1. SCOTLAND LAUREN WALL Taking Action

2. Economy Scotland is a sovereign country so it is part of a group of countries. Has a high standard of living The literacy rate is 99% so their education system is very good The unemployment rate is 8.2%. Recently the number of unemployed has risen

3. History Much of Scotland’s geography was carved by glaciers There were huge wars between the Scottish and British in the Middle Ages In 1603 King James inherited the British and the Irish crown in addition the Scottish crown In 1706 the Act of Union was signed joining England and Scotland. Later Wales and Northern Ireland were added creating The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

4. Scotland Today Edinburgh, the capital is very modern The languages spoken there are Gaelic and English The currency is the British Pound The prevailing religion is Protestant

5. Essentially… Would Scotland have an advantage if it became a country? Not really, Scotland is too small to support itself Scotland benefits from its relationship with England, Northern Ireland and Wales

6. Essentially… How would this affect the rest of the UK? The UK would lose some of its easy trade with Scotland and the added men for its military On the whole, trade would remain the same and the UK would still have an easy life

7. So What? Who Cares? It’s not like it affects me… Yes it does! Every country’s decisions will affect everyone else one way or another! We can try to raise awareness about the rate of unemployment in Scotland We can try writing letters to the Scottish Parliament about our opinion on whether Scotland should be independent or not.