140,000 staff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Clear
Politics and government
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The head of state of the United Kingdom is the monarch, who is King Charles III.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The monarchy of the United Kingdom continues to use a variety of styles, titles and other royal symbols of statehood specific to pre-union Scotland, including: the Royal Standard of Scotland, the Royal coat of arms used in Scotland together with its associated Royal Standard, royal titles including that of Duke of Rothesay, certain Great Officers of State, the chivalric Order of the Thistle and, since 1999, reinstating a ceremonial role for the Crown of Scotland after a 292-year hiatus.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Queen Elizabeth II's regnal numbering caused controversy in 1953 because there had never been an Elizabeth I in Scotland. MacCormick v Lord Advocate was a legal action was brought in Scotland's Court of Session by the Scottish Covenant Association to contest the right of the Queen to entitle herself "Elizabeth II" within Scotland, but the Crown won the appeal against the case's dismissal, as royal titulature was legislated for by the Royal Titles Act 1953 and a matter of royal prerogative.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Scotland has limited self-government within the United Kingdom, as well as representation in the British Parliament. Executive and legislative powers respectively have been devolved to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh since 1999. The British Parliament retains control over reserved matters specified in the Scotland Act 1998, including taxes, social security, defence, international relations and broadcasting.<ref name="Gate">Template:Cite web</ref> The Scottish Parliament has legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland. It initially had only a limited power to vary income tax,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but powers over taxation and social security were significantly expanded by the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The 2016 Act gave the Scottish Government powers to manage the affairs of the Crown Estate in Scotland, leading to the creation of Crown Estate Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Scottish Parliament can give legislative consent over devolved matters back to the British Parliament by passing a Legislative Consent Motion if United Kingdom-wide legislation is considered more appropriate for a certain issue. The programmes of legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament have seen a divergence in the provision of public services compared to the rest of the UK. For instance, university education and some care services for the elderly are free at point of use in Scotland, while fees are paid in the rest of the UK. Scotland was the first country in the UK to ban smoking in enclosed public places.<ref>BBC Scotland News Online "Scotland begins pub smoking ban", BBC Scotland News, 26 March 2006. Retrieved 17 July 2006.</ref>
The Scottish Parliament is a unicameral legislature with 129 members (MSPs): 73 of them represent individual constituencies and are elected on a first-past-the-post system; the other 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the additional member system. MSPs normally serve for a five-year period.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Parliament nominates one of its Members, who is then appointed by the monarch to serve as first minister. Other ministers are appointed by the first minister and serve at his/her discretion. Together they make up the Scottish Government, the executive arm of the devolved government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Scottish Government is headed by the first minister, who is accountable to the Scottish Parliament and is the minister of charge of the Scottish Government. The first minister is also the political leader of Scotland. The Scottish Government also comprises the deputy first minister, who deputises for the first minister during a period of absence. Alongside the deputy first minister's requirements as Deputy, the minister also has a cabinet ministerial responsibility.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The current Scottish Government has nine cabinet secretaries and there are 15 other ministers who work alongside the cabinet secretaries in their appointed areas.<ref name="ScotParliament">Template:Cite web</ref>
In the 2021 election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 64 of the 129 seats available.<ref name="2016 results">Template:Cite web</ref> Humza Yousaf, the leader of the SNP, has been the first minister since March 2023. The Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens also have representation in the Parliament.<ref name="2016 results"/> The next Scottish Parliament election is due to be held on 7 May 2026.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Scotland is represented in the British House of Commons by 59 MPs elected from territory-based Scottish constituencies. In the 2019 general election, the SNP won 48 of the 59 seats.<ref name="2019 election">Template:Cite web</ref> This represented a significant increase from the 2017 general election, when the SNP won 35 seats.<ref name="2019 election"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat parties also represent Scottish constituencies in the House of Commons.<ref name="2019 election"/> The next general election is scheduled for 2 May 2024. The Scotland Office represents the British government in Scotland on reserved matters and represents Scottish interests within the government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Scotland Office is led by the Secretary of State for Scotland, who sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.<ref name="jack"/> Conservative MP Alister Jack has held the position since July 2019.<ref name="jack">Template:Cite web</ref>
Devolved government relations
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Since 1999, relations between the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with the Government of the United Kingdom has been conducted under the banner of Intergovernmental Relations. The First Minister, other cabinet secrateries and junior ministers of the Scottish Government are in daily communication relating to areas of national and international interest, discussing joint policy making and strengthening approaches to working together.<ref name="assets.publishing.service.gov.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> A Memorandum of Understanding, created in 1999, lays emphasis on the principles of good communication, consultation and co-operation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Overall, accountability for intergovernmental relations is the responsibility of the First Minister.<ref name="assets.publishing.service.gov.uk"/> The First Minister is a member of the Heads of Government Council ("The Council") (previously the Joint Ministerial Committee). Other cabinet secretaries and junior ministers within the Scottish Government participate in tier two (the Inter-ministerial Standing Committee) and tier 3 (the Inter-ministerial Group) of The Council which may include areas including education, finance and economy, investment and trade and rural affairs.<ref name="assets.publishing.service.gov.uk"/>
Since devolution in 1999, Scotland has devolved stronger working relations across the two other devolved governments, the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive. Whilst there are no formal concordats between the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, ministers from each devolved government meet at various points throughout the year at various events such as the British-Irish Council and also meet to discuss matters and issues that are devolved to each government.<ref name="gov.scot">Template:Cite web</ref> The Scottish Government considers the successful re-establishment of the Plenary, and establishment of the Domestic fora to be important facets of the relationship with the British Government and the other devolved administrations.<ref name="gov.scot"/>
In the aftermath of the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the European Union in 2016, the Scottish Government has called for there to be a joint approach from each of the devolved governments. In early 2017, the devolved governments met to discuss Brexit and agree on Brexit strategies from each devolved government<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which lead for Theresa May to issue a statement that stated that the devolved governments will not have a central role or decision-making process in the Brexit process, but that the central government plans to "fully engage" Scotland in talks alongside the governments of Wales and Northern Ireland.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
International diplomacy
Whilst foreign policy remains a reserved matter,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Scottish Government may promote the economy and Scottish interests on the world stage and encourage foreign businesses, international devolved, regional and central governments to invest in Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Whilst the first minister usually undertakes a number of international visits to promote Scotland, international relations, European and Commonwealth relations are also included within the portfolios of the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs (responsible for international development)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Minister for International Development and Europe (responsible for European Union relations and international relations).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Whilst an independent sovereign nation, Scotland had a close "special relationship" with France (known then as the Kingdom of France). In 1295, Scotland and France signed what became known as the Auld Alliance in Paris, which acted as a military and diplomatic alliance between English invasion and expansion.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> The French military sought the assistance of Scotland in 1415 during the Battle of Agincourt which was close to bringing the Kingdom of France to collapse.<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> The Auld Alliance was seen as important for Scotland and its position within Europe, having signed a treaty of military, economic and diplomatic co-operation with a wealthy European nation.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> There had been an agreement between Scotland and France that allowed citizens of both countries to hold dual citizenship, which was revoked by the French Government in 1903.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In recent times, there have been arguments that indicate that the Auld Alliance was never formally ended by either Scotland or France, and that many elements of the treaty may remain in place today.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland and France still have a special relationship, with a Statement of Intent being signed in 2013 which committed them to build on shared history, friendship, co-operation between governments and cultural exchange programmes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During the 31st G8 summit in 2005, the first minister of Scotland Jack McConnell welcomed each head of government of the G8 nations to the country's Glasgow Prestwick Airport<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> on behalf of prime minister Tony Blair. At the same time, McConnell and the then Scottish Executive pioneered the way forward to launch what would become the Scotland Malawi Partnership which co-ordinates Scottish activities to strengthen existing links with Malawi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During McConnell's time as first minister, several relations with Scotland, including Scottish and Russian relations strengthened following a visit by President of Russia Vladimir Putin to Edinburgh. McConnell, speaking at the end, highlighted that the visit by Putin was a "post-devolution" step towards "Scotland regaining its international identity".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Under the Salmond administration, Scotland's trade and investment deals with countries such as China<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Canada, where Salmond established the Canada Plan 2010–2015 which aimed to strengthen "the important historical, cultural and economic links" between Canada and Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To promote Scotland's interests and Scottish businesses in North America, there is a Scottish Affairs Office located in Washington, D.C., with the aim to promoting Scotland in the United States and Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During a 2017 visit to the United States, the first minister Nicola Sturgeon met Jerry Brown, Governor of California, where they signed an agreement committing the Government of California and the Scottish Government to work together to tackle climate change,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as Sturgeon signing a £6.3 million deal for Scottish investment from American businesses and firms promoting trade, tourism and innovation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During an official visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2016, Sturgeon stated that is it "important for Ireland and Scotland and the whole of the British Isles that Ireland has a strong ally in Scotland".<ref name="firstminister.gov.scot">Template:Cite web</ref> During the same engagement, Sturgeon became the first head of government to address the Seanad Éireann, the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament).<ref name="firstminister.gov.scot"/>
International Offices
Scotland has a network of eight international offices across the world, these are located in:
- Beijing (Scottish Government Beijing Office) (British Embassy)
- Berlin (Scottish Government Berlin Office)
- Brussels (Scotland House Brussels)
- Copenhagen (Scottish Government Copenhagen Office)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Dublin (Scottish Government Dublin Office) (British Embassy)
- London (Scotland House London)
- Ottawa (Scottish Government Ottawa Office) (British High Commission)
- Paris (Scottish Government Office) (British Embassy)
- Washington DC (Scottish Government Washington DC Office) (British Embassy)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Constitutional changes
A policy of devolution had been advocated by the three main British political parties with varying enthusiasm during recent history. A previous Labour leader, John Smith, described the revival of a Scottish parliament as the "settled will of the Scottish people".<ref>Cavanagh, Michael (2001) The Campaigns for a Scottish Parliament. University of Strathclyde. Retrieved 12 April 2008.</ref> The devolved Scottish Parliament was created after a referendum in 1997 found majority support for both creating the Parliament and granting it limited powers to vary income tax.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Scottish National Party (SNP), which supports Scottish independence, was first elected to form the Scottish Government in 2007. The new government established a "National Conversation" on constitutional issues, proposing a number of options such as increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament, federalism, or a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. In rejecting the last option, the three main opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament created a commission to investigate the distribution of powers between devolved Scottish and UK-wide bodies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Scotland Act 2012, based on proposals by the commission, was subsequently enacted devolving additional powers to the Scottish Parliament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In August 2009 the SNP proposed a bill to hold a referendum on independence in November 2010. Opposition from all other major parties led to an expected defeat.<ref name="ReferendumBill2010">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Times3Sep09">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the 2011 Scottish Parliament election gave the SNP an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, the 2014 Scottish independence referendum was held on 18 September.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The referendum resulted in a rejection of independence, by 55.3% to 44.7%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the campaign, the three main parties in the British Parliament pledged to extend the powers of the Scottish Parliament.<ref>Scottish Independence Referendum: statement by the Prime Minister, UK Government</ref><ref name="kelvin"/> An all-party commission chaired by Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin was formed,<ref name="kelvin">Scottish referendum: Who is Lord Smith of Kelvin?, BBC News</ref> which led to a further devolution of powers through the Scotland Act 2016.<ref>Template:Cite act</ref>
Following the European Union Referendum Act 2015, the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum was held on 23 June 2016 on Britain's membership of the European Union. A majority in the United Kingdom voted to withdraw from the EU, whilst a majority within Scotland voted to remain a member.<ref name=":2"/>
The first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, announced the following day that as a result a new independence referendum was "highly likely".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> On 31 January 2020, the United Kingdom formally withdrew from the European Union. At Holyrood, Sturgeon's governing SNP continues to campaign for such a referendum; in December 2019 a formal request for the powers to hold one under Section 30 of the Scotland Act was submitted.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 2022, Sturgeon announced plans to hold a referendum on 19 October 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At Westminster, the governing second Johnson ministry of the Conservative Party is opposed to another referendum and has refused the first minister's request.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Because constitutional affairs are reserved matters under the Scotland Act, the Scottish Parliament would again have to be granted temporary additional powers under Section 30 in order to hold a legally binding vote.<ref name=":3"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Scotland has historical and cultural ties with northern countries outside the British Isles, such as the countries of Scandinavia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> Scottish Government policy advocates for stronger political relations with the Nordic and Baltic countries, which has resulted in some Nordic-inspired policies being adopted such as baby boxes.<ref name=":11">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Administrative subdivisions
Historical subdivisions of Scotland included the mormaerdom, stewartry, earldom, burgh, parish, county and regions and districts. Some of these names are still sometimes used as geographical descriptors.<ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref>
Modern Scotland is subdivided in various ways depending on the purpose. In local government, there have been 32 single-tier council areas since 1996,<ref>"Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994" Template:Webarchive Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 26 September 2007.</ref> whose councils are responsible for the provision of all local government services. Decisions are made by councillors who are elected at local elections every five years. The head of each council is usually the Lord Provost alongside the Leader of the council,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with a Chief Executive being appointed as director of the council area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Community Councils are informal organisations that represent specific sub-divisions within each council area.<ref name=":9"/>
In the Scottish Parliament, there are 73 constituencies and eight regions. For the Parliament of the United Kingdom, there are 59 constituencies. Until 2013, the Scottish fire brigades and police forces were based on a system of regions introduced in 1975. For healthcare and postal districts, and a number of other governmental and non-governmental organisations such as the churches, there are other long-standing methods of subdividing Scotland for the purposes of administration.
City status in the United Kingdom is conferred by letters patent.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are eight cities in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling and Perth.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Military
Of the money spent on UK defence, about £3.3 billion can be attributed to Scotland as of 2018/2019.<ref>Government Expenditure & Revenue Scotland 2018–19. August 2019.</ref>
Scotland had a long military tradition predating the Treaty of Union with England; the Scots Army and Royal Scots Navy were (with the exception of the Atholl Highlanders, Europe's only legal private army) merged with their English counterparts to form the Royal Navy and the British Army, which together form part of the British Armed Forces. Numerous Scottish regiments have at various times existed in the British Army. Distinctively Scottish regiments in the British Army include the Scots Guards, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the 154 (Scottish) Regiment RLC, an Army Reserve regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps. In 2006, as a result of the Delivering Security in a Changing World white paper, the Scottish infantry regiments in the Scottish Division were amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland. As a result of the Cameron–Clegg coalition's Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, the Scottish regiments of the line in the British Army infantry, having previously formed the Scottish Division, were reorganised into the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division in 2017. Before the formation of the Scottish Division, the Scottish infantry was organised into a Lowland Brigade and Highland Brigade.
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Because of their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments.<ref>The large number of military bases in Scotland led some to use the euphemism "Fortress Scotland". See Spaven, Malcolm (1983) Fortress Scotland. London. Pluto Press in association with Scottish CND.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Between 1960 and 1991, the Holy Loch was a base for the US fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Today, Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, Template:Convert north-west of Glasgow, is the base for the four Trident-armed Template:Sclass ballistic missile submarines that comprise the Britain's nuclear deterrent. Scapa Flow was the major Fleet base for the Royal Navy until 1956.
Scotland's Scapa Flow was the main base for the Royal Navy in the 20th century.<ref>Angus Konstam, Scapa Flow: The Defences of Britain's Great Fleet Anchorage 1914–45 (2009).</ref> As the Cold War intensified in 1961, the United States deployed Polaris ballistic missiles, and submarines, in the Firth of Clyde's Holy Loch. Public protests from CND campaigners proved futile. The Royal Navy successfully convinced the government to allow the base because it wanted its own Polaris submarines, and it obtained them in 1963. The RN's nuclear submarine base opened with four Template:Sclass Polaris submarines at the expanded Faslane Naval Base on the Gare Loch. The first patrol of a Trident-armed submarine occurred in 1994, although the US base was closed at the end of the Cold War.<ref>Andrew Marr, A History of Modern Britain (2009), p. 211.</ref>
A single front-line Royal Air Force base is located in Scotland. RAF Lossiemouth, located in Moray, is the most northerly air defence fighter base in the United Kingdom and is home to three fast-jet squadrons equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Law and criminal justice
Scots law has a basis derived from Roman law,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> combining features of both uncodified civil law, dating back to the Template:Lang, and common law with medieval sources. The terms of the Treaty of Union with England in 1707 guaranteed the continued existence of a separate legal system in Scotland from that of England and Wales.<ref>The Articles: legal and miscellaneous, UK Parliament House of Lords (2007). "Article 19: The Scottish legal system and its courts was to remain unchanged":Template:Cite web</ref> Prior to 1611, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, most notably Udal law in Orkney and Shetland, based on old Norse law. Various other systems derived from common Celtic or Brehon laws survived in the Highlands until the 1800s.<ref>"Law and institutions, Gaelic" & "Law and lawyers" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 381–382 & 382–386. Udal Law remains relevant to land law in Orkney and Shetland: Template:Cite web</ref> Scots law provides for three types of courts responsible for the administration of justice: civil, criminal and heraldic. The supreme civil court is the Court of Session, although civil appeals can be taken to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (or before 1 October 2009, the House of Lords). The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The Court of Session is housed at Parliament House, in Edinburgh, which was the home of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland with the High Court of Justiciary and the Supreme Court of Appeal currently located at the Lawnmarket. The sheriff court is the main criminal and civil court, hearing most cases. There are 49 sheriff courts throughout the country.<ref>"Court Information" www.scotcourts.gov.uk. Retrieved 26 September 207. Template:Webarchive</ref> District courts were introduced in 1975 for minor offences and small claims. These were gradually replaced by Justice of the Peace Courts from 2008 to 2010. The Court of the Lord Lyon regulates heraldry.
For three centuries the Scots legal system was unique for being the only national legal system without a parliament. This ended with the advent of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, which legislates for Scotland. Many features within the system have been preserved. Within criminal law, the Scots legal system is unique in having three possible verdicts: "guilty", "not guilty" and "not proven".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Both "not guilty" and "not proven" result in an acquittal, typically with no possibility of retrial in accordance with the rule of double jeopardy. A retrial can hear new evidence at a later date that might have proven conclusive in the earlier trial at first instance, where the person acquitted subsequently admits the offence or where it can be proved that the acquittal was tainted by an attempt to pervert the course of justice – see the provisions of the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011. Many laws differ between Scotland and the other parts of the United Kingdom, and many terms differ for certain legal concepts. Manslaughter, in England and Wales, is broadly similar to culpable homicide in Scotland, and arson is called wilful fire raising. Indeed, some acts considered crimes in England and Wales, such as forgery, are not so in Scotland. Procedure also differs. Scots juries, sitting in criminal cases, consist of fifteen jurors, which is three more than is typical in many countries.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Lord Advocate is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland. The Lord Advocate is the head of the systems in Scotland for the investigation and prosecution of crime, the investigation of deaths as well as serving as the principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government and representing the government in legal proceedings.<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> They are the chief public prosecutor for Scotland and all prosecutions on indictment are conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch.<ref name="auto"/>
The officeholder is one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland. The current Lord Advocate is Dorothy Bain, who was nominated by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and appointed in June 2021.<Ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Lord Advocate is supported by the Solicitor General for Scotland, currently Ruth Charteris. The Solicitor General supports the Lord Advocate in the deployment of the Lord Advocate's functions, and may exercise their statutory and common law powers if deemed necessary.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) manages the prisons in Scotland, which collectively house over 8,500 prisoners.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Cabinet Secretary for Justice is responsible for the Scottish Prison Service within the Scottish Government.
Economy
Scotland has a Western-style open mixed economy closely linked with the rest of the UK and the wider world. Traditionally, the Scottish economy was dominated by heavy industry underpinned by shipbuilding in Glasgow, coal mining and steel industries. Petroleum related industries associated with the extraction of North Sea oil have also been important employers from the 1970s, especially in the north-east of Scotland. De-industrialisation during the 1970s and 1980s saw a shift from a manufacturing focus towards a more service-oriented economy.
Scotland's gross domestic product (GDP), including oil and gas produced in Scottish waters, was estimated at £150 billion for the calendar year 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, Scotland's per capita GDP was one of the highest in the EU.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> As of April 2019 the Scottish unemployment rate was 3.3%, below the UK's overall rate of 3.8%, and the Scottish employment rate was 75.9%.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Edinburgh is the financial services centre of Scotland, with many large finance firms based there, including: Lloyds Banking Group (owners of HBOS); the Government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life. Edinburgh was ranked 15th in the list of world financial centres in 2007, but fell to 37th in 2012, following damage to its reputation,<ref>Askeland, Erikka (20 March 2012) "Scots Cities Slide down Chart of the World's Top Financial Centres". The Scotsman.</ref> and in 2016 was ranked 56th out of 86.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its status had returned to 17th by 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2014, total Scottish exports (excluding intra-UK trade) were estimated to be £27.5 billion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland's primary exports include whisky, electronics and financial services.<ref name="Trade">Template:Cite web</ref> The United States, Netherlands, Germany, France, and Norway constitute the country's major export markets.<ref name="Trade"/>
Whisky is one of Scotland's more known goods of economic activity. Exports increased by 87% in the decade to 2012<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and were valued at £4.3 billion in 2013, which was 85% of Scotland's food and drink exports.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It supports around 10,000 jobs directly and 25,000 indirectly.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It may contribute £400–682 million to Scotland, rather than several billion pounds, as more than 80% of whisky produced is owned by non-Scottish companies.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A briefing published in 2002 by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) for the Scottish Parliament's Enterprise and Life Long Learning Committee stated that tourism accounted for up to 5% of GDP and 7.5% of employment.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Scotland was one of the industrial powerhouses of Europe from the time of the Industrial Revolution onwards, being a world leader in manufacturing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This left a legacy in the diversity of goods and services which Scotland produces, from textiles, whisky and shortbread to jet engines, buses, computer software, ships, avionics and microelectronics, as well as banking, insurance, investment management and other related financial services.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In common with most other advanced industrialised economies, Scotland has seen a decline in the importance of both manufacturing industries and primary-based extractive industries. This has been combined with a rise in the service sector of the economy, which has grown to be the largest sector in Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Income and poverty
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The average weekly income for workplace based employees in Scotland is £573,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and £576 for residence based employees.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scotland has the third highest median gross salary between the Countries of the United Kingdom and regions at £26,007 and is higher than the overall UK average annual salary of £25,971.<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref> With an average of £14.28, Scotland has the third highest median hourly rate (excluding overtime working hours) of any of the countries of the United Kingdom, and like the annual salary, is higher than the average UK figure as a whole.<Ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The highest paid industries in Scotland tend of be in the utility electricity, gas and air conditioning sectors, with average hourly rates of £21.<Ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Industries like tourism, accommodation and food and drink tend to be the lowest paid at £8.91.<ref name="auto1"/> The top eight local authorities for pay by where people live are; East Renfrewshire (£20.87 per hour), East Dunbartonshire (£17.56 per hour), Renfrewshire (£15.34 per hour), Edinburgh (£15.26 per hour), South Lanarkshire (£15.22 per hour), Stirling (£14.96 per hour), the Shetland Isles (£14.90 per hour), Glasgow (£14.68 per hour), Na h-Eileanan Siar (£14.68 per hour) and Midlothian (£14.55 per hour).<Ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The top eight local authorities for pay based on where people work are; East Ayrshire (£16.92 per hour), Edinburgh (£15.64 per hour), Glasgow (£15.35 per hour), Stirling (£15.19 per hour), Aberdeen (£15 per hour), Dundee (£14.91 per hour), Perth and Kinross (£14.84 per hour), the Shetland Isles (£14.81 per hour), Na h-Eileanan Siar (£14.81 per hour) and North Ayrshire (£14.48 per hour). Scotland's cities commonly have the largest salaries in Scotland for where people work.<Ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 2021/2022 date indicates that there were 2.6 million dwellings across Scotland, with 318,369 local authority dwellings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Typical prices for a house in Scotland was £195,391 in August 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Between 2016 and 2020, the Scottish Government estimated that 10% of people in Scotland were in persistent poverty following housing costs, with similar rates of persistent poverty for children (10%), working-age adults (10%) and pensioners (11%).<ref name="persistentpoverty2022">Template:Cite web</ref> Persistent child poverty rates had saw a relatively sharp drop, however, the accuracy of this was deemed to be questionable due to a number of various factors such as households re-entering the longitudinal sample allowing data gaps to be filled.<ref name="persistentpoverty2022"/> Poverty figures in Scotland were largely the same in the previous calculation period between 2015 and 2019.<ref name="persistentpoverty2022"/> 2021 Scottish Government analysis found that relative poverty rates had steadied following a period of small increases since the 1990s when it had been falling.<ref name="poverty2021">Template:Cite web</ref> The income of households were found to be continuing to rise and fall, with the median household income continuing to rise.<ref name="poverty2021"/> It is estimated that 19% of Scotland's population (roughly 1.03 million people) were living in relative poverty after housing costs between 2017 and 2020, with 17% of the population estimated to be living in relative poverty before the deduction of housing costs in the same period.<ref name="poverty2021"/>
Child poverty had been gradually rising by 2021 following a period of reduction between the late nineties and 2010, child poverty rates have been gradually rising again with an estimated 24% (240,000 children) living in relative poverty following housing costs, with an estimated 21% of children living in relative poverty before housing costs were deducted.<ref name="poverty2021"/> The Scottish Government introduced the Scottish Child Payment in 2021 for low income families with children under six years of age in an attempt to reduce child poverty rates, with families receiving a payment of roughly £1,040 per year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Currency
Although the Bank of England is the central bank for the UK, three Scottish clearing banks issue Sterling banknotes: the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank. The issuing of banknotes by retail banks in Scotland is subject to the Banking Act 2009, which repealed all earlier legislation under which banknote issuance was regulated, and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Banknote Regulations 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The value of the Scottish banknotes in circulation in 2013 was £3.8 billion, underwritten by the Bank of England using funds deposited by each clearing bank, under the Banking Act 2009, in order to cover the total value of such notes in circulation.<ref name="Banknotes">Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Clear
Infrastructure and transportation
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Scotland's primary sources for energy are provided through renewable energy (61.8%), nuclear (25.7%) and fossil fuel generation (10.9%).<ref name=":10">Template:Cite web</ref>
In Scotland, 98.6% of all electricity used was from renewable sources. This is minus net exports.<ref name=":10"/> Between October 2021 and September 2022 63.1% of all electricity generated in Scotland was from renewable sources, 83.6% was classed as low carbon and 14.5% was from fossil fuels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Scottish Government has a target to have the equivalent of 50% of the energy for Scotland's heat, transport and electricity consumption to be supplied from renewable sources by 2030.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Scotland has five international airports operating scheduled services to Europe, North America and Asia, as well as domestic services to England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Highlands and Islands Airports operates eleven airports across the Highlands, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles, which are primarily used for short distance, public service operations, although Inverness Airport has a number of scheduled flights to destinations across the UK and mainland Europe.
Edinburgh Airport is currently Scotland's busiest airport handling over 13 million passengers in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is also the UK's 6th busiest airport.
British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, and Ryanair operate the majority of flights between Scotland and other major UK and European airports.
Four airlines are based in Scotland:
Network Rail owns and operates the fixed infrastructure assets of the railway system in Scotland, while the Scottish Government retains overall responsibility for rail strategy and funding in Scotland.<ref name="Office of Rail Regulation">"Disaggregating Network Rail's expenditure and revenue allowance and future price control framework: a consultation (June 2005)" Office of Rail Regulation. Retrieved 2 November 2007.</ref> Scotland's rail network has 359 railway stations and around Template:Convert of track.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018–19 there were 102Template:Spacesmillion passenger journeys on Scottish railways.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The East and West Coast Main Lines are the two cross-border railways that connect the networks of Scotland and England. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) provides inter-city rail journeys on the former between Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh to London King's Cross via York, while Avanti West Coast runs services on the latter from either Edinburgh or Glasgow Central to London Euston with some services serving Birmingham New Street. TransPennine Express, Lumo, CrossCountry, Caledonian Sleeper and ScotRail also operate services to England. Domestic rail services within Scotland are operated by ScotRail. Glasgow's Subway is one of the four underground urban rail networks in the UK (the others being in London, Newcastle and Liverpool). Edinburgh has a tramway to and from the airport.
During the time of British Rail, the West Coast Main Line from London Euston to Glasgow Central was electrified in the early 1970s, followed by the East Coast Main Line in the late 1980s. British Rail created the ScotRail brand. When British Rail existed, many railway lines in Strathclyde were electrified. Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive was at the forefront with the acclaimed "largest electrified rail network outside London". Some parts of the network are electrified, but there are no electrified lines in the Highlands, Angus, Aberdeenshire, the cities of Dundee or Aberdeen, or Perth & Kinross, and none of the islands have a rail link. Trains serving railheads such as Wemyss Bay, Kyle of Lochalsh and Mallaig are often timed to connect with ferries to some of Scotland's islands.
The Scottish motorways and major trunk roads are managed by Transport Scotland. The remainder of the road network is managed by the Scottish local authorities in each of their areas.
Regular ferry services operate between the Scottish mainland and outlying islands. Ferries serving both the inner and outer Hebrides are principally operated by the state-owned enterprise Caledonian MacBrayne.
Services to the Northern Isles are operated by Serco. Other routes, served by multiple companies, connect southwest Scotland to Northern Ireland. DFDS Seaways operated a freight-only Rosyth – Zeebrugge ferry service, until a fire damaged the vessel DFDS were using.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A passenger service was also operated between 2002 and 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Culture and society
Scottish music
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Scottish music is a significant aspect of the nation's culture, with both traditional and modern influences. A famous traditional Scottish instrument is the Great Highland bagpipe, a woodwind reed instrument consisting of three drones and a melody pipe (called the chanter), which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. The popularity of pipe bands—primarily featuring bagpipes, various types of snares and drums, and showcasing Scottish traditional dress and music—has spread throughout the world. Bagpipes are featured in holiday celebrations, parades, funerals, weddings, and other events internationally. Many military regiments have a pipe band of their own. In addition to the Great Highland pipes, several smaller, somewhat quieter bellows-blown varieties of bagpipe are played in Scotland, including the smallpipes and the Border pipes.
The clàrsach (harp), piano, fiddle and piano accordion are some of the most popular traditional Scottish instruments, the latter two heavily featured in Scottish country dance bands. The bodhrán, popularised in Ireland in the 1960s, soon found its place within the Scottish musical tradition. Stringed instruments such as the guitar, mandolin, banjo and Irish bouzouki, free-reed instruments (such as the concertina and button accordion) all feature. The tin whistle is commonly featured and with its affinity to and technical similarities with the pipes, it is often played as an additional instrument by pipers.
There are many successful mainstream and popular Scottish bands and individual artists in varying styles including Annie Lennox, Amy Macdonald, Runrig, Belle and Sebastian, Boards of Canada, Camera Obscura, Capercaillie, Cocteau Twins, Deacon Blue, Franz Ferdinand, Susan Boyle, Emeli Sandé, Julie Fowlis, Alasdair Fraser, Aly Bain, Texas, The View, The Fratellis, Twin Atlantic, Bay City Rollers and Biffy Clyro. Other Scottish musicians include Shirley Manson (of the band Garbage), Paolo Nutini, Andy Stewart and Calvin Harris, all of whom have achieved considerable commercial success in international music markets<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shirley Manson performed at the 1999 opening of the Scottish Parliament concert at Princes Street Gardens with her band Garbage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Rock band Simple Minds were the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s, having found success in international markets such as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> whilst pop singer Lewis Capaldi was recognised as the best selling artist in the UK in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Awards in recognition of Scottish musical talent in Scotland include the Scottish Music Awards, Scottish Album of the Year Award, the Scots Trad Music Awards and the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician award.
Literature and media
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Scotland has a literary heritage dating back to the early Middle Ages. The earliest extant literature composed in what is now Scotland was in Brythonic speech in the 6th century, but is preserved as part of Welsh literature.<ref>R. T. Lambdin and L. C. Lambdin, Encyclopedia of Medieval Literature (London: Greenwood, 2000), Template:ISBN, p. 508.</ref> Later medieval literature included works in Latin,<ref>I. Brown, T. Owen Clancy, M. Pittock, S. Manning, eds, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), Template:ISBN, p. 94.</ref> Gaelic,<ref>J. T. Koch, Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2006), Template:ISBN, p. 999.</ref> Old English<ref>E. M. Treharne, Old and Middle English c.890-c.1400: an Anthology (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004), Template:ISBN, p. 108.</ref> and French.<ref>M. Fry, Edinburgh (London: Pan Macmillan, 2011), Template:ISBN.</ref> The first surviving major text in Early Scots is the 14th-century poet John Barbour's epic Brus, focusing on the life of Robert I,<ref>N. Jayapalan, History of English Literature (Atlantic, 2001), Template:ISBN, p. 23.</ref> and was soon followed by a series of vernacular romances and prose works.<ref name="Wormald1991pp60-7">J. Wormald, Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), Template:ISBN, pp. 60–67.</ref> In the 16th century, the crown's patronage helped the development of Scots drama and poetry,<ref name="Brownetalpp256-7">I. Brown, T. Owen Clancy, M. Pittock, S. Manning, eds, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union, until 1707 (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), Template:ISBN, pp. 256–257.</ref> but the accession of James VI to the English throne removed a major centre of literary patronage and Scots was sidelined as a literary language.<ref>R. D. S. Jack, "Poetry under King James VI", in C. Cairns, ed., The History of Scottish Literature (Aberdeen University Press, 1988), vol. 1, Template:ISBN, pp. 137–138.</ref> Interest in Scots literature was revived in the 18th century by figures including James Macpherson, whose Ossian Cycle made him the first Scottish poet to gain an international reputation and was a major influence on the European Enlightenment.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was also a major influence on Robert Burns, whom many consider the national poet,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Walter Scott, whose Waverley Novels did much to define Scottish identity in the 19th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Towards the end of the Victorian era a number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations as writers in English, including Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In the 20th century the Scottish Renaissance saw a surge of literary activity and attempts to reclaim the Scots language as a medium for serious literature.<ref name="VisitingArtsScotland">Template:Cite journal</ref> Members of the movement were followed by a new generation of post-war poets including Edwin Morgan, who would be appointed the first Scots Makar by the inaugural Scottish government in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> From the 1980s Scottish literature enjoyed another major revival, particularly associated with a group of writers including Irvine Welsh.<ref name=VisitingArtsScotland/> Scottish poets who emerged in the same period included Carol Ann Duffy, who, in May 2009, was the first Scot named the monarch's Poet Laureate.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
National newspapers such as the Daily Record, The Herald, The Scotsman and The National are all produced in Scotland.<ref name="Newspapers">Template:Cite web</ref> Important regional dailies include the Evening News in Edinburgh, The Courier in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north.<ref name="Newspapers"/> Scotland is represented at the Celtic Media Festival, which showcases film and television from the Celtic countries. Scottish entrants have won many awards since the festival began in 1980.<ref name="Media 1">Template:Cite web</ref>
Television in Scotland is largely the same as UK-wide broadcasts. The national broadcaster is BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It runs three national television stations BBC One Scotland, BBC Scotland channel and the Gaelic-language broadcaster BBC Alba, and the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, amongst others. The main Scottish commercial television station is STV which broadcasts on two of the three ITV regions of Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Scotland has a number of production companies which produce films and television programmes for Scottish, British and international audiences. Popular films associated with Scotland through Scottish production or being filmed in Scotland include Braveheart (1995),<ref name="scotland.org">Template:Cite web</ref> Highlander (1986),<ref name="scotland.org"/> Trainspotting (1996),<ref name="scotland.org"/> Red Road (2006), Neds (2010),<ref name="scotland.org"/> The Angel's Share (2012), Brave (2012)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Outlaw King (2018).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Popular television programmes associated with Scotland include the long running BBC Scotland soap opera River City which has been broadcast since 2002,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Still Game, a popular Scottish sitcom broadcast throughout the United Kingdom (2002–2007, revived in 2016),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Rab C. Nesbitt, Two Doors Down<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Take the High Road.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Rig (2023) was the first Amazon Prime Video production to be filmed and produced entirely in Scotland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld is one of Scotland's television and film production studios where the television programme Outlander is produced.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dumbarton Studios, located in Dumbarton is largely used for BBC Scotland programming, used for the filming and production of television programmes such as Still Game, River City, Two Doors Down, and Shetland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Celtic connections
Template:Further As one of the Celtic nations, Scotland and Scottish culture are represented at inter-Celtic events at home and over the world. Scotland hosts several music festivals including Celtic Connections (Glasgow), and the Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway). Festivals celebrating Celtic culture, such as Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Brittany), the Pan Celtic Festival (Ireland), and the National Celtic Festival (Portarlington, Australia), feature elements of Scottish culture such as language, music and dance.<ref name="Celtic connections 1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Festival 1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Dingle 1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Festival 3">Template:Cite web</ref>
National identity
The image of St. Andrew, martyred while bound to an X-shaped cross, first appeared in the Kingdom of Scotland during the reign of William I.<ref name="NAS">"Feature: Saint Andrew seals Scotland's independence" Template:Webarchive, The National Archives of Scotland, 28 November 2007, retrieved 12 September 2009.</ref> Following the death of King Alexander III in 1286 an image of Andrew was used on the seal of the Guardians of Scotland who assumed control of the kingdom during the subsequent interregnum.<ref name="autogenerated2">Template:Cite web</ref> Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew, the saltire, has its origins in the late 14th century; the Parliament of Scotland decreeing in 1385 that Scottish soldiers should wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross on the front and back of their tunics.<ref>Dickinson, Donaldson, Milne (eds.), A Source Book Of Scottish History, Nelson and Sons Ltd, Edinburgh 1952, p.205</ref> Use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century.<ref>G. Bartram, www.flaginstitute.org British Flags & Emblems Template:Webarchive (Edinburgh: Tuckwell Press, 2004), Template:ISBN, p. 10.</ref> Since 1606 the saltire has also formed part of the design of the Union Flag. There are numerous other symbols and symbolic artefacts, both official and unofficial, including the thistle, the nation's floral emblem (celebrated in the song, The Thistle o' Scotland), the Declaration of Arbroath, incorporating a statement of political independence made on 6 April 1320, the textile pattern tartan that often signifies a particular Scottish clan and the royal Lion Rampant flag.<ref>"National identity" in M. Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford, 2001), pp. 437–444.</ref><ref>Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. Page 936.</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Highlanders can thank James Graham, 3rd Duke of Montrose, for the repeal in 1782 of the Act of 1747 prohibiting the wearing of tartans.<ref name="Works">Template:Cite book</ref>
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Although there is no official national anthem of Scotland,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Flower of Scotland is played on special occasions and sporting events such as football and rugby matches involving the Scotland national teams and since 2010 is also played at the Commonwealth Games after it was voted the overwhelming favourite by participating Scottish athletes.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other currently less popular candidates for the National Anthem of Scotland include Scotland the Brave, Highland Cathedral, Scots Wha Hae and A Man's A Man for A' That.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
St Andrew's Day, 30 November, is the national day, although Burns' Night tends to be more widely observed, particularly outside Scotland. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007, designating the day an official bank holiday.<ref>"Explanatory Notes to St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007" Template:Webarchive Office of Public Sector Information. Retrieved 22 September 2007.</ref> Tartan Day is a recent innovation from Canada.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The national animal of Scotland is the unicorn, which has been a Scottish heraldic symbol since the 12th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cuisine
Scottish cuisine has distinctive attributes and recipes of its own but shares much with wider British and European cuisine as a result of local and foreign influences, both ancient and modern. Traditional Scottish dishes exist alongside international foodstuffs brought about by migration. Scotland's natural larder of game, dairy products, fish, fruit, and vegetables is the chief factor in traditional Scots cooking, with a high reliance on simplicity and a lack of spices from abroad, as these were historically rare and expensive. Irn-Bru is the most common Scottish carbonated soft drink, often described as "Scotland's other national drink" (after whisky).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the Late Middle Ages and early modern era, French cuisine played a role in Scottish cookery due to cultural exchanges brought about by the "Auld Alliance",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> especially during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary, on her return to Scotland, brought an entourage of French staff who are considered responsible for revolutionising Scots cooking and for some of Scotland's unique food terminology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Sports
Scotland hosts its own national sporting competitions and has independent representation at several international sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Nations League, the UEFA European Championship, the Rugby Union World Cup, the Rugby League World Cup, the Cricket World Cup, the Netball World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. Scotland has its own national governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football Association (the second oldest national football association in the world)<ref>Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora by James Mills, Paul Dimeo: Page 18 – Oldest Football Association is England's FA, then Scotland and third oldest is the Indian FA.</ref> and the Scottish Rugby Union. Variations of football have been played in Scotland for centuries, with the earliest reference dating back to 1424.<ref name="FIFA">Template:Cite web</ref>
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The world's first official international association football match was held in 1872 and was the idea of C. W. Alcock of the Football Association which was seeking to promote Association Football in Scotland.<ref>Minutes of the Football Association of 3 October 1872, London</ref>Template:Better source needed The match took place at the West of Scotland Cricket Club's Hamilton Crescent ground in the Partick area of Glasgow. The match was between Scotland and England and resulted in a 0–0 draw. Following this, the newly developed football became the most popular sport in Scotland. The Scottish Cup was first contested in 1873. Queen's Park F.C., in Glasgow, is probably the oldest association football club in the world outside England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Scottish Football Association (SFA), the second-oldest national football association in the world, is the main governing body for Scottish association football, and a founding member of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which governs the Laws of the Game. As a result of this key role in the development of the sport Scotland is one of only four countries to have a permanent representative on the IFAB; the other four representatives being appointed for set periods by FIFA.Template:Citation needed<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The SFA also has responsibility for the Scotland national football team, whose supporters are commonly known as the "Tartan Army". Template:As of, Scotland are ranked as the 50th best national football team in the FIFA World Rankings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The national team last attended the World Cup in France in 1998, but finished last in their group stage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Scotland women's team have achieved more recent success, qualifying for both Euro 2017<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the 2019 World Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:As of, they were ranked as the 22nd best women's national team in the FIFA Rankings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Scottish clubs have achieved some success in European competitions, with Celtic winning the European Cup in 1967, Rangers and Aberdeen winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 and 1983 respectively, and Aberdeen also winning the UEFA Super Cup in 1983. Celtic, Rangers and Dundee United have also reached European finals. The most recent appearance by a Scottish club in a European final was by Rangers in 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
With the modern game of golf originating in 15th-century Scotland, the country is promoted as the home of golf.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Keay (1994) op cit page 839. "In 1834 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club declared St. Andrews 'the Alma Mater of golf'".</ref> To many golfers the Old Course in the Fife town of St Andrews, an ancient links course dating to before 1552,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is considered a site of pilgrimage.<ref>Cochrane, Alistair (ed) Science and Golf IV: proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf. Page 849. Routledge.</ref> In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes.<ref>Forrest L. Richardson (2002). "Routing the Golf Course: The Art & Science That Forms the Golf Journey". p. 46. John Wiley & Sons</ref> The world's oldest golf tournament, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland, with Scottish golfers winning the earliest majors.<ref>The Open Championship – More Scottish than British Template:Webarchive PGA Tour. Retrieved 23 September 2011</ref> There are many other famous golf courses in Scotland, including Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Muirfield, and Royal Troon.
The Scottish Football Union was founded on Monday 3 March 1873 at a meeting held at Glasgow Academy, Elmbank Street, Glasgow.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Scottish Rugby Union is the second oldest rugby union in the world. In 1924 the SFU changed its name to become the Scottish Rugby Union.<ref name="1925GS">Template:Cite web</ref> International games were played at Inverleith from 1899 to 1925 when Murrayfield was opened.
The SRU owns Murrayfield Stadium which is the main home ground of the Scottish national team. Scotland is represented in rugby tournaments by the Scotland national rugby union team. As of 4 December 2022, Scotland are 7th in the World Rugby Rankings.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Scotland rugby team played their first official test match, winning 1–0 against England at Raeburn Place in 1871. Scotland has competed in the Six Nations from the inaugural tournament in 1883, winning it 14 times outright—including the last Five Nations in 1999—and sharing it another 8. The Rugby World Cup was introduced in 1987 and Scotland have competed in all nine competitions, the most recent being in 2019, where they failed to reach the quarter-finals. Their best finish came in 1991, where they lost to the All Blacks in the third place play-off.
Scotland competes with the England rugby team annually for the Calcutta Cup. Each year, this fixture is played out as part of the Six Nations, with Scotland having last won in 2023.
Other distinctive features of the national sporting culture include the Highland games, curling and shinty. In boxing, Scotland has had 13 world champions, including Ken Buchanan, Benny Lynch and Jim Watt. Scotland has also been successful in motorsport, particularly in Formula One. Notable drivers include; David Coulthard, Jim Clark, Paul Di Resta, and Jackie Stewart.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In IndyCar, Dario Franchitti has won 4 consecutive IndyCar world championships.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Scotland has competed at every Commonwealth Games since 1930 and has won 356 medals in total—91 Gold, 104 Silver and 161 Bronze.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Edinburgh played host to the Commonwealth Games in 1970 and 1986, and most recently Glasgow in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
See also
References
Sources
Further reading
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- Devine, T. M. [1999] (2000). The Scottish Nation 1700–2000 (New edition). London: Penguin. Template:ISBN
- Donnachie, Ian and George Hewitt. Dictionary of Scottish History. (2001). 384 pp.
- Keay, John, and Julia Keay. Collins Encyclopedia of Scotland (2nd ed. 2001), 1101pp; 4000 articles; emphasis on history
- Koch, J. T. Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia (ABC-CLIO, 2006), Template:ISBN, 999pp.
- MacGibbon, David and Ross, Thomas, The ecclesiastical architecture of Scotland from the earliest Christian times to the seventeenth century; vol. 3/3, (1897).
- Tabraham, Chris, and Colin Baxter. The Illustrated History of Scotland (2004) excerpt and text search
- Trevor-Roper, Hugh, The Invention of Scotland: Myth and History, Yale, 2008, Template:ISBN
- Watson, Fiona, Scotland; From Prehistory to the Present. Tempus, 2003. 286 pp.
- Wilson, Neil. Lonely Planet Scotland (2013)
- Wormald, Jenny, Scotland: A History (2005) excerpt and text search
External links
- Template:Official website, the official online gateway to Scotland managed by the Scottish Government.
- Visit Scotland, official site of Scotland's national tourist board.
- Scottish Government, official site of the Scottish Government.
- Template:GovPubs.
- Template:Curlie
- Template:OSM relation
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