British Civilisation Week The Celtic Dimension: Scotland

The Celts came to Scotland during the Iron Age: 750BC – 41 AD. The Romans occupied parts in southern Scotland from 80 AD – 367 AD. The beginnings of Scotland 400 – The native peoples of Scotland (Celts) were made up of Britons, Picts, Scots and Anglians.

Scotland The Celts had a pagan religion led by priests known as Druids. Saint Ninian (430 AD) was the first known Christian missionary in Scotland. Celtic Christianity was a unifying force. The Abbey of Iona was the centre of learning missionary zeal.

Scotland Missionaries from Iona evangelised England and many parts of Europe. The Scots, Angles, Britons, Vikings and Normans formed the Kingdom of Scotland. They were led by monarchs of the Cranmer Dynasty (1000 – 1286). MacBeth was the most famous of these kings.

Scotland Edward I (Longshanks) tried to invade Scotland. He imprisoned the Scottish King John Balliol. William Wallace became the leader of Scotland and defeated Edward at Sterling Bridge in He was known as “Guardian of Scotland and Commander of its Armies on behalf of King John Balliol.”

Scotland In 1305 Wallace was captured and tried for treason. Edward had him put to death by being hanged, drawn and quartered. Robert Bruce the King of Scotland secured Scotland’s independence from England. He defeated Edward II and made king of Scotland in 1328.

Scotland Education was an important aspect of Scottish History. Three famous Scottish universities: St Andrews (1412), Glasgow (1451),Kings College, Aberdeen (1495), Edinburgh (1582) and Marischal College, Aberdeen. The men behind the Reformation of 1560 wanted a literate population in order to aid the spread of Bible reading and study.

Scotland In 1696 a law was passed to ensure that every part of Scotland had its own school. The Reformation increased English influence over Scotland, because they both faced the threat of Catholic France. Mary, Queen of Scots (1561 – 1567) fled to England and was executed by Queen Elizabeth for treason. James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603.

Scotland William III and his wife Mary became joint monarchs of Scotland and England. The Act of Union in 1707 joined Scotland and England to secure Protestant Succession. During the Reign of Victoria, Scotland became one of the most industrialised countries in Europe. The coal mining industry increased dramatically to meet the demand of the factories.

Scotland The Presbyterian (Calvinist) Church was the largest in Scotland. The Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) split in 1843 and the Free Church of Scotland was born. This disruption of the Presbyterian Church was the most significant event of the 19 th century.

Scotland There was a huge number of people who emigrated from Scotland in the first 30 years of 20 th century. 1 million people left Scotland to settle in America and other parts of Britain, making it the country with the greatest emigration in Europe. Poverty and malnutrition had a profound effect on Scotland during the Great Depression (1929 – 1933).

Scotland Scotland’s post World War II economic situation was boosted by large investment by multi-national electronics companies. Scotland became known as Silicon Glen. Technology-based industry replaced the coal, steel and shipbuilding industries. Scotland’s electronic industry produced over one third of Europe’s PCs and 12% of the world’s semi-conductors.

Scotland Scotland’s economic success was also as a result of extracting oil from the North Sea. Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from a cell of another adult animal, was created at the Roslyn Institute in Edinburgh. With Labour’s landslide victory in England, Scotland won its right to have its own Parliament in 1999.