The History of Scotland Ancient Scotland Birth of a Nation Stewart Scotland North Britain Modern Scotland

Ancient Scotland Around 10 000 BC the ice that had covered Scotland for a long time began to melt. Trees and bushes began to grow, and animals such as bears wolves and wild pigs came searching for food.

Ancient Scotland The first settlers were hunters and gatherers from Ireland, Germany and the rest of Europé. They decided to stay and lived as nomads in Britain. Nomads are people who live in and move to different places, in search of food and shelter. Around 7000BC they had spread to most parts of the country.

Ancient Scotland Around 4000BC hunter and gatherers stopped living as nomads and settled down and became farmers. They grew crops like oats and barley, which they later stored to survive the harsh winters. They also learned how to tame animals and thereby didn’t need to hunt as much.

Ancient Scotland Between 1200BC to AD200 Scotland got closer and merged with a civilization that flourished throughout Europé, called Celtic. The name Celtic was given by the Greeks and Romans who fought against these people. Celtic culture first developed in central Europé, and later spread to the British Isles.

Ancient Scotland Around AD80 the Romans invaded and conquered Scotland. The Romans realized it would be impossible to control all the land, so they withdrew. The Romans built Hadrian’s Wall to protect themselves from the Scottish Celts.

Ancient Scotland Before the Romans came, the people of Scotland worshipped many different gods and goddesses. With the Romans this new religion called Christianity came along, and things like bishops monks and saints became part of everyday life in Scotland.

Ancient Scotland Vikings from Scandinavia came to the northern part of Scotland, around AD800. First just to plunder and and steal treasures and jewelry. But around AD1000, they had settled down and ruled much of northern part of Scotland.

Birth of a Nation For thousands of years, Scotland was not a united nation. But between AD800 and 1300 warriors and kings created the first Scottish nation. The new threat came not from Vikings or Romans now, but from the English…

Birth of a Nation The last of the Viking kings to have any real power in Scotland was Norway’s Magnus the Lawgiver, who returned the power to the Scottish people in 1266.

Birth of a Nation The first real towns in Scotland were built around 1150. Towns like Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness were founded by kings, great nobles or monasteries as trading centres.

Birth of a Nation The way people lived was much determined by the environment. In the Lowlands people mostly worked on great estates owned by kings lords or monks. In the Highlands people were more independent, but instead they belonged to different clans and its clanchiefs. For example McDougals, McSorley and others.

Birth of a Nation In 1296, the English king Edward I invaded and defeated Scotland. Scotland now belonged to England and had no king.

Birth of a Nation One of the most famous and important Scots to resist the English was William Wallace. William Wallace and his army beat the English at Stirling Bridge, which was a great upset for Edward I. Later, William Wallace and his army got defeated at Falkirk 1298 William Wallace was later executed, but to this day he is considered to be a great hero.

Birth of a Nation Inspired by William Wallace, Robert Bruce I fought against the English and won an amazing and surprising victory at Bannockburn in 1314. This ensured the freedom and independence of the Scottish people for another 400 years.

Stewart Scotland 1300-1600 Between 1300 to 1600 Scotland was transformed. It turned from a weak country troubled with fights between warlords into a confident nation ruled by intelligent kings and queens. Named ”Stewart Scotland” because of the dynasty (ruling family) that reigned during this era and started with Robert the Steward, who became king in 1371.

Stewart Scotland 1300-1600 The Black Death (the plague) was a deadly disease, carried by rats, which killed many Scots during the 14th century.

Stewart Scotland 1300-1600 Many sea-based indistries developed during this era, much due to the fact that Scotland is surrounded by sea. Such industries were fishing, salt-making and carrying goods by cargo ship.

Stewart Scotland 1300-1600 Until around 1600 most Scottish people could not read and write. Before 1600 most schools were run by churches, but after the Reformation schools were taken over by and run by town councils. By time, education got more available for the Scots and more and more people learned how to read and write.

Stewart Scotland 1300-1600 Scottish people had followed the Catholic Church led by the Pope in Rome until the Reformation. You could pay the Church to forgive your sins and guarantee that you would go to heaven. A lot of people protested against this, these people were called Protestants, and suddenly a new branch of Christianity was created.

Stewart Scotland 1300-1600 Mary Queen of Scots refused to be part of this new Protestantism. She wanted to be a Catholic so she abdicated as queen, and she is now the most famous queen in Scottish history.

North Britain In 1603 King James VI of Scotland inherited the English crown, which made Scotland and England much closer to each other. In 1707 Scotland and England were united and Scotland became more a part on Britain. Since Scotland is in the northern part of Britain, you could say that it was North Britain.

North Britain In the 16th century witches were seen as a threat to society, and beacause of that, witchcraft became a crime. Innocent women were accused of being witches, and some were killed. Witch-hunting became less common after around 1650.

North Britain The massacre at Glencoe in 1692 was a horrible thing, but Scottish society was about to change. People looked to England and France for a more polite and civil society. People wanted to leave Scotland’s history of bloody clan battles and ”primitive” life behind.

North Britain Around 1750, new people from all over Scotland moved to Edinburgh. People as different as artists, architects, designers, boooksellers, scientists, publishers, teachers and students. They gathered in coffee houses and salons. This meant that the Enlightenment had started in Edinburgh and Scotland.

North Britain Scottish engineers and inventors changed the world by helping to create the Industrial Revolution. From around 1750-1850, millions of ordinary men and women stopped working at home and on farms, instead they began to work in huge factories.

Modern Scotland Between 1750-1850, Scotland was transformed from a poor rebellious region to the workshop of the world. In 1999, the Scottish parliament met again for the first time in almost 300 years.

Modern Scotland In 1851 only one out of five Scots lived in big cities like Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. People lived very differently, there was a great gap between Scotland’s rich and poor.

Modern Scotland The majority of Scottish people lived hard an unpleasent lives, but others had a much more comfortable existence. They were the middle-class. Only 3 in 1000 belonged to the upper-class during the 19th century.

Modern Scotland During the 19th century, ordinary men and women did not have the right to vote. They could not choose their political leaders or make their views known.

Modern Scotland Many Scots fought in the First World War in 1914-18. In many towns and villages all the young men of fighting age (between 16 and 40) went to war together – and died together.

Modern Scotland In 1939, Britian and its allies went to war with Germany. Fighting in the Second World War until 1945, young Scottish menwere conscripted (forced by law) to join the army, navy and the new air force.

Modern Scotland In 1999 Scotland got their own parliament and a bit more independence from Great Britain. The Scottish Parliament now has the power to raise or lower taxes and manage Scotland’s health care, education, transport, farming and the environment.