The population of Scotland in the 14th century was thousands. Buses and trains. About culture and art

Each culture has its own rules and norms of behavior, customs and traditions, often not similar to each other, but they are the ones that identify a person as part of the nation.

The population of Scotland is noticeably different from all other subjects of the English crown. Despite their small population, according to statistics for 2016, just over five million people live in Scotland (this is two times less than in Moscow), the Scots manage to maintain their identity and have even turned it into a kind of brand. This is especially evident in the world of fashion, where Scottish tartan (the national pattern that defines a Scot as a follower of a particular clan) has been a favorite for many years.

Mentality

Despite their apparent hospitality, the population of Scotland is somewhat closed, stern, stubborn, stingy and does not like strangers. The latter can be justified by the fact that the Scots, like their neighbors the Welsh, English and Irish, are islanders, which means they have a slightly different character than those who live on the mainland.

If for the population big land it was common for a neighbor to visit, then you had to get to the island, and most often the strangers did not arrive in peace. The constant defense of their land both from the sea and from their closest neighbors, the English (namely, they were the main headache for the Scots), formed the descendants of the ancient Picts.

A little history

The settlement of the territory of modern Scotland began with the ancient Picts. It was they who served as the ancestors of modern Scottish society. Initially they were called Iberians, and only with the appearance of the Celts on the island did the name “Picts” appear. Their habitat was the north of the island, the part that is today called Scotland. The Scots (ancestors of the Irish) lived in the west; the territory of England was occupied by the Britons, who were later forced out by the Anglo-Saxons.

In the 9th century, the Picts and Scots united against the Vikings to form a kingdom called Scotia. And here modern name“Scotland” appeared only a couple of centuries later, in the 11th century.

Gaelik

Or as it should be called, Gaelic, which is used by the population of Scotland, is the main language along with English. Although today you can only find pure Gaelic in deep Scottish villages. The bulk of the population uses something between English and Gaelic (Scottish English). Therefore, it is sometimes difficult to understand the language of Scotland even for its closest neighbors, the English.

Appeared thanks to the Irish, displacing Pictish and Old English. But it didn’t last long either. Already in the 15th century, the population of Scotland began to speak Scots. The development of homogeneity of the language was partly facilitated by the cities that began to appear in the 11th century.

Cities of Scotland

Scotland's cities, like most European cities, have a “web” network of streets and roads. Most often they originated around the castle of some feudal lord. At first these were temporary settlements consisting of workers building the castle and their families. Then the population increased, and small villages. And when construction was completed and the owner moved into the castle (or fortress), cities were formed.

The type of activity of the owner of the land often determined the fate of the city. So, if a feudal lord chose the seashore as a place for his home, then the city became a port, and his main income depended on the catch.

The cities of Scotland, located in the mountains, villages, farms are still fed from the land and livestock. The legendary kilt made from the wool of Scottish sheep has been and remains the main pride of the population. It is similar to our Orenburg scarf. Maybe not as thin and elegant, but certainly warm and durable.

And not a single youth party is complete without Scottish. There is a second spelling of this drink, whiskey - this is an Irish version, differing not only in spelling, but also in taste. Irish whiskey is pure, without impurities. It was invented by Irish immigrants who arrived in the United States and were very homesick. Scotch tastes a little like peat. It was on it that this drink was brewed since ancient times. Therefore, for any Scot, whiskey is more than just a drink, it is a connection with his history.

Who rules Caledonia

It is a widely known fact that the Scots defended their lands for many centuries and waged war both with each other and with the British. Wars, or rather two wars, were fought from the late 13th to the mid-14th century. The results were successful, because Scotland remained independent until the 17th century. And only in 1603 the unification of the Scottish and English crowns took place. So today the Queen of Scots is Elizabeth II - the oldest monarch in British history. Of course, Scotland had had female rulers on its throne before, but none of them ruled the country for as long as Elizabeth.

Modern Scotland leaves approximately 5.2 million people. If this administrative part of Great Britain were an independent state, according to this indicator it would take 113th place in the world. More than 80% of the population are Scots; approximately 7% are English. There are also representatives of other nationalities: Poles, Irish, Pakistanis, Indians, as well as people from African countries.

Numerous descendants of the Scots today are scattered all over the world. In the past, the country was a region with pronounced migration. Many local residents moved to the United States of America and Canada in the 18th-19th centuries. People from Scotland can be found in South Africa, Australia and South America. The Scots often form foreign countries entire diasporas.

Scotland does not have one officially recognized state language. Two varieties of Scots, adopted by the European Charter in 1992, are traditionally spoken here. Scotland's religious scene is not particularly diverse. Most residents consider themselves to be adherents of the national church, built on the Presbyterian type. There are also Catholics here, who, however, are half as numerous as atheists.

Scotland is currently actively preparing for a national referendum. On the agenda today is the issue of the independence of this territory. This topic, acute for the general population, has been raised more than once over the past three hundred years. But at the level of serious politicians they started talking about autonomy and even the complete separation of Scottish territory from Great Britain only in the 30s of the last century.

In 2007, the Scottish National put the issue of independence on the political agenda of the country. The leaders of the national movement believe that every Scot should be able to independently determine the future of their homeland. For the vast majority local residents Giving the country the status of an independent state will mean fundamental changes in the way of life.

The population of Scotland as a whole is eager for such changes, although there are also opponents of independence. They believe that the UK could seriously worsen Scotland's socio-economic status. Meanwhile, Scots anxiously await the fateful referendum scheduled for September 18, 2014.

Scotland is an autonomous kingdom within Great Britain. It is located on almost 800 islands, of which only 300 are inhabited. The capital of Scotland is the city of Edinburgh. The country is famous rich history, culture and picturesque nature.

Instructions

The first settlements in Scotland appeared 6 thousand years ago. And the history of the Scottish kingdom begins in 843, when two peoples - the Scots and the Picts - united into a single state. Until 1707, the kingdom was an independent state. And at the beginning of the 18th century, Scotland and England signed an act of unification.

The nature of Scotland is fascinating. Here mountains, sea, lakes, forests, fields and meadows are intertwined into an incredibly beautiful landscape. Scotland is home to the highest point in Great Britain - Mount Ben Nevis. It is in this country that Loch Ness is located, famous for the legend that the monster Nessie lives in its waters.

Scotland is also rich in its fortresses, palaces, and castles. For example, Edinburgh castle– the abode of monarchs, Stirling Castle – built near the largest family in the country, Glasgow, on the top of a volcano, the queen’s residence – Balmoral Castle. All ancient buildings in Scotland are shrouded in secrets and legends about ghosts.

The national Scottish men's costume, the kilt, attracts attention. It appeared around the 15th century, and at first it was only worn. The first kilt was a warm checkered blanket, 13 meters long. During the day it was wrapped around the body, and at night it was covered like a blanket.

The content of the article

SCOTLAND, country occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Separated from England mainly by the Cheviot Hills and the Tweed River. To the west of Scotland, on the other side of the North Channel (St. Patrick's Channel), is Northern Ireland. South coast Scotland faces the Irish Sea and the Solway Firth. Scotland's borders have remained unchanged for almost 500 years.

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, the political status of Scotland is not noted in this title. Although Scotland was never an autonomous or federal unit of Great Britain and is no longer a kingdom, it is not simply a geographical or administrative district. Scotland can be considered as a separate country. The Scots defend their national identity and preserve many institutions that do not exist in England and other English-speaking countries. They have their capital Edinburgh, their church, laws and courts, their banks and banknotes. In Scotland, cities are called burghs (as opposed to boroughs in England), and their mayors are called provosts (in England - mayors); sheriffs there are judges who receive a salary, and not honorary dignitaries, as in England.

Peculiar institutions have been preserved in Scotland since ancient times, when it was a sovereign state. For a long time, attempts have been made to unite Scotland and England. Many of them were acts of armed aggression on the part of England. The Scots for a long time successfully repelled the invaders, which contributed to the strengthening of national identity. In 1603, when, after the death of Elizabeth I, the Scottish king James VI peacefully established himself on the English throne, both countries found themselves under the rule of one monarch, but each retained its own parliament and its own governing bodies. Then, in accordance with the Act of Union 1707, Scotland and England joined the United Kingdom of Great Britain with a single parliament and central government.

However, even after 1707 Scotland retained its identity, as some of its institutions were clearly defined by the Act of Union, and in very recent years there has been a tendency towards decentralization of government, with many government functions transferred to individual Scottish departments.

Although in terms of area (78,772 sq. km) Scotland is more than half the area of ​​England and Wales combined (151,126 thousand sq. km), its population in 1991 numbered only 4,989 thousand people versus 49,890 thousand in England and Wales . In the 20th century In Scotland, there have been significant changes in the distribution of the population: increased migration to cities, where 9 out of every 10 Scots now live. In the mountains and islands, the population density does not exceed 12 people per 1 sq. km. However, at present, the centers of population growth are not large cities, but their suburban areas.

Nature.

The character of the Scottish people and their way of life were largely influenced by the natural environment: due to the predominance of mountains and hills, only 1/5 of the territory was suitable for agriculture. In the south, the South Scottish Highlands are bordered on almost all sides by coastal lowlands and river valleys. The Scottish Lowlands, which cross the country between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, have a high level of industrialization. To the north of this belt, a wide plain can be traced almost along the entire eastern coast; agriculture is developed in several large river valleys. Only in the most fertile lands in the south and east - in the valley of Tweed, County Ayr, Lothian, the county north of the Firth of Tay, parts of Aberdeen and on both banks of the Moray Firth - does intensive farming bring very high incomes.

Rocky hills and moors are widespread in Scotland, and in its central and western regions mountains dominate. The highest point, Mount Ben Nevis in the Grampian Mountains, reaches only 1343 m, several other peaks rise above 1200 m. However, there are approx. 300 peaks exceeding 900 m, and many mountains make an impressive impression, rising almost from the very seashore. There are no clearly defined ridges in the mountains of Scotland; when viewed from above, a mass of randomly dispersed peaks is revealed, separated by deep narrow valleys called glen, or elongated narrow lochs. The valley of Glen Mawr, containing three lochs (Loch Ness, Loch Lochy and Loch Linne) and continuing into submarine valleys at either end, is distinguished by its rectilinear outline; it extends from southwest to northeast and divides the whole of the Highlands of Scotland into two parts. Throughout this dissected area there are frequent outcrops of bedrock, and only in the lower parts of the mountain slopes and in the glens are there pastures and arable lands. In the last quarter of the 20th century. In Scotland, extensive afforestation was carried out.

The coasts of Scotland are heavily dissected. In the west, bays-suckers, having a fjord-like character, penetrate deeply into the central part mountainous country. Off the coast of Scotland there is approx. 500 islands united into archipelagos. The most significant of them is Hebrides, which includes such large islands, like Lewes (1990 sq km) and Skye (1417 sq km), along with grassy cliffs suitable for grazing a few sheep. The northern archipelagos - Orkney and Shetland - have 150 islands of varying sizes. Both the western and northern islands have a variety of landscapes; there are very fertile areas along with completely barren bedrock outcrops. In contrast, there is very little off the east coast of Scotland large islands. Here steep ledges open out to the North Sea, alternating with sandy beaches. In the past, about the times of small sailing ships, on east coast there were many small ports, mainly at river mouths. Scotland's trade relations with neighboring countries were mainly carried out through these ports. Northern Europe. In the 18th century, when Scotland began to trade with America, the deep-sea estuary of the Clyde River became the country's main trade artery.

Transport problems have always largely depended on the terrain. Not yet built good roads(late 18th century), small loads were transported on horseback, while heavy or large loads had to be transported by sea from one port to another. Soon the era began railways, which greatly facilitated transportation in more populated areas located at lower altitudes. However, in mountainous areas in the west and north of Scotland, the construction of railways was difficult, and the main mode of transport remained steamship traffic along the sea coast and along the lochs. Currently, the predominant importance is automobile transport. Many railway lines were dismantled, and steamship flights were cancelled. Air travel is limited, only between the UK and some islands, but is hampered by fog and strong winds.

The climate of Scotland is typical maritime. average temperature January approx. 4° C, July – 14° C. There are differences between the open west coast and the more sheltered eastern coast, the latter characterized by colder winters and warmer summers. The west receives much more rainfall. The average annual rate for all of Scotland is 1300 mm per year, but on some exposed western slopes it rises to 3800 mm.

Population and lifestyle.

The population of Scotland was the result of a mixture of several races. The earliest inhabitants of the country were the Caledonians, or Picts, who inhabited most of the territory located north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. In the southwest lived the Britons, related to the Welsh. In Argyll approx. 500 AD an Irish colony was founded, and at the same time the English left European continent and landed in the south-east of Great Britain. In the 8th–11th centuries. The Scandinavians visited almost the entire coast of Scotland, but settled in the north and west. In the 12th century Normans and Flemings appeared there. Many Irish immigrants arrived in the 19th century. Proceeded in a similar way migration processes between England and Scotland.

Residents of the plains and mountaineers.

The main difference is between the lowlanders, who have a mixed ethnogenesis and have spoken English for centuries, and the highlanders, who are mainly of Celtic origin and until recently spoke Gaelic. In the 11th century Gaelic was spoken in almost all parts of Scotland, but subsequently its area of ​​distribution narrowed significantly. In the 1960s there were no more than 80,000 Gaelic speakers, almost all of whom lived in the Western Highlands and Islands and also spoke English.

There were more than just linguistic differences between the Highlanders and Lowland Scots. Important differences remained between the predominantly agricultural (later predominantly industrial) economy of the plains and the predominantly pastoral economy of the mountains. In addition, the specificity of land use, with the population concentrated in glens separated by mountains, apparently favored the cohesion of some clans. As a result, until the 18th century. The highlanders could not be completely converted into law-abiding subjects of the kingdom.

Religion.

Many Scots are Presbyterians and their religious life takes place within the framework of the Church of Scotland. Adherents of this church make up 2/3 of all believers, and it enjoys strong influence almost everywhere. The heresies and schisms that plagued Scottish Presbyterians in the 18th and 19th centuries have been largely overcome. The two surviving Presbyterian minorities, the Free Church and the Free Presbyterian Church, have their adherents predominantly in some of the highlands and western islands, where their highly conservative teachings retain their popular appeal.

The Reformation triumphed in most of the country, and at the end of the 17th century. There were only about 12 thousand Catholics left in Scotland, who lived mainly in the mountains, in the west of the main island and on one or two small islands. Up to the 19th century. The Roman Catholic Church only sought to strengthen its influence in these areas. However, Irish immigration, especially during the famine years of the 1840s, contributed to the growth of the Catholic population in the industrial areas, mainly around Glasgow. Currently there are about 800 thousand Catholics in the country. In the 18th century The position of the Anglican Church strengthened in areas located north of the Tey River. Nowadays its role has weakened, with the exception of the small landed nobility, whose authority outside the cities is small.

Culture.

In Scotland, education has long been under the control of the church. During the Middle Ages cathedrals or other temples, schools were created that were governed by city councils. At the same time, the church organized three universities in Scotland - in St. Andrews (1410), Glasgow (1451) and Aberdeen (1494). The University of Edinburgh was founded shortly after the Reformation (1583); four more universities were added in the 1960s - Strathclyde in Glasgow, Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh, Dundee and Stirling. Several parliamentary acts of the 17th century. called for the establishment of schools in every parish, but in remote areas this idea was put into practice without much haste. In the 18th – early 19th centuries. in addition to the parish system, schools were established by voluntary societies until the whole country was completely covered by educational institutions. In 1872 the old order was replaced state system, and schooling became compulsory. Scottish tradition did not encourage the creation of private schools under the leadership of school boards, but schools in the country were very diverse until the late 1800s.

Sport.

The national sport in Scotland is football, but it is played mainly by professionals. Scotland is the birthplace of golf, and the sandy east coast offers great facilities for the game. In the mountains they play children's hockey, similar to regular hockey. Highlander costumes add color to sports competitions, which, together with bagpipe competitions, are regularly held in the mountainous regions.

Farming.

Scotland is a predominantly industrial country. Businesses are concentrated in the Lowlands of Scotland between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. In the same strip are the main industrial centers- Edinburgh and Glasgow. Both ancient (steel, printing and brewing) and relatively new industries (petrochemical, electronics and automotive) are represented here. In addition, shipbuilding and general engineering are developed in the Clydeside region, which includes the Glasgow metropolitan area.

Light industry is partly concentrated in the cities of Dundee and Aberdeen, located on the east coast north of the Firth of Forth. Aberdeen processes oil from fields in the North Sea. Industry Dundee specializes in the production of jute, watches, refrigerators and electronic equipment. Most of the famous whiskey distilleries are located in north-east Scotland. For many years clothing and textiles, especially tweed, were produced in the valleys of the South Scottish Highlands, the northern Highlands and the islands. Nuclear power stations are located on the banks of the Firth of Clyde and Solway Firth and on the northern coast.

Agriculture is predominantly concentrated on the eastern coastal plain. Among the main crops there are barley, oats, wheat, potatoes, turnips and sugar beets. 3/4 of Scotland's agricultural area is used for pasture. Sheep are raised in the hilly areas of the northwest, and cattle are raised in the plains of the northeast. The southwest is an important dairy farming region.

Government structure and politics.

Administratively, Scotland has been divided into 12 regions since 1975, including 53 counties and 3 island territories (Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland). Districts usually correspond to the former counties, or shires, that existed before 1975. To govern districts, districts and island territories elect councils.

The Scottish Parliament is passing some laws that are constantly in force throughout the UK. Other laws relate partly to Scotland, and others apply entirely to Scotland, and differences in judicial proceedings, administrative procedures etc. are taken into account when discussing them.

Until the 1970s, the idea of ​​local government had little success in Scotland. However, in the early 1970s the discovery of oil fields in the North Sea stimulated Scottish nationalism, and in the 1974 general election the Scottish National Party won a third of the vote in Scotland and 11 seats in the British House of Commons. In 1978, Parliament adopted a bill for direct elections of the Scottish Assembly in Edinburgh, giving it greater powers in internal affairs. However, in the 1979 referendum this project did not receive popular support.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Scotland continued to struggle for its place in the overall political context of the United Kingdom. The country retains national characteristics in religion, legal structure, language (called Scots) and educational system. Scotland has its own original culture, a highly developed and recently expanded university system, and its own press.

Despite the existence of a Scottish Ministry, headed by a Scottish Secretary in Edinburgh, and two reorganizations of local government, in 1973 and 1995, this integral part of the UK maintains a fairly isolated political life, which, in turn, has internal regional characteristics. Firstly, there is the Glasgow and Clyde Estuary area to the south east. In this developed industrial area, about 40% of Scotland's total population of five million lives, a significant part of the heavy industry is located and there are quite a lot of social problems associated with a lack of housing, rising crime, poverty and unemployment. Traditionally trade unionist, Catholics, mainly Irish, form an influential minority in Glasgow and the Strathclyde area. The combination of these socio-demographic features fuels a strong and consistent electorate for the Labor Party.

The rest of Scotland is politically different from of this region. In most constituencies there are three or four parties competing equally for the vote - Labour, the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats, although Labor has traditionally been strong in urban areas such as Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

In London, Scotland is represented by 72 members of the House of Commons, but their influence is believed to be small in the 659-member parliament. At the May 1997 general election, all major parties except the Conservatives campaigned for a significant change in Scotland's position in the United Kingdom. Labor won 56, the Liberal Democrats 10, the Scottish National Party 6 votes, while the Conservatives did not win a single seat, although 17.5% of the population voted for them.

After this, in a referendum, 70.4% of Scots voted in favor of the formation of a Scottish Assembly with limited powers, which will be convened in Edinburgh in July 1999. A slightly smaller number of Scots who took part in the referendum (but also a majority) supported the proposal to give the Assembly some rights in tax sphere.

Labor supported the idea of ​​an Assembly in the hope of ending Scottish dissatisfaction with the existing constitutional status of their country. The measures submitted to the referendum were also approved by the Scottish National Party, which regarded them as the first step towards full independence. It should be noted that Scottish nationalists favor continued membership in the European Union and are not as radical in matters of preserving culture and language as their counterparts in Wales.

STORY

Roman period.

For thirty years after 80 AD. and again around 140–180 AD. Roman troops occupied southern Scotland. They defended the line along the Forth of the Clyde against the Caledonians, or Picts, a warlike people who inhabited the northern territories. To achieve this, the Romans built fortifications during the first occupation and a defensive rampart during the second occupation. Around 84 and again around 208 they penetrated north to the Moray Firth, but left no military settlements beyond the Firth of Forth. Having lost control of southern Scotland for the first time, they erected the so-called. Hadrian's Wall, built after 120 between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth, which long served as the boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain. However, the rampart was unable to contain the Picts, who repeatedly invaded territories in southern Britain. In the 3rd–4th centuries. many tribes of southern Scotland became allies of Rome.

Christianization.

St. Ninian began his missionary work in the southwest of the island ca. 400; other missionaries are said to have preached among the Picts in the north, but not further than the Moray Firth, but the Christianization of Scotland is usually dated to the arrival of St. Columbus in 563. The conversion took place during the migration of the Scots from northern Ireland, where Christianity dominated from the beginning of the 5th century, in the Hebrides and in western part Scotland. Columba himself settled in a monastery on the island of Iona near the southwestern tip of the island of Malla. Not limiting himself to his brothers in faith - the Scots in the west - Columba eventually managed to convert the king of the Picts in Inverness to the Christian faith. Over time, the Irish form of Christianity, with its distinctive rites and organization, came into direct conflict with Roman Christianity, which was spreading north from Kent. At the synod of Whitby (663 or 664), the king of Northumbria, after hearing the partisans of the rival rites, decided in favor of Rome, and his verdict was later accepted throughout the territory north of the Cheviot Hills; Iona eventually capitulated c. 720. The replacement of Irish rites by Roman ones had a profound influence on the history of Scotland, since thereby the country was annexed to the general stream of history of European civilization.

Other influences.

With the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, the Tyne-Solway wall ceased to be an insurmountable obstacle, and eventually two kingdoms were formed that were located on both sides of the wall - Strathclyde in the west and Northumbria in the east. To the north lay the kingdoms of the Picts and Scots, the former occupying most of the country north of the Clyde Forth, and the latter part west coast and the Hebrides. The expansion of the English kingdom of Northumbria to the north, reaching as far as the River Forth, met strong resistance from the Picts, who defeated the Northumbrian army in 685 at the Battle of Nechtansmere. The danger of invasion diminished somewhat after the place of the Angles was occupied in the 8th century. Scandinavians, as the new settlers in Northumbria were more concerned with expanding south and west than north. However, the capture of the northern territories became the goal of the Scandinavian tribes who arrived by sea. The Normans conquered island after island, first in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, and then in the Hebrides; Afterwards they spread throughout the north and west of Scotland. Traces of the Norman conquest are still visible, especially in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness, which served as the center of concentration of the conquering forces. During the 11th and 12th centuries. The power of the Normans gradually decreased, and the power of the kingdom of the Scots increased. Nevertheless, the Normans retained dominance over western islands until 1266, and only in 1468–1469 Orkney and Shetland were returned to Scotland after the marriage between Princess Margaret and James III.

Scottish kingdom.

Meanwhile, in 844 the Scots and Picts were formally united under the rule of King Kenneth MacAlpin. During the 10th century. the rulers of this united kingdom tried, and not without success, to recapture Lothian from Northumbria and establish complete dominance over Strathclyde. The implementation of these claims occurred during the reign of Malcolm II (1005–1034). However, no sooner had Malcolm's grandson Duncan I taken the throne in 1034 than Macbeth of Moray seized the throne and held it until he was killed in 1057 by Malcolm III. Duncan I's son Malcolm III was exiled in England and later married the Anglo-Saxon princess Margaret. They and their sons brought the English way of life to Scotland. The system of monasteries and parishes developed, and a feudal system of the Norman type was established. This caused resistance in the Highlands, where opposition forces rallied around Moray. However, time passed, and the kingdom continued to exist, cities grew, trade developed, and England's attempts to subjugate Scotland met resistance and were successfully repulsed. The period from 1153 to 1286 is called Scotland's Golden Age.

Fight with England.

A long and relatively quiet and fruitful period came to an abrupt end with the death in 1290 of Margaret, the "Maid of Norway", who became heir to the Scottish throne. She was to marry the son and heir of Edward I, King of England. To avoid a civil war for the throne, Edward was asked to act as an arbitrator. He chose John Baliol, who was crowned in 1292, but only after recognizing Edward as his overlord. Repenting of what he had done, Baliol, with the help of the French, tried to get rid of his addiction, but the uprising was suppressed. In 1297, at Stirling Bridge, the English were challenged by William Wallace, and this time the Scots were victorious. However, Wallace, unable to reconcile his divergent interests, was eventually deceived and handed over to Edward. The banner of rebellion was again raised by Robert I (Bruce) in 1306. For several years he pursued a policy of exhausting the troops of Edward II, and then, in 1314, at Bannockburn, he dealt the most crushing blow ever received by English troops on Scottish soil. In 1320, in a letter to the pope, the Scots stated; “As long as at least one hundred Scots remain alive, we will not submit to the English king.” Despite this declaration of independence, it was only in 1328 that England, at the peace treaty of Northampton, agreed to recognize King Robert, and in 1329 the pope finally recognized the sovereignty of the Scottish kingdom.

Instability and war.

The war with England did not stop, and this led to the impoverishment of the population of Scotland. In addition, the country suffered from the ineffective rule of kings that were either too young or too old, and periods of strong rule lasted too short to allow stability to be established during this time. The chiefs of the Highlands and the barons of the lower lands, as well as the church, having all the wealth and influence in Scotland, were enemies of the monarchy. Although the citizens of the cities had held seats in Parliament since the reign of Robert I, the country had nothing like the English House of Commons to provide a counterbalance to the lords and prelates. During the Hundred Years' War, Scotland became an ally of the French. The result forged important cultural ties with the continent, but it involved Scotland in a series of military adventures. The economic, administrative and intellectual development of the country that took place under James IV ended after his invasion of England and death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The Reformation and the end of the Anglo-Scottish wars.

One of the lessons of the defeat at Flodden was that traditional ties with France posed considerable danger to Scotland. At the same time, the advent of the Reformation added another reason for revision. foreign policy countries. The Scots, influenced by Lutheranism, believed that Scotland should ally with Henry VIII after he rejected papal authority and dissolved the monasteries. James V, however, did not follow Henry's example. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and received financial benefits in exchange for loyalty to the pope. In addition, he strengthened relations with France by marrying two French women in succession, the second of whom was Marie of Guise. The result of his policy was a war with England and the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542, after which James soon died.

Before Mary came of age, who inherited the throne at the age of one week, the dominance of Scotland was contested by a Frenchman and an Englishman, each of whom had many supporters among the Scots. Henry VIII supported the Scottish reformers and plotted the assassination of Cardinal David Beaton, who favored the alliance with France. George Wishart, a Protestant preacher associated with the English, was burned at the stake as a heretic by Beaton, who was also killed shortly after. The English, having failed to secure the engagement of the Scottish queen to Prince Edward (later Edward VI), carried out devastating raids in the south of Scotland and, as a result, ensured that Scotland fell into French hands. Maria was sent to France (1548) and became engaged to the Dauphin. She married him in 1558, and he became king of France under the name Francis II. In Scotland, Mary of Guise became regent in 1554 and ruled the country, respecting the interests of France and relying on French troops.

The Reformation movement in Scotland was now combined with patriotic resistance to French domination and the fear that Scotland would henceforth be ruled by a dynasty of French monarchs. In 1559, upon the return of John Knox from Geneva, an uprising broke out, directed both against the French and against Rome. Troops sent by Elizabeth prevented a French suppression of the rebels, and the death of Mary of Guise (June 1560) opened the way for a treaty by which English and French soldiers would leave Scotland.

Mary, Queen of Scots.

The reformers were in power in 1560, but in August 1561 Queen Mary, who had lost her husband Francis in December 1560, returned to Scotland. Being a Catholic, she initially did not feel hostility towards the reformed church. However, Mary could not be the head of the new church, the leadership of which was mainly in the hands of administrators, or new bishops, and the supreme power belonged to the General Assembly, which was practically a Protestant parliament. Mary declared that she had a better claim to the English throne than Elizabeth, and after marrying her cousin, Lord Darnley, who followed her in succession to the English throne and whose claims were recognized by English Catholics, the reformed Church ceased to be in her favor. After Darnley's murder, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell, who was believed to be the murderer of her second husband. A rebellion broke out and Mary was deposed. The crown passed to her minor son, James VI. Mary fled to England in 1568 under the protection of Elizabeth. She was imprisoned until the Queen of England ordered her execution in 1587.

James VI.

The period before James VI came of age was marked by civil war waged by his regents against his mother's supporters, and by the intrigues of Rome, supported by European powers. In addition, within the framework of the reformed church, a Presbyterian movement arose, demanding the abolition of bishops and the transfer of church governance into the hands of elders. Presbyterians denied the king and parliament any power over the church and argued that the highest elders should determine the policy of the state. Jacob pursued a cunning, flexible and consistent policy in his relations with rival factions. For some time he had to rely on the Presbyterians and in 1592 agreed to the proclamation of Presbyterianism as the state church. However, after the defeat of the last Catholic revolt in 1594, he began to insist on maintaining and strengthening the posts of bishops along with the ecclesiastical courts. James forced Andrew Melville into exile and established tight control over the church, but did not interfere with the actual theological issues that had been discussed since the beginning of the Reformation. This compromise was generally accepted, especially after James reconciled the nobles and landowners and found support in the relatively conservative northern territories, where Presbyterianism had not yet taken deep roots. When James took the English throne in 1603, it did not unite the parliaments or government of the two countries, but it strengthened his own position, so that he made the Scots respect the law and was able to rule more effectively than any of his predecessors.

Charles I.

Charles I lacked the tact that characterized his father; his actions were not distinguished by patience and flexibility and led to the fact that many of his subjects turned away from him. James did not dispute the rights to the former church property seized after the outbreak of the Reformation. Charles began his reign (1625–1649) by questioning these rights, and in subsequent years cherished plans for restoring income old church. He went even further than his father in manipulating Parliament by means that were considered unconstitutional; established taxes, which were considered exorbitant, and gave political functions to bishops. Finally, regardless of criticism and opposition, Charles introduced new church canons, which threatened to replace the existing compromise with a system identical to the Anglican one, and a new church missal, which was rejected by already inflamed public opinion as Roman Catholic. As a result, the National Covenant was signed (1638), which stated that the king had acted illegally, and the Presbyterian Church was soon re-accepted as official.

The Civil War and Oliver Cromwell.

Charles resisted the increasing influence of the Scots, but he was not strong enough to bring them to heel. Scots turn to arms and occupy them northern England forced him to convene the Long Parliament. After the outbreak of the civil war, the Covenanters, who had power over Scotland, following the Solemn League and Covenant (1643), agreed to help the English parliament in the fight against the king on the condition that Presbyterianism would become the state church not only in Scotland, but also in England. However, when the royal forces were defeated, power in England passed not to Parliament, but to Cromwell and the army, who shared not Presbyterian, but Independent views on church government. Then the Scots, or rather some of the Scots, tried to restore the reign of Charles I, and after his execution they placed Charles II on their throne on the condition that he sign the covenants. The result was the defeat of the Scots at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651) and the conquest of the country by the English. During the period of the Republic and Protectorate, Scotland was united with England, sent deputies to English parliaments and conducted free trade with England and the English colonies.

Restoration and Glorious Revolution.

The Stuart Restoration (1660) aimed to restore the pre-war system of government and the terms of the religious compromise reached under James VI. There was some political opposition in the country, since Scottish politicians and parliament were no longer as obedient as in the days before 1648. Although the restoration was accepted in the country, serious discontent was brewing in some areas, especially in the south-west, among those strict Presbyterians , who advocated the implementation of the National Covenant and the Solemn League. A policy of alternating reconciliation and suppression reduced the degree of discontent, and the Bothwell Bridge rebellion (1679) was brutally suppressed, but a handful of extremists remained and eventually refused to recognize the English king.

James VII (James II of England) was mainly concerned with the issue of restoring the status of Roman Catholicism. His principle of toleration extended not only to Catholics, but also to Presbyterians, which undermined the official status of the Episcopal Church maintained by his predecessors. The policy of toleration was so unpopular that Parliament refused to sanction it, and it had to be carried out solely by the will of the king. The result was a general aversion to royal power. Thus, when the English Revolution of 1688 led to the flight of James and the rise of William of Orange, James had little chance of remaining on the Scottish throne. In 1689 he was declared deprived of the right to the crown. The campaign of John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, ended at Killecrankie, and William's rule was established in Scotland. The bishops and most of the clergy were loyal to James, so William relied on the Presbyterians, whose church was finally declared state (1690). One of the results of William's determination to break the resistance of the Highlanders was the famous Glencoe massacre of 1692.

Darien.

In the 17th century The country was going through a period of transformation. Since the reign of James VI, Scotland has increasingly become an advanced country with a developed economy and culture; economic projects aroused the ardent enthusiasm of the population, new incentives for production and commerce appeared; attempts were made to colonize new lands - in Nova Scotia, eastern New Jersey and South Carolina. Scotland's economic interests differed from those of England. The free trade regime with England ended with the beginning of the Restoration, when, according to the Navigation Act, the Scots were excommunicated from trading with the English colonies. As a result, serious tensions arose between the countries. Until the Revolution of 1688, crises were avoided because the king was able to keep the Scottish Parliament under control. After the revolution, parliament gained independence and showed its freedom-loving character precisely when the power of the English parliament increased. Under these conditions, the Scots decided to carry out an ambitious project to create their own colony in Darien, and this project received widespread support and financial resources. Darien nominally belonged to Spain, with which William was conducting difficult negotiations at that time. For this reason, he refused to support the idea of ​​a Scottish colony and forbade English subjects to provide any assistance to the Scots in this enterprise. The colony venture ended in disaster, partly due to the epidemic, and partly due to the resistance of the Spaniards. The Scots blamed William for everything, and the attitude towards England became even more hostile. It became clear that the only hope for progress in trade lay in Scotland's access to markets in England and the English colonies.

Union with England.

William understood that the difficulties inevitable in the current circumstances could be overcome with the help of a union of the two kingdoms and the creation of a single parliament, but the Scots did not like the idea of ​​​​subordination to England, and the British did not at all want to give up trading rights to the Scots. However, after 1701 England entered the War of the Spanish Succession with France, and the Scots took advantage of the situation by threatening to pursue an independent foreign policy and even choose their own monarch. Under the threat of the emergence of an independent Scotland with the support of France, the British were forced to yield, and in 1707 an act of union was adopted, according to which the Scots renounced their political independence. Scotland received representation in London - 45 seats in the lower house and 16 peerage seats in the House of Lords; it was also decided that after the death of Queen Anne, the countries would receive a monarch from the House of Hanover. In return, the Scots received equal trading rights with the English, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland was declared inviolable, and Scottish laws and the judicial system remained independent from the English. In practice, appeals in civil cases could be made, after hearings in the Scottish High Court, to the British House of Lords. In all other cases the decisions of the Scottish courts were final.

Jacobite uprisings.

For more than 40 years after the Union, there was considerable dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in Scotland, the Scots felt that their interests were being ignored by the British Parliament, and the expected economic benefits were not producing very rich results. However, the Jacobite uprisings in 1715 and 1745, which aimed at the restoration of the descendants of James VII and James II, cannot in any way be considered a Scottish national resistance movement; they attracted little attention from the inhabitants of central Scotland, receiving a response only from Episcopalians and Catholics. In the north, where economic and social development was not as vigorous as in other areas, and the situation was determined by the rivalry of clans and the willingness to join any occupation that provided the opportunity for robbery, a sufficiently large number of leaders attracted their clans to the side of the Jacobites, who as a result received reinforcements in 5–10 thousand soldiers. The uprising of 1715 led by Count Mar ended in failure; the "senior pretender" James VIII joined him at a time when it was already suppressed. During the uprising of 1745, the "junior pretender" Charles Edward landed in Scotland, proclaimed his father king, took Edinburgh and invaded England, reaching Derby. There, however, he did not receive any support and retreated to the north, where he was finally defeated at Culloden (1746), which put an end to the claims of the Stuarts. The Highlanders' defeat was applauded by the people of central Scotland. Dissatisfaction with the union faded, and over the next century it was welcomed by almost the entire population of the country.

Scotland after union.

Economic development.

Over time, the union brought obvious economic benefits. Scottish ports, especially those along the banks of the Clyde, imported tobacco from America; To meet the needs of the colonists for industrial products, enterprises were formed, primarily flax spinning factories. The British monopoly on the tobacco trade ended with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, but industrial development in Scotland continued. From the end of the 18th century. The most important industry in the west of the country was cotton spinning and cotton weaving, which flourished until the American Civil War cut off the supply of raw cotton. The cotton industry in Scotland has not recovered since then, but the development of heavy industry began, based on the country's reserves of coal and iron. The invention of the hot blast method (1828) revolutionized Scottish metallurgy, and Scotland became a center of engineering, shipbuilding and transport engineering. By the end of the 19th century. steel took the place of iron. Scotland, which throughout the 17th century. was mainly an agricultural country, acquired an industrial belt stretching across the entire country from the southwest to the northeast, where it lived most of population. Agriculture also received significant development after the union, its level remained high, although in the second half of the 19th century, when Britain began to pursue a policy of free trade, imports of food products had a very negative impact on local agricultural production. Industrial development, bringing with it employment and prosperity, occurred so rapidly that housing construction, urban expansion and health care systems lagged behind, and for some time living conditions in some cities remained at extremely low levels.

The predominant development of heavy industry began to bring losses after the Second World War, when industrialization processes in other countries deprived Scottish industry of markets. Within Great Britain itself, production was centralized, and industry moved further and further south, leaving Scotland in the position of an industrial outskirts. As a result, the entire interwar period was a time of depression, and the world crisis of 1931 was only its most acute phase. After World War II, old heavy industries declined, and the government provided financial assistance to new industries, from nuclear plants and oil refineries to light manufacturing.

Public administration.

The unification of parliaments was followed a few years later by an almost complete unification of government systems. As the role of the state strengthened in the 19th century. Separate Scottish councils for poor affairs, education, health, agriculture and fisheries were established. The post of Scottish Secretary was created in 1885, and when the Scottish Office was established in 1926, most of the previous councils were replaced by its departments. After 1850, dissatisfaction with unification, at least in its established forms, was occasionally expressed, and proposals were put forward for a separate Scottish Parliament and a reorganization of Great Britain on the basis of federalism. Currently, the Scottish National Party, which arose in the 1970s, exists and is active. The government's proposal for a Scottish Parliament with the right to resolve local issues was put to a referendum in Scotland in September 1997. The vast majority of citizens voting (74%) approved the proposal, and 63% of voters approved the right of Parliament to raise or reduce taxes within 3%.

Church.

The Church of Scotland retained its Presbyterian organization, guaranteed by the Act of Union. The problem of reconciling Presbyterian claims to independence from Parliament with the legitimate authority of the British Parliament caused constant difficulties and led to splits and the formation of sects. The controversy culminated in the schism of 1843, when the Free Church of Scotland was formed. At the end of the 19th century, however, a tendency towards reunification emerged, and from 1929 the Church of Scotland had a very small minority of Presbyterians in its ranks. The Episcopal Church, which lost official status in 1690, continued to exist under difficult conditions throughout the 18th century. and still represents a separate religious organization. Roman Catholicism virtually disappeared at the beginning of the 17th century. and throughout the 18th century. enjoyed influence only in a few highland areas, but the influx of Irish and Scotland in the 19th century. caused a serious strengthening of the position of Catholics.

Education reforms.

Reformers hatched plans for a comprehensive education system, which included the establishment of schools at all levels, including in all parishes. Since 1616, there was a legislative basis for parish schools, however, despite significant successes, the new laws on education were never implemented. The schools, funded by local landlords, were under the control of the church. In addition, efforts were made independently of the church, thanks to which in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Scotland had greater educational opportunities than any other country at the time (even before compulsory school attendance was introduced in 1872). Universities opened their doors to young men from all social classes and at the end of the 18th century. won considerable fame. People educated in Scotland achieved the highest positions in England, and the Scots managed to reach the peaks of intellectual and cultural development in the works of such outstanding people as David Hume, Adam Smith and Walter Scott.

Anglicization.

During almost three centuries of political union, many factors brought the Scots closer to the English in their way of life. At the end of the 18th century, when the interests of the Scots were affected first by the American War of Independence and then by the French Revolution, the country's political awakening occurred, and the Scots began to take an active part in British parliamentary politics. Since the Napoleonic Wars, the Scots not only fought in the British army, but were loyal to Britain, and later fully shared the goals of British foreign policy and British military campaigns. The important role played by the Scots in the colonization and administration of the lands that made up the British Empire strengthened the partnership with England.

Delegation of power.

In Great Britain, the establishment and empowerment of government bodies subordinate to parliament at the level of the entire country as a whole or at the regional level is called delegation of power (devolution). Although Scottish voters in 1979 rejected the government's proposal to form Scottish legislative bodies, to whom power over local affairs would be transferred, in 1997 they overwhelmingly approved such a proposal. The reasons for the change of view lay not in any rise in Scottish nationalism, but in the excessive concentration of power in the hands of the cabinet in London.

SCOTLAND, a country occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Separated from England mainly by the Cheviot Hills and the Tweed River. To the west of Scotland, on the other side of the North Channel (St. Patrick's Channel), is Northern Ireland. The southern coast of Scotland faces the Irish Sea and the Solway Firth. Scotland's borders have remained unchanged for almost 500 years.
Scotland is a constituent part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. However, the political status of Scotland is not noted in this title. Although Scotland was never an autonomous or federal unit of Great Britain and is no longer a kingdom, it is not simply a geographical or administrative area. Scotland can be considered as a separate country. The Scots defend their national identity and preserve many institutions that do not exist in England and other English-speaking countries. They have their capital Edinburgh, their church, laws and courts, their banks and banknotes. In Scotland, cities are called burghs (as opposed to boroughs in England), and their mayors are called provosts (in England - mayors); sheriffs there are judges who receive a salary, and not honorary dignitaries, as in England.

Peculiar institutions have been preserved in Scotland since ancient times, when it was a sovereign state. For a long time, attempts have been made to unite Scotland and England. Many of them were acts of armed aggression on the part of England. The Scots for a long time successfully repelled the invaders, which contributed to the strengthening of national identity. In 1603, when, after the death of Elizabeth I, the Scottish king James VI peacefully established himself on the English throne, both countries found themselves under the rule of one monarch, but each retained its own parliament and its own governing bodies. Then, in accordance with the Act of Union 1707, Scotland and England joined the United Kingdom of Great Britain with a single parliament and central government.

However, even after 1707 Scotland retained its identity, as some of its institutions were clearly defined by the Act of Union, and in very recent years there has been a tendency towards decentralization of government, with many government functions transferred to individual Scottish departments.

Although in terms of area (78,772 sq. km) Scotland is more than half the area of ​​England and Wales combined (151,126 thousand sq. km), its population in 1991 numbered only 4,989 thousand people versus 49,890 thousand in England and Wales . In the 20th century In Scotland, there have been significant changes in the distribution of the population: increased migration to cities, where 9 out of every 10 Scots now live. In the mountains and islands, the population density does not exceed 12 people per 1 sq. km. However, at present, the centers of population growth are not large cities, but their suburban areas.

Nature.

The character of the Scottish people and their way of life were largely influenced by the natural environment: due to the predominance of mountains and hills, only 1/5 of the territory was suitable for agriculture. In the south, the South Scottish Highlands are bordered on almost all sides by coastal lowlands and river valleys. The Scottish Lowlands, which cross the country between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, have a high level of industrialization. To the north of this belt, a wide plain can be traced almost along the entire eastern coast; agriculture is developed in several large river valleys. Only on the most fertile lands in the south and east - in the valley of Tweed, County Ayr, Lothian, the county north of the Firth of Tay, parts of Aberdeen and along both banks of the Moray Firth - does intensive farming bring very high incomes.

Scotland has widespread rocky hills and moors, and its central and western regions are dominated by mountains. The highest point - Mount Ben Nevis in the Grampian Mountains - reaches only 1343 m, several other peaks rise above 1200 m. However, there are approx. 300 peaks exceeding 900 m, and many mountains make an impressive impression, rising almost from the very seashore. There are no clearly defined ridges in the mountains of Scotland; when viewed from above, a mass of randomly dispersed peaks is revealed, separated by deep narrow valleys called glen, or elongated narrow lochs. The valley of Glen Mawr, containing three lochs (Loch Ness, Loch Lochy and Loch Linne) and continuing into submarine valleys at either end, is distinguished by its rectilinear outline; it extends from southwest to northeast and divides the whole of the Highlands of Scotland into two parts. Throughout this dissected area there are frequent outcrops of bedrock, and only in the lower parts of the mountain slopes and in the glens are there pastures and arable lands. In the last quarter of the 20th century. In Scotland, extensive afforestation was carried out.

The coasts of Scotland are heavily dissected. In the west, loch bays, which have a fjord-like character, penetrate deeply into the central part of the mountainous country. Off the coast of Scotland there is approx. 500 islands united into archipelagos. The most significant of these is the Hebrides, which includes the large islands of Lewis (1,990 sq km) and Skye (1,417 sq km), along with grassy cliffs suitable for grazing a few sheep. The northern archipelagos - Orkney and Shetland - have 150 islands of varying sizes. Both the western and northern islands have a variety of landscapes; there are very fertile areas along with completely barren bedrock outcrops. In contrast, there are very few large islands off the east coast of Scotland. Here steep ledges, alternating with sandy beaches, face the North Sea. In the past, the days of small sailing ships, there were many small ports on the east coast, mainly at the mouths of rivers. Through these ports, Scotland's trade relations with the neighboring countries of Northern Europe were mainly carried out. In the 18th century, when Scotland began to trade with America, the deep-sea estuary of the Clyde River became the country's main trade artery.
Transport problems have always largely depended on the terrain. Until good roads were built (late 18th century), small loads were transported by horse, while heavy or bulky loads had to be transported by sea from one port to another. Soon the era of railroads began, which greatly facilitated transportation in more populated areas located at lower altitudes. However, in the highlands in the west and north of Scotland, the construction of railways was difficult, and the main mode of transport remained steamship traffic along the sea coast and along the lochs. Currently, road transport is of predominant importance. Many railway lines were dismantled, and steamship flights were cancelled. Air travel is limited, only between the UK and some islands, but is hampered by fog and strong winds.

The climate of Scotland is typical maritime. Average January temperature approx. 4° C, July - 14° C. There are differences between the open west coast and the more sheltered eastern coast, the latter characterized by colder winters and warmer summers. The west receives much more rainfall. The average annual rate for all of Scotland is 1300 mm per year, but on some exposed western slopes it rises to 3800 mm.

Population and lifestyle.

The population of Scotland was the result of a mixture of several races. The earliest inhabitants of the country were the Caledonians, or Picts, who inhabited most of the territory located north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. In the southwest lived the Britons, related to the Welsh. In Argyll approx. 500 AD An Irish colony was founded, and at the same time the English left the European continent and landed in the southeast of Great Britain. In the 8th-11th centuries. The Scandinavians visited almost the entire coast of Scotland, but settled in the north and west. In the 12th century Normans and Flemings appeared there. Many Irish immigrants arrived in the 19th century. Migration processes between England and Scotland proceeded in a similar way.

Residents of the plains and mountaineers.

The main difference is between the lowlanders, who have a mixed ethnogenesis and have spoken English for centuries, and the highlanders, who are mainly of Celtic origin and until recently spoke Gaelic. In the 11th century Gaelic was spoken in almost all parts of Scotland, but subsequently its area of ​​distribution narrowed significantly. In the 1960s there were no more than 80,000 Gaelic speakers, almost all of whom lived in the Western Highlands and Islands and also spoke English.

There were more than just linguistic differences between the Highlanders and Lowland Scots. Important differences remained between the predominantly agricultural (later predominantly industrial) economy of the plains and the predominantly pastoral economy of the mountains. In addition, the specificity of land use, with the population concentrated in glens separated by mountains, apparently favored the cohesion of some clans. As a result, until the 18th century. The highlanders could not be completely converted into law-abiding subjects of the kingdom.

Religion.

Many Scots are Presbyterians and their religious life takes place within the framework of the Church of Scotland. Adherents of this church make up 2/3 of all believers, and it enjoys strong influence almost everywhere. The heresies and schisms that plagued Scottish Presbyterians in the 18th and 19th centuries have been largely overcome. The two surviving Presbyterian minorities, the Free Church and the Free Presbyterian Church, have their adherents predominantly in some of the highlands and the western islands, where their highly conservative teachings retain their popular appeal.

The Reformation triumphed in most of the country, and at the end of the 17th century. There were only about 12 thousand Catholics left in Scotland, who lived mainly in the mountains, in the west of the main island and on one or two small islands. Up to the 19th century. The Roman Catholic Church only sought to strengthen its influence in these areas. However, Irish immigration, especially during the famine years of the 1840s, contributed to the growth of the Catholic population in the industrial areas, mainly around Glasgow. Currently there are about 800 thousand Catholics in the country. In the 18th century The position of the Anglican Church strengthened in areas located north of the Tey River. Nowadays its role has weakened, with the exception of the small landed nobility, whose authority outside the cities is small.

Culture.

In Scotland, education has long been under the control of the church. During the Middle Ages, schools were created at cathedrals or other churches, which were run by city councils. At the same time, the church organized three universities in Scotland - in St. Andrews (1410), Glasgow (1451) and Aberdeen (1494). The University of Edinburgh was founded shortly after the Reformation (1583); four more universities were added in the 1960s - Strathclyde in Glasgow, Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh, Dundee and Stirling. Several parliamentary acts of the 17th century. called for the establishment of schools in every parish, but in remote areas this idea was put into practice without much haste. In the 18th - early 19th centuries. in addition to the parish system, schools were established by voluntary societies until the whole country was completely covered by educational institutions. In 1872 the old order was replaced by a state system and schooling became compulsory. Scottish tradition did not encourage the creation of private schools under the leadership of school boards, but schools in the country were very diverse until the late 1800s.

Sport.

The national sport in Scotland is football, but it is played mainly by professionals. Scotland is the birthplace of golf, and the sandy east coast offers great facilities for the game. In the mountains they play children's hockey, similar to regular hockey. Highlander costumes add color to sports competitions, which, together with bagpipe competitions, are regularly held in the mountainous regions.

Farming.

Scotland is a predominantly industrial country. Businesses are concentrated in the Lowlands of Scotland between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. The main industrial centers - Edinburgh and Glasgow - are located in this same strip. Both ancient (steel, printing and brewing) and relatively new industries (petrochemical, electronics and automotive) are represented here. In addition, shipbuilding and general engineering are developed in the Clydeside region, which includes the Glasgow metropolitan area.

Light industry is partly concentrated in the cities of Dundee and Aberdeen, located on the east coast north of the Firth of Forth. Aberdeen processes oil from fields in the North Sea. Industry Dundee specializes in the production of jute, watches, refrigerators and electronic equipment. Most of the famous whiskey distilleries are located in north-east Scotland. For many years clothing and textiles, especially tweed, were produced in the valleys of the South Scottish Highlands, the northern Highlands and the islands. Nuclear power stations are located on the banks of the Firth of Clyde and Solway Firth and on the northern coast.

Agriculture is predominantly concentrated on the eastern coastal plain. Among the main crops there are barley, oats, wheat, potatoes, turnips and sugar beets. 3/4 of Scotland's agricultural area is used for pasture. Sheep are raised in the hilly areas of the northwest, and cattle are raised in the plains of the northeast. The southwest is an important dairy farming area.

Government structure and politics.

Administratively, Scotland has been divided into 12 regions since 1975, including 53 counties and 3 island territories (Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland). The districts usually correspond to the former counties, or shires, that existed before 1975. Councils are elected to govern the districts, districts and island territories.

The Scottish Parliament is passing some laws that are constantly in force throughout the UK. Other laws are partly relevant to Scotland, while others are entirely Scottish-specific, and differences in judicial proceedings, administrative procedures etc. are taken into account when discussing them.

Until the 1970s, the idea of ​​local government had little success in Scotland. However, in the early 1970s the discovery of oil fields in the North Sea stimulated Scottish nationalism, and in the 1974 general election the Scottish National Party won a third of the vote in Scotland and 11 seats in the British House of Commons. In 1978, Parliament adopted a bill for direct elections of the Scottish Assembly in Edinburgh, giving it greater powers in internal affairs. However, in the 1979 referendum this project did not receive popular support.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Scotland continued to struggle for its place in the overall political context of the United Kingdom. The country retains national characteristics in religion, legal structure, language (called Scots) and education system. Scotland has its own original culture, a highly developed and recently expanded university system, and its own press.

Despite the existence of a Scottish Ministry, headed by a Scottish Secretary in Edinburgh, and two reorganizations of local government, in 1973 and 1995, this integral part of the UK leads a fairly separate political life, which in turn has internal regional characteristics. Firstly, there is the Glasgow and Clyde Estuary area to the south east. In this developed industrial area, about 40% of Scotland's total population of five million lives, a significant part of the heavy industry is located and there are quite a lot of social problems associated with a lack of housing, rising crime, poverty and unemployment. Traditionally trade unionist, Catholics, mainly Irish, form an influential minority in Glasgow and the Strathclyde area. The combination of these socio-demographic features fuels a strong and consistent electorate for the Labor Party.

The rest of Scotland is politically distinct from this region. In most constituencies there are three or four parties competing equally for the vote - Labour, the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats, although Labor has traditionally been strong in urban areas such as Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

In London, Scotland is represented by 72 members of the House of Commons, but their influence is believed to be small in the 659-member parliament. At the May 1997 general election, all major parties except the Conservatives campaigned for a significant change in Scotland's position in the United Kingdom. Labor won 56, the Liberal Democrats 10, the Scottish National Party 6 votes, while the Conservatives did not win a single seat, although 17.5% of the population voted for them.

After this, in a referendum, 70.4% of Scots voted in favor of the formation of a Scottish Assembly with limited powers, which will be convened in Edinburgh in July 1999. A slightly smaller number of Scots who took part in the referendum (but also a majority) supported the proposal to give the Assembly some rights in tax sphere.

Labor supported the idea of ​​an Assembly in the hope of ending Scottish dissatisfaction with the existing constitutional status of their country. The measures submitted to the referendum were also approved by the Scottish National Party, which regarded them as the first step towards full independence. It should be noted that Scottish nationalists favor continued membership in the European Union and are not as radical in matters of preserving culture and language as their counterparts in Wales.

STORY

Roman period.

For thirty years after 80 AD. and again around 140-180 AD. Roman troops occupied southern Scotland. They defended the line along the Forth of the Clyde against the Caledonians, or Picts, a warlike people who inhabited the northern territories. To achieve this, the Romans built fortifications during the first occupation and a defensive rampart during the second occupation. Around 84 and again around 208 they penetrated north to the Moray Firth, but left no military settlements beyond the Firth of Forth. Having lost control of southern Scotland for the first time, they erected the so-called. Hadrian's Wall, built after 120 between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth, which long served as the boundary of the Roman Empire in Britain. However, the rampart was unable to contain the Picts, who repeatedly invaded territories in southern Britain. In the 3rd-4th centuries. many tribes of southern Scotland became allies of Rome.

Christianization.

St. Ninian began his missionary work in the southwest of the island ca. 400; other missionaries are said to have preached among the Picts in the north, but not further than the Moray Firth, but the Christianization of Scotland is usually dated to the arrival of St. Columbus in 563. The conversion took place during the migration of the Scots from northern Ireland, where Christianity had dominated since the beginning of the 5th century, to the Hebrides and western Scotland. Columba himself settled in a monastery on the island of Iona near the southwestern tip of the island of Malla. Not limiting himself to his brothers in faith - the Scots in the west - Columba eventually managed to convert the king of the Picts in Inverness to the Christian faith. Over time, the Irish form of Christianity, with its distinctive rites and organization, came into direct conflict with Roman Christianity, which was spreading north from Kent. At the synod of Whitby (663 or 664), the king of Northumbria, after hearing the partisans of the rival rites, decided in favor of Rome, and his verdict was later accepted throughout the territory north of the Cheviot Hills; Iona eventually capitulated c. 720. The replacement of Irish rites by Roman ones had a profound influence on the history of Scotland, since thereby the country was annexed to the general stream of history of European civilization.

Other influences.

With the end of the Roman occupation of Britain, the Tyne-Solway wall ceased to be an insurmountable obstacle, and eventually two kingdoms were formed that were located on both sides of the wall - Strathclyde in the west and Northumbria in the east. To the north lay the kingdoms of the Picts and Scots, the former occupying most of the country north of the Clyde Forth straits, and the latter part of the west coast and the Hebrides. The expansion of the English kingdom of Northumbria to the north, reaching as far as the River Forth, met strong resistance from the Picts, who defeated the Northumbrian army in 685 at the Battle of Nechtansmere. The danger of invasion diminished somewhat after the place of the Angles was occupied in the 8th century. Scandinavians, as the new settlers in Northumbria were more concerned with expanding south and west than north. However, the capture of the northern territories became the goal of the Scandinavian tribes who arrived by sea. The Normans conquered island after island, first in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, and then in the Hebrides; Afterwards they spread throughout the north and west of Scotland. Traces of the Norman conquest are still visible, especially in Orkney, Shetland and Caithness, which served as the center of concentration of the conquering forces. During the 11th and 12th centuries. The power of the Normans gradually decreased, and the power of the kingdom of the Scots increased. Nevertheless, the Normans retained dominance over the western islands until 1266, and only in 1468-1469 Orkney and Shetland were returned to Scotland after the marriage between Princess Margareta and James III.

Scottish kingdom.

Meanwhile, in 844 the Scots and Picts were formally united under the rule of King Kenneth MacAlpin. During the 10th century. the rulers of this united kingdom tried, and not without success, to recapture Lothian from Northumbria and establish complete dominance over Strathclyde. The implementation of these claims occurred during the reign of Malcolm II (1005-1034). However, no sooner had Malcolm's grandson Duncan I taken the throne in 1034 than Macbeth of Moray seized the throne and held it until he was killed in 1057 by Malcolm III. Duncan I's son Malcolm III was exiled in England and later married the Anglo-Saxon princess Margaret. They and their sons brought the English way of life to Scotland. The system of monasteries and parishes developed, and a feudal system of the Norman type was established. This caused resistance in the Highlands, where opposition forces rallied around Moray. However, time passed, and the kingdom continued to exist, cities grew, trade developed, and England's attempts to subjugate Scotland met resistance and were successfully repulsed. The period from 1153 to 1286 is called Scotland's Golden Age.

Fight with England.

A long and relatively quiet and fruitful period came to an abrupt end with the death in 1290 of Margaret, the "Maid of Norway", who became heir to the Scottish throne. She was to marry the son and heir of Edward I, King of England. To avoid a civil war for the throne, Edward was asked to act as an arbitrator. He chose John Baliol, who was crowned in 1292, but only after recognizing Edward as his overlord. Repenting of what he had done, Baliol, with the help of the French, tried to get rid of his addiction, but the uprising was suppressed. In 1297, at Stirling Bridge, the English were challenged by William Wallace, and this time the Scots were victorious. However, Wallace, unable to reconcile his divergent interests, was eventually deceived and handed over to Edward. The banner of rebellion was again raised by Robert I (Bruce) in 1306. For several years he pursued a policy of exhausting the troops of Edward II, and then, in 1314, at Bannockburn, he dealt the most crushing blow ever received by English troops on Scottish soil. In 1320, in a letter to the pope, the Scots stated; “As long as at least one hundred Scots remain alive, we will not submit to the English king.” Despite this declaration of independence, it was only in 1328 that England, at the peace treaty of Northampton, agreed to recognize King Robert, and in 1329 the pope finally recognized the sovereignty of the Scottish kingdom.

Instability and war.

The war with England did not stop, and this led to the impoverishment of the population of Scotland. In addition, the country suffered from the ineffective rule of kings that were either too young or too old, and periods of strong rule lasted too short to allow stability to be established during this time. The chiefs of the Highlands and the barons of the lower lands, as well as the church, having all the wealth and influence in Scotland, were enemies of the monarchy. Although the citizens of the cities had held seats in Parliament since the reign of Robert I, the country had nothing like the English House of Commons to provide a counterbalance to the lords and prelates. During the Hundred Years' War, Scotland became an ally of the French. The result forged important cultural ties with the continent, but it involved Scotland in a series of military adventures. The economic, administrative and intellectual development of the country that took place under James IV ended after his invasion of England and death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The Reformation and the end of the Anglo-Scottish wars.

One of the lessons of the defeat at Flodden was that traditional ties with France posed considerable danger to Scotland. At the same time, the advent of the Reformation era added another reason for revising the country's foreign policy. The Scots, influenced by Lutheranism, believed that Scotland should ally with Henry VIII after he rejected papal authority and dissolved the monasteries. James V, however, did not follow Henry's example. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and received financial benefits in exchange for loyalty to the pope. In addition, he strengthened relations with France by marrying two French women in succession, the second of whom was Marie of Guise. The result of his policy was a war with England and the defeat of the Scots at the Battle of Solway Moss in 1542, after which James soon died.

Before Mary came of age, who inherited the throne at the age of one week, the dominance of Scotland was contested by a Frenchman and an Englishman, each of whom had many supporters among the Scots. Henry VIII supported the Scottish reformers and plotted the assassination of Cardinal David Beaton, who favored the alliance with France. George Wishart, a Protestant preacher associated with the English, was burned at the stake as a heretic by Beaton, who was also killed shortly after. The English, having failed to secure the engagement of the Scottish queen to Prince Edward (later Edward VI), carried out devastating raids in the south of Scotland and, as a result, ensured that Scotland fell into French hands. Maria was sent to France (1548) and became engaged to the Dauphin. She married him in 1558, and he became king of France under the name Francis II. In Scotland, Mary of Guise became regent in 1554 and ruled the country, respecting the interests of France and relying on French troops.

The Reformation movement in Scotland was now combined with patriotic resistance to French domination and the fear that Scotland would henceforth be ruled by a dynasty of French monarchs. In 1559, upon the return of John Knox from Geneva, an uprising broke out, directed both against the French and against Rome. Troops sent by Elizabeth prevented a French suppression of the rebels, and the death of Mary of Guise (June 1560) opened the way for a treaty by which English and French soldiers would leave Scotland.

Mary, Queen of Scots.

The reformers were in power in 1560, but in August 1561 Queen Mary, who had lost her husband Francis in December 1560, returned to Scotland. Being a Catholic, she initially did not feel hostility towards the reformed church. However, Mary could not be the head of the new church, the leadership of which was mainly in the hands of administrators, or new bishops, and the supreme power belonged to the General Assembly, which was practically a Protestant parliament. Mary declared that she had a better claim to the English throne than Elizabeth, and after marrying her cousin, Lord Darnley, who followed her in succession to the English throne and whose claims were recognized by English Catholics, the reformed Church ceased to be in her favor. After Darnley's murder, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell, who was believed to be the murderer of her second husband. A rebellion broke out and Mary was deposed. The crown passed to her minor son, James VI. Mary fled to England in 1568 under the protection of Elizabeth. She was imprisoned until the Queen of England ordered her execution in 1587.

James VI.

The period before James VI came of age was marked by civil war waged by his regents against his mother's supporters, and by the intrigues of Rome, supported by European powers. In addition, within the framework of the reformed church, a Presbyterian movement arose, demanding the abolition of bishops and the transfer of church governance into the hands of elders. Presbyterians denied the king and parliament any power over the church and argued that the highest elders should determine the policy of the state. Jacob pursued a cunning, flexible and consistent policy in his relations with rival factions. For some time he had to rely on the Presbyterians and in 1592 agreed to the proclamation of Presbyterianism as the state church. However, after the defeat of the last Catholic revolt in 1594, he began to insist on maintaining and strengthening the posts of bishops along with the ecclesiastical courts. James forced Andrew Melville into exile and established tight control over the church, but did not interfere with the actual theological issues that had been discussed since the beginning of the Reformation. This compromise was generally accepted, especially after James reconciled the nobles and landowners and found support in the relatively conservative northern territories, where Presbyterianism had not yet taken deep roots. When James took the English throne in 1603, it did not unite the parliaments or government of the two countries, but it strengthened his own position, so that he made the Scots respect the law and was able to rule more effectively than any of his predecessors.

Charles I.

Charles I lacked the tact that characterized his father; his actions were not distinguished by patience and flexibility and led to the fact that many of his subjects turned away from him. James did not dispute the rights to the former church property seized after the outbreak of the Reformation. Charles began his reign (1625-1649) by questioning these rights, and in subsequent years he cherished plans to restore the income of the old church. He went even further than his father in manipulating Parliament by means that were considered unconstitutional; established taxes, which were considered exorbitant, and gave political functions to bishops. Finally, regardless of criticism and opposition, Charles introduced new church canons, which threatened to replace the existing compromise with a system identical to the Anglican one, and a new church missal, which was rejected by already inflamed public opinion as Roman Catholic. As a result, the National Covenant was signed (1638), which stated that the king had acted illegally, and the Presbyterian Church was soon re-accepted as official.

The Civil War and Oliver Cromwell.

Charles resisted the increasing influence of the Scots, but he was not strong enough to bring them to heel. The Scots' turn to arms and their occupation of northern England forced him to convene the Long Parliament. After the outbreak of the civil war, the Covenanters, who had power over Scotland, following the Solemn League and Covenant (1643), agreed to help the English parliament in the fight against the king on the condition that Presbyterianism would become the state church not only in Scotland, but also in England. However, when the royal forces were defeated, power in England passed not to Parliament, but to Cromwell and the army, who shared not Presbyterian, but Independent views on church government. Then the Scots, or rather some of the Scots, tried to restore the reign of Charles I, and after his execution they placed Charles II on their throne on the condition that he sign the covenants. The result was the defeat of the Scots at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651) and the conquest of the country by the English. During the period of the Republic and Protectorate, Scotland was united with England, sent deputies to English parliaments and conducted free trade with England and the English colonies.

Restoration and Glorious Revolution.

The Stuart Restoration (1660) aimed to restore the pre-war system of government and the terms of the religious compromise reached under James VI. There was some political opposition in the country, since Scottish politicians and parliament were no longer as obedient as in the days before 1648. Although the restoration was accepted in the country, serious discontent was brewing in some areas, especially in the south-west, among those strict Presbyterians , who advocated the implementation of the National Covenant and the Solemn League. A policy of alternating reconciliation and suppression reduced the degree of discontent, and the Bothwell Bridge rebellion (1679) was brutally suppressed, but a handful of extremists remained and eventually refused to recognize the English king.

James VII (James II of England) was mainly concerned with the issue of restoring the status of Roman Catholicism. His principle of toleration extended not only to Catholics, but also to Presbyterians, which undermined the official status of the Episcopal Church maintained by his predecessors. The policy of toleration was so unpopular that Parliament refused to sanction it, and it had to be carried out solely by the will of the king. The result was a general aversion to royal power. Thus, when the English Revolution of 1688 led to the flight of James and the rise of William of Orange, James had little chance of remaining on the Scottish throne. In 1689 he was declared deprived of the right to the crown. The campaign of John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, ended at Killecrankie, and William's rule was established in Scotland. The bishops and most of the clergy were loyal to James, so William relied on the Presbyterians, whose church was finally declared state (1690). One of the results of William's determination to break the resistance of the Highlanders was the famous Glencoe massacre of 1692.

Darien.

In the 17th century The country was going through a period of transformation. Since the reign of James VI, Scotland has increasingly become an advanced country with a developed economy and culture; economic projects aroused the ardent enthusiasm of the population, new incentives for production and commerce appeared; attempts were made to colonize new lands - in Nova Scotia, eastern New Jersey and South Carolina. Scotland's economic interests differed from those of England. The free trade regime with England ended with the beginning of the Restoration, when, according to the Navigation Act, the Scots were excommunicated from trading with the English colonies. As a result, serious tensions arose between the countries. Until the Revolution of 1688, crises were avoided because the king was able to keep the Scottish Parliament under control. After the revolution, parliament gained independence and showed its freedom-loving character precisely when the power of the English parliament increased. Under these conditions, the Scots decided to carry out an ambitious project to create their own colony in Darien, and this project received widespread support and financial resources. Darien nominally belonged to Spain, with which William was conducting difficult negotiations at that time. For this reason, he refused to support the idea of ​​a Scottish colony and forbade English subjects to provide any assistance to the Scots in this enterprise. The colony venture ended in disaster, partly due to the epidemic, and partly due to the resistance of the Spaniards. The Scots blamed William for everything, and the attitude towards England became even more hostile. It became clear that the only hope for progress in trade lay in Scotland's access to markets in England and the English colonies.

Union with England.

William understood that the difficulties inevitable in the current circumstances could be overcome with the help of a union of the two kingdoms and the creation of a single parliament, but the Scots did not like the idea of ​​​​subordination to England, and the British did not at all want to give up trading rights to the Scots. However, after 1701 England entered the War of the Spanish Succession with France, and the Scots took advantage of the situation by threatening to pursue an independent foreign policy and even choose their own monarch. Under the threat of the emergence of an independent Scotland with the support of France, the British were forced to yield, and in 1707 an act of union was adopted, according to which the Scots renounced their political independence. Scotland received representation in London - 45 seats in the lower house and 16 peerage seats in the House of Lords; it was also decided that after the death of Queen Anne, the countries would receive a monarch from the House of Hanover. In return, the Scots received equal trading rights with the English, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland was declared inviolable, and Scottish laws and the judicial system remained independent from the English. In practice, appeals in civil cases could be made, after hearings in the Scottish High Court, to the British House of Lords. In all other cases the decisions of the Scottish courts were final.

Jacobite uprisings.

For more than 40 years after the Union, there was considerable dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in Scotland, the Scots felt that their interests were being ignored by the British Parliament, and the expected economic benefits were not producing very rich results. However, the Jacobite uprisings in 1715 and 1745, which aimed at the restoration of the descendants of James VII and James II, cannot in any way be considered a Scottish national resistance movement; they attracted little attention from the inhabitants of central Scotland, receiving a response only from Episcopalians and Catholics. In the north, where economic and social development was not as vigorous as in other areas, and the situation was determined by the rivalry of clans and the willingness to join any occupation that provided the opportunity for robbery, a sufficiently large number of leaders attracted their clans to the side of the Jacobites, who as a result received reinforcements in 5-10 thousand soldiers. The uprising of 1715 led by Count Mar ended in failure; the "senior pretender" James VIII joined him at a time when it was already suppressed. During the uprising of 1745, the "junior pretender" Charles Edward landed in Scotland, proclaimed his father king, took Edinburgh and invaded England, reaching Derby. There, however, he did not receive any support and retreated to the north, where he was finally defeated at Culloden (1746), which put an end to the claims of the Stuarts. The Highlanders' defeat was applauded by the people of central Scotland. Dissatisfaction with the union faded, and over the next century it was welcomed by almost the entire population of the country.
Scotland after union.

Economic development.

Over time, the union brought obvious economic benefits. Scottish ports, especially those along the banks of the Clyde, imported tobacco from America; To meet the needs of the colonists for industrial products, enterprises were formed, primarily flax spinning factories. The British monopoly on the tobacco trade ended with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, but industrial development in Scotland continued. From the end of the 18th century. The most important industry in the west of the country was cotton spinning and cotton weaving, which flourished until the American Civil War cut off the supply of raw cotton. The cotton industry in Scotland has not recovered since then, but the development of heavy industry began, based on the country's reserves of coal and iron. The invention of the hot blast method (1828) revolutionized Scottish metallurgy, and Scotland became a center of engineering, shipbuilding and transport engineering. By the end of the 19th century. steel took the place of iron. Scotland, which throughout the 17th century. was mainly an agricultural country, acquired an industrial belt stretching across the entire country from the southwest to the northeast, where most of the population lived. Agriculture also received significant development after the union, its level remained high, although in the second half of the 19th century, when Britain began to pursue a policy of free trade, imports of food products had a very negative impact on local agricultural production. Industrial development, bringing with it employment and prosperity, occurred so rapidly that housing construction, urban expansion and health care systems lagged behind, and for some time living conditions in some cities remained at extremely low levels.

The predominant development of heavy industry began to bring losses after the Second World War, when industrialization processes in other countries deprived Scottish industry of markets. Within Great Britain itself, production was centralized, and industry moved further and further south, leaving Scotland in the position of an industrial outskirts. As a result, the entire interwar period was a time of depression, and the world crisis of 1931 was only its most acute phase. After World War II, old heavy industries fell into disrepair, and the government provided financial assistance to new industries, from nuclear plants and oil refineries to light manufacturing.

Public administration.

The unification of parliaments was followed a few years later by an almost complete unification of government systems. As the role of the state strengthened in the 19th century. Separate Scottish councils for poor affairs, education, health, agriculture and fisheries were established. The post of Scottish Secretary was created in 1885, and when the Scottish Office was established in 1926, most of the previous councils were replaced by its departments. After 1850, dissatisfaction with unification, at least in its established forms, was occasionally expressed, and proposals were put forward for a separate Scottish Parliament and a reorganization of Great Britain on the basis of federalism. Currently, the Scottish National Party, which arose in the 1970s, exists and is active. The government's proposal for a Scottish Parliament with the right to resolve local issues was put to a referendum in Scotland in September 1997. The vast majority of citizens voting (74%) approved the proposal, and 63% of voters approved the right of Parliament to raise or reduce taxes within 3%.

Church.

The Church of Scotland retained its Presbyterian organization, guaranteed by the Act of Union. The problem of reconciling Presbyterian claims to independence from Parliament with the legitimate authority of the British Parliament caused constant difficulties and led to splits and the formation of sects. The controversy culminated in the schism of 1843, when the Free Church of Scotland was formed. At the end of the 19th century, however, a tendency towards reunification emerged, and from 1929 the Church of Scotland had a very small minority of Presbyterians in its ranks. The Episcopal Church, which lost official status in 1690, continued to exist under difficult conditions throughout the 18th century. and still represents a separate religious organization. Roman Catholicism virtually disappeared at the beginning of the 17th century. and throughout the 18th century. enjoyed influence only in a few highland areas, but the influx of Irish and Scotland in the 19th century. caused a serious strengthening of the position of Catholics.

Education reforms.

Reformers hatched plans for a comprehensive education system, which included the establishment of schools at all levels, including in all parishes. Since 1616, there was a legislative basis for parish schools, however, despite significant successes, the new laws on education were never implemented. The schools, funded by local landlords, were under the control of the church. In addition, efforts were made independently of the church, thanks to which in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Scotland had greater educational opportunities than any other country at the time (even before compulsory school attendance was introduced in 1872). Universities opened their doors to young men from all social classes and at the end of the 18th century. won considerable fame. People educated in Scotland achieved the highest positions in England, and the Scots managed to reach the peaks of intellectual and cultural development in the works of such outstanding people as David Hume, Adam Smith and Walter Scott.

Anglicization.

During almost three centuries of political union, many factors brought the Scots closer to the English in their way of life. At the end of the 18th century, when the interests of the Scots were affected first by the American War of Independence and then by the French Revolution, the country's political awakening occurred, and the Scots began to take an active part in British parliamentary politics. Since the Napoleonic Wars, the Scots not only fought in the British army, but were loyal to Britain, and later fully shared the goals of British foreign policy and British military campaigns. The important role played by the Scots in the colonization and administration of the lands that made up the British Empire strengthened the partnership with England.

Delegation of power.

In Great Britain, the establishment and empowerment of government bodies subordinate to parliament at the level of the entire country as a whole or at the regional level is called delegation of power (devolution). Although Scottish voters in 1979 rejected the government's proposal to create a Scottish legislature that would devolve power over local affairs, they overwhelmingly approved the proposal in 1997. The reasons for the change of view lay not in any rise in Scottish nationalism, but in the excessive concentration of power in the hands of the cabinet in London.