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UK History - Scotland
The Romans were unable to subdue the fierce Celtic inhabitants
of Scotland, and eventually built Hadrian’s Wall to prevent
attacks. Later, the English made several attempts to conquer Scotland,
which were strongly resisted, particularly by the clans in the Highlands.
In 1297 William Wallace led his forces to defeat the English at
the Battle of Stirling, though he was later betrayed, and finally
executed by the English in London in 1305. He is still remembered
as one of the great heroes of the Scottish resistance, and his story
inspired the film 'Braveheart'.
In 1314 the English were again defeated by Robert the Bruce at
the Battle of Bannockburn, and the Scottish remained a law unto
themselves for the next 400 years. Despite the continuing anti-English
sentiment, the Scots were persuaded to abandon their own parliament
and unite with England in the Act of Union in 1707, in exchange
for the preservation of their own religious and legal systems. In
1745 Charles Stuart, known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, the grandson
of the exiled Catholic monarch, James II, attempted to regain the
throne with support from the Scottish Highlanders, themselves Catholic.
His terrible defeat at Culloden caused the government to disband
the clans and to ban the wearing of kilts and the playing of bagpipes,
which have since become famous symbols of Scottish identity and
nationalism.
Lowland Scotland enjoyed trade, prosperity, and a blossoming cultural
life, thanks to the Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century.
However, the end of the century brought the Highland Clearances,
one of the bleakest episodes in the already tragic history of their
Highland neighbours, whose way of life had been under threat since
the disbanding of the clans. In an attempt to make more profit from
the land, landlords introduced sheep farming and forced out families
who had been living in the area for generations. Many moved to the
cities or emigrated, while the few who remained were forced on to
tiny coastal plots of land called crofts. A whole way of life was
wiped out in less than a century.
The Lowlands continued to enjoy prosperity through the first world
war, but the depression of the 1930s hit hard, and Scotland continued
to face economic difficulty throughout the twentieth century. However,
Scottish dreams for independence have come closer to a reality since
the Labour government came to power in 1997, with its pledge to
devolve power to Wales and Scotland. On 6 May 1999, the Scots elected
their own Parliament for the first time in almost 300 years.
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