A History Of Scotland

Product Information

While the Rebus novels are focused on fictional mysteries, this book is more of a guided tour around Scotland. Specifically, you’ll notice how much Rebus’s character connects to Rankin and his experiences. Plus, the author describes Edinburgh and Fife in a way that will convince you to plan a vacation to Scotland. The Hidden Ways: Scotland’s Forgotten Roads by Alistair Moffat Main article: Jacobitism Charles Edward Stuart, known as The Young Pretender and Bonnie Prince Charlie, who led the '45 rising Main article: History of education in Scotland Old College, University of Edinburgh, rebuilt in 1789 according to plans drawn up by Robert Adam Main article: Scottish Reformation In 1559, John Knox returned from ministering in Geneva to lead the Calvinist reformation in Scotland.

Everything about Scotland: The Global History is directed towards the political settlement we currently face, and in what direction that might turn next. Although sympathetic to the nationalist cause, he is not uncritical. A great deal of what he outlines is of crucial significance in helping delineate how Scotland has reached its current position, and assessing how best to move forward. Shuggie Bain paints a stark, moving picture of life in 1980s Glasgow, Scotland, under Margaret Thatcher’s rule. The novel centers on young Hugh “Shuggie” Bain, growing up in a dilapidated public housing complex. Shuggie’s mother, Agnes, is both his anchor and a heavy burden, battling alcoholism while yearning for a better life amidst poverty and addiction. In the 12th century the Kingdom of Alba continued to grow and became a feudal society. The Treaty of Falaise, signed by William I, ushered in a period of relative peace in Scotland. During the reigns of Alexander II and then Alexander III, more land was turned over to agriculture, trade with the continent bolstered the economy and monasteries and abbeys grew and flourished around the country. A "democratic myth" emerged in the 19th century to the effect that many a "lad of pairts" had been able to rise up through the system to take high office and that literacy was much more widespread in Scotland than in neighbouring states, particularly England. [208] Historical research has largely undermined the myth. Kirk schools were not free, attendance was not compulsory and they generally imparted only basic literacy such as the ability to read the Bible. Poor children, starting at age 7, were done by age 8 or 9; the majority were finished by age 11 or 12. The result was widespread basic reading ability; since there was an extra fee for writing, half the people never learned to write. Scots were not significantly better educated than the English and other contemporary nations. A few talented poor boys did go to university, but usually they were helped by aristocratic or gentry sponsors. Most of them became poorly paid teachers or ministers, and none became important figures in the Scottish Enlightenment or the Industrial Revolution. [209]The years before the First Wo The Early Historic period refers to the era when Scotland’s history first started to be recorded in writing. There are records, written mostly by monks, that tell us that Christianity reached the west of Scotland in AD563, when Columba arrived in Iona. The cultural, intellectual and artistic movement that took hold around Europe brought significant changes to Scotland; education, intellectual life, literature, art, architecture, music and politics all advanced in the late 15th century. Thereafter, the British Army co-opted fearsome Highland soldiers, taking this once destabilising force within Great Britain and turning it into an icon of British military prowess.

A letter written in Latin, signed by Scottish Barons and Nobles, and sent to Pope John XXII, the Declaration proclaimed Scotland’s status as an independent sovereign state. Though its effect was largely symbolic, the powerful declaration remains an important document in Scottish history – many historians believe it inspired America’s founding fathers to write the United States Declaration of Independence. For more information visit the National Records of Scotland.Agricultural improvement was introduced across the Highlands over the relatively short period of 1760–1850. The evictions involved in this became known as the Highland clearances. There was regional variation. In the east and south of the Highlands, the old townships or bailtean, which were farmed under the run rig system were replaced by larger enclosed farms, with fewer people holding leases and proportionately more of the population working as employees on these larger farms. (This was broadly similar to the situation in the Lowlands.) In the north and west, including the Hebrides, as land was taken out of run rig, Crofting communities were established. Much of this change involved establishing large pastoral sheep farms, with the old displaced tenants moving to new crofts in coastal areas or on poor quality land. Sheep farming was increasingly profitable at the end of the 18th century, so could pay substantially higher rents than the previous tenants. Particularly in the Hebrides, some crofting communities were established to work in the kelp industry. Others were engaged in fishing. Croft sizes were kept small, so that the occupiers were forced to seek employment to supplement what they could grow. [162] :32-52 This increased the number of seasonal migrant workers travelling to the Lowlands. The resulting connection with the Lowlands was highly influential on all aspects of Highland life, touching on income levels, social attitudes and language. Migrant working gave an advantage in speaking English, which came to be considered "the language of work". [162] :135, 110–117 Around 141, the Romans undertook a reoccupation of southern Scotland, moving up to construct a new limes between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde, which became the Antonine Wall. The largest Roman construction inside Scotland, it is a sward-covered wall made of turf around 20 feet (6m) high, with nineteen forts. It extended for 37 miles (60km). Having taken twelve years to build, the wall was overrun and abandoned soon after 160. [37] [38] The Romans retreated to the line of Hadrian's Wall. [39] Roman troops penetrated far into the north of modern Scotland several more times, with at least four major campaigns. [40] The most notable invasion was in 209 when the emperor Septimius Severus led a major force north. [41] After the death of Severus in 210 they withdrew south to Hadrian's Wall, which would be Roman frontier until it collapsed in the 5th century. [42] In 1296, Edward invaded Scotland, deposing King John. The following year William Wallace and Andrew de Moray raised forces to resist the occupation and under their joint leadership an English army was defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. For a short time Wallace ruled Scotland in the name of John Balliol as Guardian of the realm. Edward came north in person and defeated Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. [75] Wallace escaped but probably resigned as Guardian of Scotland. In 1305, he fell into the hands of the English, who executed him for treason despite the fact that he owed no allegiance to England. [76] Scottish politics in the late 18th century was dominated by the Whigs, with the benign management of Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll (1682–1761), who was in effect the "viceroy of Scotland" from the 1720s until his death in 1761. Scotland generally supported the king with enthusiasm during the American Revolution. Henry Dundas (1742–1811) dominated political affairs in the latter part of the century. Dundas defeated advocates of intellectual and social change through his ruthless manipulation of patronage in alliance with Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, until he lost power in 1806. [160] The population of Scotland grew steadily in the 19th century, from 1,608,000 in the census of 1801 to 2,889,000 in 1851 and 4,472,000 in 1901. [254] Even with the development of industry there were insufficient good jobs; as a result, during the period 1841–1931, about 2 million Scots emigrated to North America and Australia, and another 750,000 Scots relocated to England. [255] Scotland lost a much higher proportion of its population than England and Wales, [256] reaching perhaps as much as 30.2 per cent of its natural increase from the 1850s onwards. [257] This not only limited Scotland's population increase, but meant that almost every family lost members due to emigration and, because more of them were young males, it skewed the sex and age ratios of the country. [256]

Miss Brodie is an unorthodox teacher at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh in the 1930s. As you may have guessed from the title, she’s also in her prime. One day, Miss Brodie chooses six elite students to become her mentees. From that moment, the girls become known as “the Brodie set.” It’s 1945, and as Hitler wreaks devastation across Europe, Maddie and Ellis Hyde and their friend Hank travel to Scotland to hunt the Loch Ness monster. Although all three characters start off as spoiled twenty-somethings, Maddie eventually experiences a wake-up call. The ideas from philosophers living in Scotland during The Age of Enlightenment shaped the modern world. The intellectual movement sought to understand the natural world and the human mind and ranged across philosophy, chemistry, geology, engineering, technology, poetry, medicine, economics and history. Figures like Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Adam Smith, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott are still celebrated for their achievements.Shortly after the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden, a period known as the Highland Clearances began. A number of laws were introduced in an attempt to assimilate the Highlanders; wearing traditional tartan attire was banned and clan chiefs had their rights to jurisdiction removed. Scotland: The Global History is told around the complications of surrendered political agency, and the compromises, sorrows and grievances this entailed. While the Union of 1707 and the subsequent dominion of the British Empire, into which many Scots gladly bought, was to the country’s economic advantage, the loss of self-governance and national distinction was a sore that has festered in some quarters ever since.

Films like Braveheart and Trainspotting helped to establish Scotland as a cultural powerhouse; authors, artists and musicians from Scotland were enjoying renewed success. the global phenomenon, Harry Potter, was written in Edinburgh, and in 1997 scientists from the Roslin Institute successfully cloned the first mammal from an adult cell, Dolly the Sheep. There is no better antidote against entertaining too high an opinion of others than having an excellent one of ourselves at the very same time.”Early Historic Scotland was a melting pot of different groups – the Britons, the Picts, the Angles, the Gaels (Scots) and the Norse – and you can see this mixture reflected in place-names around the country, from Ben Macdui (Gaelic) to Stornoway (Norse) via Aberdeen (Pictish). Archeologist, historian, and Scottish author Neil Oliver takes readers on an entertaining journey through Scotland’s history. Overall, this book makes for an enjoyable lesson on Scotland’s past and is incredibly informative to read before a trip. Most interestingly, Oliver takes the time to debunk some myths surrounding iconic moments and figures in the country’s history. How the Scots Invented the Modern World by Arthur Herman Conversion to Christianity may have sped a long-term process of gaelicisation of the Pictish kingdoms, which adopted Gaelic language and customs. There was also a merger of the Gaelic and Pictish crowns, although historians debate whether it was a Pictish takeover of Dál Riata, or the other way around. This culminated in the rise of Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) in the 840s, which brought to power the House of Alpin. [54] In 867 AD the Vikings seized the southern half of Northumbria, forming the Kingdom of York; [55] three years later they stormed the Britons' fortress of Dumbarton [56] and subsequently conquered much of England except for a reduced Kingdom of Wessex, [55] leaving the new combined Pictish and Gaelic kingdom almost encircled. [57] When he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900, Domnall II (Donald II) was the first man to be called rí Alban (i.e. King of Alba). [58] The term Scotia was increasingly used to describe the kingdom between North of the Forth and Clyde and eventually the entire area controlled by its kings was referred to as Scotland. [59] Scotland from the Matthew Paris map, c. 1250, showing Hadrian's Wall and above it the Antonine Wall, both depicted battlemented