Facts and Figures
Scotland consists of the northern third of Great Britain, the mainland
of the United Kingdom, together with 186 nearby islands, most of which are
are contained in three groups: the Hebrides, situated off the west coast,
the Orkney Islands, situated off the northeast coast and the Shetland Islands,
situated northeast of the Orkney Islands.
Scotland has an area of 30,420 square miles or 78,789 square kilometres and a
population of 5.1 million. The average population density is 0.65 persons per hectare
which compares to 3.6 persons per hectare for England.
Geography, Mountains, Lochs and Rivers
Scotland is bounded to the north by the Atlantic Ocean, to the east by the North Sea, to the southeast by England, to the south by Solway Firth, which partly separates it from England and to the west by the Irish Sea and North Channel which separates it from Ireland and by the Atlantic Ocean.
The most notable lochs are Loch Lomond (27 square miles - the largest), Loch Ness (24 miles long and 800 feet deep - the longest and deepest), Loch Tay and Loch Katrine.
The terrain of Scotland is mainly mountainous and, from north to south, may be divided into three distinct regions: the Highlands, the Central Lowlands and the Southern Uplands.
The Highlands
The Highlands, the most sparsely populated section of Scotland and the most rugged region within Great Britain, comprise a series of parallel mountain ranges, deep valleys, dense forests, mountain lakes, fast-flowing streams and sea lochs. The Highlands, which account for more than half the land mass of Scotland, are renowned for their scenic grandeur. The region is divided in two by a depression 60 miles long known as the Great Glen or Glen More; it runs between Inverness and Fort William from the Moray Firth to Loch Linnhe and contains Loch Oich, Loch Lochy and Loch Ness.The southern Highland area is covered by the Grampian mountains, which include Ben Nevis (1343 m/4406 ft), the highest summit in the British Isles.
The Central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands, formed by the valleys of the rivers Clyde, Forth and Tay, comprise a narrow belt of land occupying a tenth of the area of Scotland but providing home to the majority of the country's population.The Tay is the longest river in Scotland (117 miles) flowing into the North Sea at Dundee and is noted for its salmon. The Spey (110 miles), another river noted for its salmon and the swiftest flowing river in the British Isles, flows into the Moray Firth. The most important river commercially is the Clyde (106 miles) which flows through Glasgow to the Firth of Clyde.
The Southern Uplands
The Southern Uplands, less elevated and rugged than the Highlands, consist largely of a moorland plateau crossed by rolling valleys and broken by mountainous outcrops, few of which exceed 2500ft.History
Early Settlement
The earliest evidence of human settlement is of Middle Stone Age hunters and fishermen from the 3rd century BC. These were followed by New Stone Age farmers and Bronze Age 'Beaker folk'. From 700 BC onwards, further settlement occurred as tribes further south were displaced by incursions from the Continent and, in AD 43, the Roman invasion.Roman Invasion
The Roman general Julius Agricola advanced into Caledonia culiminating with a victory in AD 84 but this forward policy was not pursued. The northern frontier of the Roman empire was marked by Hadrian's Wall which was largely complete by AD 30. Between AD 144 and 190, a further rampart, the Antonine Wall was created.The Peoples of Scotland
Following the Roman withdrawal from Britain, there were centuries of warfare between the Picts, Scots, Britons, Angles and Vikings. North of the Forth was occupied by the Picts, believed to be a non-Indo-European people, The Scots, a Gaelic-speaking people of Northern Ireland colonised Argyll and Bute in the fifth century and established the kingdom of Dalriada. The Britons, colonised Scotland from the south in the first century losing control of the south-east of Scotland to the Angles in the early seventh century but retained Strathclyde in the south west. Viking raids took place from the late 8th century and in the following century Norse settlements were established in the northern and western isles, Argyll, Caithness and Sutherland.Unification
Unification of the areas now comprising Scotland began in AD 843 when Kenneth mac Alpin, the king of the Scots also became king of the Picts joining the two lands to form Alba; this comprised Scotland north of the Clyde and Forth . Scottish possession of Lothian, between the Forth and the Tweed, was confirmed after the victory of Malcolm II over a Northumbrian army at Carnham in c1017. The Norse areas were incorporated into the kingdom of Scotland from the 12th century onwards with the Orkney and Shetland islands finally falling to Scotland in 1468-9 as a pledge for the unpaid dowry of Margaret of Denmark, wife of James III.Relations with England
From the 11th century onwards, Scotland and England were frequently at war over territory and the extent of England's political influence. In 1290, the death of Margaret of Norway and a much undisputed succession led to Edward I of England to proclaim John Balliol as king. Balliol refused to be a puppet king and war ensued with Edward resulting in Balliol's defeat and the annexation of Scotland by England.Resistance to England's rule was led by William Wallace culminating in the defeat of the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297. After Wallace's execution by the English in 1305, Robert Bruce assumed leadership of the resistance movement being crowned Robert I in 1306. Bruce went on to control most of Scotland by 1311 and to rout Edward II's army at Bannockburn in 1314. The war against England continued until 1328 when the Treaty of Northampton gave Scotland independence. Clashes continued intermittently until the defeat of Queen Mary's army in 1567. In 1603, James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I on the throne of England and relations with England improved. After a brief period of English rule under Cromwell, Scotland regained its independence with the restoration of Charles II but the Scottish parliament voted itself out of existence in 1707 when political union with England took place.
The Jacobite Revolts
In the Highlands, support had remained strong for the Catholic James VII (James II of England) who had been overthrown in 1688 and lived in exile in France until his death in 1701. In 1715, these supporters of the exiled house of Stuart, known as Jacobites, rose in support of James Stuart (the Old Pretender, son of James VII and II) leading to the inconclusive battle of Sheriffmuir.In 1745, Charles Stuart (the Young Pretender) landed in Scotland winning three battles against the English and advancing as far as Derby in 1746. The Jacobite forces retreated and were crushed at the battle of Culloden after which the revolt collapsed and Charles fled to France. The Jacobite cause thereafter ceased to have any political significance.
More Recent History
After the 1745 rebellion, the Government forced the break up of the Clan system in the Highlands. Industrialisation began apace in the late 1700s and the 18th century saw the transformation of Scotland from an agricultural society into an industrial nation. Edinburgh became an important cultural centre in the 18th century and Scotland boasted such thinkers as the philosopher David Hume and economist Adam Smith and literary figures such as James Boswell, Robert Burns and Sir Walter Scott.In the second half of the 20th century, Scottish nationalism once again grew in support leading to election successes in the 1970s. Following the referendum on devolution in September 1997, the first elections to the new Scottish Parliament were held in May 1999. It has legislative powers over all devolved matters, i.e. matters not reserved to Westminster or otherwise outside its powers and can raise or lower the basic rate of income tax by up to three pence in the pound.