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Historic Connections
0265 SCOTLAND OUTLINE CHARM
£6.99
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0265 SCOTLAND OUTLINE CHARM
RRP - £10.99
OUR SPECIAL PRICE - £6.99
A delightful sterling silver bracelet charm, featuring the outline of the country of Scotland, that would make an ideal gift idea for anyone with a charm bracelet.
Comes complete in a small presentation box.
Size approx - 0.75ins x 0.6ins
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SCOTLAND
The history of Scotland begins around 10,000 years ago, when modern humans first began to inhabit Scotland, although the written history of Scotland largely begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales. To the north was a territory never subjugated by the Romans — Caledonia, by name. . Its people were called Picts.
Saint Columba, came to Scotland in 563, settled on the island of Iona and spread Christianity throughout the land. Some consider his conversion of the Pictish king Bridei a key event in the Christianisation of Scotland.
Kenneth MacAlpin of Alba, often called the first king of Scotland, conquered the Picts and the country, in the geographical sense it has retained for nearly a millennium, completed its expansion by the incorporation of the kingdom of Strathclyde in 1034. In 1263 Scotland and Norway fought the Battle of Largs for control over the Western Isles, and this acknowledged Scottish suzerainty over the islands.
Edward I of England set about systematically undermining the liberty of Scotland, and in 1296 invaded Scotland, deposing King John. The following year William Wallace and Andrew de Moray raised parts of the country to resist the occupation. Under their joint leadership an English army was defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. For a short time Wallace ruled Scotland as Guardian of the realm. Edward came north in person and defeated Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. Wallace escaped but 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.
In 1314 Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn securing the independence of Scotland. The Declaration of Arbroath sent to Pope Clement V in 1320 affirmed this independence.
During the 16th century Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation, but this reformation remained precarious throughout the reign of Mary Queen of Scots, who remained Roman Catholic. Her son James VI, however, was raised as a Protestant.
In 1603, following the death of the childless Queen Elizabeth I, the crown of England passed to James. He took the title James I of England and James VI of Scotland, thus unifying these two countries under his personal rule. For a time, this remained the only political connection between two independent nations, but it foreshadowed the eventual 1707 union of Scotland and England under the banner of the Great Britain.
Jacobitism, however, was not yet a spent force. Indeed it was revived by the unpopularity of the union. In 1715 an uprising occurred, aimed at putting James Francis Edward Stuart (the ‘Old Pretender’) back on the throne, but was unsuccessful. In 1745 the Jacobite rising known as ‘The Forty-Five’ began. Charles Edward Stuart, known to history as Bonnie Prince Charlie or the ‘Young Pretender’, son of the ‘Old Pretender’, landed on the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. At the outset he was successful, taking Edinburgh, defeating the only government army in Scotland at the Battle of Prestonpans, and marching into England as far as Derby. It became increasingly evident however that England would not support a Roman Catholic Stuart monarch, and the Jacobites retreated to Scotland, where they were crushed by The Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746. Charles hid in Scotland with the aid of Highlanders until September 1746, when he escaped back to France with the help of Flora Macdonald.
Economically, Scotland began to grow at a tremendous rate at the end of the 18th century. The ‘Scottish Enlightenment’ period was one of philosophy and science, involving names such as Adam Smith, David Hume and James Boswell. Scientific progress was led by James Hutton and William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin and James Watt. Pre-eminent in contemporary literature were Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.
Tied as it was to the health of the British Empire, Scotland suffered after the First World War as it had gained beforehand. In the Highlands, which had provided a disproportionate number of recruits for the army, a whole generation of young men were lost, and many villages and communities suffered greatly. After World War II, Scotland's economic situation became progressively worse due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes. This only began to change in the 1970s, partly due to the discovery and development of North Sea oil and gas and partly as Scotland moved towards a more service-based economy. This period saw the emergence of the Scottish National Party and movements for both Scottish independence and more popularly devolution. However, a referendum on devolution in 1979 was unsuccessful.
On 11 September 1997, a referendum on the issue of devolution was held. A positive outcome led to the establishment of a devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, and the creation of the Scottish Parliament Building adjacent to Holyrood House in Edinburgh.
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