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John Churchill, 1st Duke Of Marlborough

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

] The Most Noble John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (May 26, 1650 – June 16, 1722), in full The Most Noble Captain-General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Marlborough, Baron Churchill of Sandridge, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, KG, PC (in addition to these English and Scottish titles he was also Prince of Mindelheim and a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire), was an English military officer during the War of the Spanish Succession. Churchill is generally considered the greatest military genius that Britain has produced. Historian Sir Edward Creasy wrote that "[he] never fought a battle that he did not win, and never besieged a place that he did not take."

Early years

John Churchill was born to Elizabeth and Sir Winston Churchill (the famous Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill of the second world war was a descendant) in the immediate aftermath of the English Civil War. He was educated at St Paul's School, London. Apparently he learned the basics of military strategy from a book in the School library. His father had fought for the Royalists during the Civil War and had suffered badly for it—they lived in very modest circumstances until the end of the Commonwealth. His staunch support for Charles II of England paid off with The Restoration, however, and one of the fruits of this was the appointment of 17-year-old John Churchill to the household of the man second in line to the throne, then–Lord High Admiral, the Duke of York. Joining the navy, he remained at court for a while, but saw turns of duty first in the Mediterranean and in the last of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. In the latter, he became a Marine officer, and was attached to the siege of Maastricht, his first taste of land battle. Having come to the attention of the French crown during this action, he moved on to the fighting in Alsace, where he fought with one of the leading generals of the day, Marshal Turenne.

Marriage and early career

That war ended in 1674, and Churchill settled down to peaceful life. In 1678, he married Sarah Jennings, who would come to fiercely present his interests at court while he was off fighting on the Continent. In 1682, then-Colonel Churchill entered the Scots peerage as Lord Churchill of Eyemouth. In the years to follow he engaged in various diplomatic missions to Spain and their former enemy, the Dutch United Provinces, largely in opposition to French interests. In 1685, Charles II died without legitimate issue, and Churchill's former employer, the Duke of York, became James II of England. Shortly thereafter James elevated him to the English peerage as Baron Churchill of Sandridge in Hertfordshire.

James II and the Glorious Revolution

Within a few months, the new king faced a series of rebellions, one of which was by the Duke of Monmouth. Churchill was promoted major-general in July 1685 and appointed head of the loyalist troops, then quickly subordinated to the Earl of Feversham. It is believed that this lack of confidence was what eventually turned Churchill from loyalty to the Stuart kings. Churchill nevertheless distinguished himself during the fighting, and became an important figure in the army. In 1688, William of Orange invaded England with the support of most of the nobility, as James II was a Catholic and was clearly attempting to reintroduce absolutist rule into his kingdom, as well as toleration and even ascendancy for Romanism over the Church of England. James promoted Churchill to lieutenant-general in November and ordered him to engage and defeat the invaders; instead he deserted to the Orange cause, which caused most of the army to come with him and put James into a very difficult position. He quit the country for France rather than fight. The Glorious Revolution had been pulled off with far less bloodshed than anyone expected, and the Stuarts no longer ruled in Britain. In reward Churchill was appointed a Privy Councillor (hence the postnominal abbreviation "P.C.") in February 1689 and created Earl of Marlborough in April. In 1689, Marlborough commanded the British contingent fighting the French in Flanders. The following year, an expedition under his command captured Cork and Kinsale in the Williamite war in Ireland. Marlborough was out of the public sphere to a large extent for the next few years, as William did not entirely trust the Stuart supporter. William's distrust was well founded, for in 1692 Churchill was discovered to be in secret correspondence with the exiled James II, and was publicly disgraced. It is miraculous that he suffered no further from his treachery. He was even able to intrigue further, by sending news of English troop movements to the French in William's wars on the Continent. With characteristic duplicity, however, he always contrived to send the information too late for it to be of any use. It must be noted, that while Marlborough was in habitual correspondence with the enemies of England, he never deserted William at moments of high peril, as he had deserted James II. While he was out of office and command, his most notable activity was some time as the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Canadian town of Churchill, Manitoba, a former Company outpost, gains its name from this connection. Churchill, Manitoba

Military service on the continent

The War of Spanish Succession begins

He returned to the forefront with events leading up to the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701. Philip, Duke of Anjou, the grandson of the King of France, Louis XIV, was put forward as heir to the throne of Spain, and rather than allow France to expand its power to such a great extent, a coalition of European powers including Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, and most of the smaller states and principalities of the Empire prepared for war, backing the rival Austrian claimant, the Archduke Charles. Portugal and Savoy joined the alliance before long. William died in 1702, but not before he had successfully organized the anti-French alliance, and the war was prosecuted without him. Now came Marlborough's finest hour, for he proceeded to distinguish himself in the field of battle as no English general had done before him. His position and career at home also reached an apex. William's successor, his sister-in-law Queen Anne, was completely under the domination of Marlborough's wife, and he enjoyed the new queen's confidence and favour; immediately upon her succession to the throne he was knighted as a member of the Order of the Garter (hence the postnominal abbreviation "K.G."), appointed captain-general of the English troops, and made Master-General of the Ordnance. The same year, the War of the Spanish Succession with France finally broke out into the open and Captain-General Lord Marlborough was made commander-in-chief of the Allied armies.

Early campaigns

The campaign of 1703 was indecisive overall, but Marlborough gained a substantial advantage in preempting Louis XIV's plans to invade the Netherlands by capturing the North Eastern fortresses of the Spanish Netherlands, Venlo and Roermond, and by overrunning the Electorate of Cologne and the Bishopric of Liège, two German allies of Louis. For these victories, he was made Duke of Marlborough, the title by which he is best known. He is also credited with founding a new school of military strategy. European generals up to his time were of the old school, which subscribed to headlong pitched engagements with armies properly arrayed opposite each other in a "gentlemanlike" fashion, where victory was usually bought with heavy loss. On the field of battle he was vigilant and energetic, yet he was even more vigorous in pre-battle operations to secure the best advantages, such as circumventing flanks and positions, and deceiving and attacking an enemy when he was least expected. In one instance, he drove a French army of 60,000 men before him and seized half the duchy of Brabant (in modern day Belgium) with the loss of a mere 80 men. Yet when bloody and pitched battles were necessary, he never shrank from them, and personally lead his men into the hottest fray with a cool-headed courage that won him universal admiration.

Blenheim, and other victories

1704 brought the first notable campaign wherein Marlborough was able to show his full abilities. At the outset, his army lay on the Meuse and Lower Rhine, protecting the Netherlands from the French. However, Louis XIV had brought up another army into South Germany and united it with his Bavarian allies, and the combined force held the valley of the Upper Danube, seriously threatening Austria. Marlborough quickly realized that the more strategic theater lay in Bavaria, not on the Meuse. Accordingly he rapidly marched his force, including the reluctant Dutch, across Germany to Bavaria, whilst along the route he performed a series of brilliant feints that led the French to believe he was preparing to attack Alsace. While they scrambled to meet him there, he quickly struck across Wurtemburg using forced marches and arrived in the valley of the Danube. He then stormed the fortified Bavarian camp on the Schellenberg near Donauwörth, placed himself between the enemy and Austria, and thwarted any further advance on Vienna. He was then joined by a small Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy, and the combined force was strong enough to take on the whole Franco-Bavarian army, which were 56,000 strong, he accordingly attacked, and won a great victory at the Battle of Blenheim. He captured all of Bavaria, and Austria was saved. The defeat was so crushing that Louis XIV was forced to retire behind the Rhine, and was never again able to threaten Germany. As quickly as he came, Marlborough hurried back to the Dutch Frontier, and was again on the Meuse by spring, threatening the Spanish Netherlands on their eastern front. Battle of Blenheim

Later battles

In 1705 Marlborough was obliged to forgo an ambitious attack on the French via the valley of the Moselle, because Prince Eugene had been sent to fight in Italy. He therefore decided on an offensive in the Spanish Netherlands. The French, under Marshal Villeroi, had ranged themselves in a long line from Antwerp to Namur, covering every vulnerable point with fortifications. Marlborough wanted to fight a pitched battle at Waterloo, but the Dutch government withdrew their forces and prevented any decisive engagements. His opportunity came in the spring, however, when he induced Villeroi to concentrate all of the French forces in the Spanish Netherlands to defend the fortress of Namur. The consequent Battle of Ramillies (1706) was a crushing defeat for the French, and resulted in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, all of Flanders and Hainaut falling into Marlborough's hands. All that remained to the French in the territory were the fortresses of Mons and Namur. Marlborough was almost as able a diplomat as a general. No other personage within the anti-French alliance could keep together so divergent and fractious an assortment of armies. Without his astute guidance, they would have fallen into quarrelsome disunion. He had all the abilities of a statesman: patient, genial, sophisticated and practical. In 1707, Charles XII of Sweden, an old ally of France, invaded Germany from the rear, pursuing a quarrel with the Elector of Saxony. In great apprehension lest Sweden should interfere in the war and aid the French, Marlborough hastened to Saxony, visited Charles in his camp, and flattered and coaxed him into retiring without firing a shot. He also routinely weathered the periodic intransigence of his Dutch troops, and the Herculean task of leading so many armies and nationalities to victory. Marlborough's successes continued to mount, and led to his creation within the Empire as a Prince of the Empire and Prince of Mindelheim. Prince Eugene was equally successful in Italy, capturing Milan and Piedmont in September 1707 and forcing the French to evacuate behind the Alps. Louis also suffered reverses in Spain itself, with risings by the Catalans in favour of the Archduke Charles, and Anglo-Austrian invasions resulting in the loss of most of eastern Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona. He finally sued for peace, offering to give up his grandson's claim to the Spanish Crown, as well as all of the Spanish Netherlands, if he were allowed to keep the Spanish possessions in Italy. While the Dutch and the Germans were in favour of accepting, he was rejected partly because the Emperor was set on gaining Milan, and also because Marlborough loved the wealth and glory the war brought him, and convinced London to reject the French offer. The resulting French counter-offensive in 1708 cost the allies most of their holdings in Spain and a fresh invasion in Flanders which managed to recapture Ghent for Louis. At the same time, the Duchess of Marlborough's hold on the Queen was slipping, and the Duke's position at court became tenuous. Nevertheless, Marlborough rallied his forces and fell upon the French and defeated them at the Battle of Oudenarde. On July 11, 1708, what was left of the French army retreated into France. Marlborough, reinforced by Eugene's Austrian troops, pursued them, thrusting into France and capturing the northern stronghold of Lille after a long siege (December 9, 1708). Louis was humiliated, even more than in 1706. Yet again he offered terms for peace, but the Allies made impossible demands of him, requiring him to surrender Strasbourg and several border fortresses, as well as guaranteeing to send an army to Spain to evict his own grandson if the latter refused to resign the Spanish crown. Louis could not brook fighting his own blood, and appealed to the nation to stand firm and resist the invaders. His armies were starving and his treasury was empty, but with a mighty effort France answered his call and a new army of nearly 100,000 men under Marshall Villars was collected and sent to relieve Marlborough's siege of Mons. Despite the strong entrenchment of the French, he attacked and defeated them at the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709, though with heavy losses. Consequently, Mons fell, and Marlborough proceeded to lay siege to the fortresses of Artois and French Flanders. Artois

Dismissal from court

However, In 1710, two occurrences brought to an end Marlborough's military exploits and his ascendance at court. Firstly, Queen Anne finally threw off the Duchess of Marlborough entirely, dismissing her from her offices and banishing her from the court. The second was the fall of the Whig Ministry that had so long supported the continuation of the war. Incidentally, the chief Whig minister, Lord Godolphin, was intimately connected to the Churchills. Godolphin's son was married to Churchill’s daughter. The new Tory ministry began at once to negotiate with France. Marlborough, skillfully bursting through Villars' fortified lines, had just taken Bouchain, and was preparing to advance into Picardy, when he was recalled to England and replaced with the Duke of Ormonde. On his arrival, he was accused of embezzlement, a false accusation by his political enemies. Britain made peace with France in 1713 with the signing of the celebrated Treaty of Utrecht. The chief legacy of Marlborough's victories was the destruction of French hegemony in Europe.

Return to prominence, and death

The Queen died on August 1, 1714. After the succession of George I, Marlborough returned to England. By that time, the Whigs were once again in office. His reputation was irrevocably damaged from the 1711 revelations of his financial misdeeds, and they refused to serve under him and therefore he was unable to return to power. However, they gave him the lucrative, though nominal, post of Commander-in-Chief. He settled into retirement and spent most of his remaining days working on his new home, Blenheim Palace. At his death in 1722 he had been suffering from paralysis and softening of the brain. Although the duke and duchess moved into the palace, it was not completed until after the duke's death. In 1730, Sarah commissioned a joint tomb for the chapel, and her husband's body was returned there from Westminster Abbey. Marlborough acquired a notable art collection, which was sold by his descendents in the 19th century to pay off debts.

Descendants

Marlborough and his wife had five children:
- Harriet, (October 1679 - bef. 1698)
- Henrietta, (July 19, 1681 - October 24, 1733)
- Anne, (February 27, 1683 - April 15, 1716)
- John, Marquess of Blandford, (February 13, 1686 - February 20, 1703)
- Elizabeth, (March 15, 1687 - March 22, 1714)
- Mary (July 15, 1689 - May 14, 1751)
- Charles (August 19, 1690 - May 22, 1692) When Churchill's sons predeceased him, the title was allowed by a special Act of Parliament to pass to his eldest daughter in her own right. The title thus passed to Lady Henrietta Churchill. Lady Anne Churchill, married Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, and from this marriage descend the modern Dukes of Marlborough. Before his marriage, Marlborough was also associated with Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland. Her youngest child, Barbara, is assumed by most historians to be Churchill's daughter.

See also


- Marlborough's notable descendants include Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Winston Churchill, Diana, Princess of Wales and her namesake, an 18th century Lady Diana Spencer.
- John and Sarah Churchill were The First Churchills in the BBC television series with that title.
- He is a character in Neal Stephenson's historical fiction novels The Baroque Cycle.

Trivia

In Spain Marlborough is remembered in popular culture in a children's song: "Mambrú se fue a la guerra, mire usted, mire usted, qué pena..." This is undoubtedly a translation of the 18th century French soldiers' song "Marlbrough s'en va t'en guerre..". In this song Marlbrough's wife is invited to put on her black dress, because she is going to be a widow soon... The song's melody was adopted in Britain, where it is sung with the words "For he is a jolly good fellow...".

Further Reading


- Winston Churchill, Marlborough, Odhams 1933-6, 4 volumes, subsequently reprinted in 2 volumes.
- Sir Charles William Chadwic Oman, "History of England", Edward Arnold, Eighth Edition, 1901.
- Virginia Cowles,The Great Marlborough and his Duchess, Macmillan, 1983.
- J. R. Jones, Marlborough (British Lives Series), Cambridge University Press, 1993. Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Duke of ja:マールバラ公ジョン・チャーチル

The Most Noble

The prefix The Most Noble is a title of quality attached to the names of dukes and duchesses in the United Kingdom. It is usually used on legal documents, where a duke would be described as, for instance, The Most Noble John William, Duke of London, while the prefix His Grace (or Her Grace) is used in less formal situations. The Most Noble is a contraction of the most formal style of a duke, The Most High, Noble and Potent Prince, which is used only in rare ceremonial circumstances. Category:Titles
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1650

Events


- June 23 - Claimant King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland arrives in Scotland, the only of the three Kingdoms that has accepted him as ruler.
- August 23 - Colonel George Monck forms Monck's Regiment of Foot, forerunner of Coldstream Guards
- November 4 - William III of Orange becomes Prince of the House of Orange the moment of his birth, succeeding his father who had died a few days earlier.
- First modern Palio in Siena
- Puritans chop down the original Glastonbury Thorn
- Captain James Hind makes an abortive attempt to seize power in England
- Jews allowed to return to France and England
- Cafés begin to become popular in Europe
- Three-wheeled wheelchairs used in Nuremberg
- Ann Greene, who had been hanged for infanticide in Edinburgh, wakes up in an autopsy table – she is pardoned
- Abyssinia deports Portuguese diplomats and missionaries
- Einkommende Zeitungen – first German newspaper (cancelled 1918)
- Town of Sharon, Massachusetts is founded.

Ongoing events


- Fronde civil war in France (1648-1653)

Births


- February 2 - Nell Gwynne, English actress and royal mistress (d. 1687)
- February 5 - Anne-Jules, 2nd duc de Noailles, French general (d. 1708)
- April 20 - William Bedloe, English informer (d. 1680)
- May 26 - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, British general (d. 1722)
- August 16 - Vincenzo Coronelli, Italian cartographer and encylopedist (d. 1718)
- November 14 - King William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland (d. 1702)
- November 7 - John Robinson, English diplomat (d. 1723) See also :Category:1650 births.

Deaths


- February 11 - René Descartes, French philosopher (b. 1595)
- April 18 - Simonds d'Ewes, English antiquarian and politician (b. 1602)
- May 21 - James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, Scottish royalist (b. 1612)
- June 18 - Christoph Scheiner, German astronomer
- June 19 - Matthäus Merian, Swiss engraver (b. 1593)
- August 25 - Richard Crashaw, English poet
- October 29 - David Calderwood, Scottish historian (b. 1575)
- November 6 - William II, Prince of Orange (b. 1626)
- November 24 - Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (b. 1566)
- December 31 - Dorgon, Manchu prince (b. 1612)
- Giambattista Andreini, Italian actor and playwright (b. 1578)
- Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi, Japanese samurai (b. 1607) See also :Category:1650 deaths. Category:1650 ko:1650년 simple:1650

1722

Events


- Abraham De Moivre states De Moivre's theorem connecting trigonometric functions and complex numbers
- Publication of the first book of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier
- Fall of Persia's Safavid dynasty during a bloody revolt of the Afghani people.
- July 25 - Three Years War begins along Maine and Massachusetts border.
- December 20 - After the longest reign by a Chinese Emperor in history, the Kangxi Emperor dies and is succeeded by his son Yinzhen with the reign name Yongzheng.
- The Silence Dogood letters appear, written by Benjamin Franklin.
- On Easter, Dutch admiral Jakoc Roggeveen lands on what is now Easter Island

Births


- January 3 - Fredric Hasselquist, Swedish naturalist (d. 1752)
- January 12 - Nicolas Luckner, Marshal of France (d. 1794)
- January 26 - Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (d. 1805)
- February 19 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French author (d. 1774)
- April 11 - Christopher Smart, English poet (d. 1771)
- April 12 - Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (d. 1793)
- May 11 - Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist (d. 1798)
- May 29 - James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, Irish politician (d. 1773)
- July 16 - Joseph Wilton, English sculptor (d. 1803)
- August 9 - Augustus William, Prince of Prussia (d. 1758)
- August 11 - Richard Brocklesby, English physician (d. 1797)
- September 5 - Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (d. 1763)
- September 16 - Gabriel Christie, British general (d. 1799)
- September 22 - John Home, Scottish dramatist (d. 1808)
- September 27 - Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader (d. 1803)
- October 2 - Leopold Widhalm, Austrian luthier (d. 1776)
- November 5 - William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English dueler (d. 1798)
- November 19 - Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (d. 1809)
- November 19 - Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of colonial Pennsylvania (d. 1810)
- November 30 - Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler (d. 1761)
- December 30 - Charles Yorke, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1770)
- Flora Macdonald, Scottish heroine (d. 1790)
- Hyder Ali, Indian general and Sultan of Mysore (d. 1782)
- Joseph Warton, English poet and critic (d. 1800)

Deaths


- January 21 - Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)
- February 10 - Bartholomew Roberts, English pirate
- March 11 - John Toland, Irish philosopher (b. 1670)
- April 13 - Charles Leslie, Irish Anglican theologian (b. 1650)
- May 20 - Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist (b. 1669)
- June 16 - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general (b. 1650)
- September 18 - André Dacier, French classical scholar (b. 1651)
- November 20 - Johann Adam Reinken, German organist (b. 1623)
- December 20 - Kangxi Emperor of China (b. 1654)
- December 23 - Pierre Varignon, French mathematician (b. 1654)
- Johann Kuhnau, German composer (b. 1660) Category:1722 ko:1722년



Scotland

Scotland (Alba in Gaelic) is a nation in northwest Europe and a constituent country of the United Kingdom. The name originally meant Land of the Gaels (see below). The country occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England and is bounded by the North Sea on the east and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Its capital city is Edinburgh. Despite no longer being an independent sovereign state, Scotland is still considered a country in its own right. Scotland existed as an independent Kingdom until 1 May 1707, when the Act of Union 1707 merged Scotland with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. The flag of Scotland — the Saltire — is thought to be the oldest national flag still in use. The patron saint of Scotland is Saint Andrew, and Saint Andrew's Day is the 30 November. There are currently attempts to create an additional national holiday on this day.

Etymology

The English language name Scotland could date from at least the first half of the 10th century, when it was used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The word Scot- was borrowed from Latin. We cannot assume Scotland was being used here to mean anything other than Land of the Gaels, just like Latin Scotia. Scottish kings adopted the title Basileus/Rex Scottorum (= High King/King of the Gaels) and Rex Scotiae (King of Gael-Land) some time in the 11th century. The earliest attribution of the latter Latin title was by the Germany-based Irish writer Marianus Scotus, recording the death of King Máel Coluim mac Cináeda as Moelcoluim Rex Scotiae, for the year 1034. In taking this title, they were likely influenced by the style Imperator Scottorum known to have been employed by Brian Bóruma in 1005. In the early 13th century, the Scotto-Norman author of de Situ Albanie protested that Scotia was a corrupt word for what should be called Albania; but by then Scotia was becoming the norm in Latin, French and English; and hence Scotia and its derivitives prevailed in all languages except the Celtic ones. The Kingdom of Scotland has traditionally been regarded as being united in 843, by Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts, the man who is known to the modern English-speaker as King Kenneth I of Scotland.

History

See also the main article: History of Scotland. The written history of Scotland largely began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales, administering it as a Roman province called Britannia. To the north was territory not governed by the Romans—Caledonia, peopled by the Picts. From a classical historical viewpoint Scotland seemed a peripheral country, slow to gain advances filtering out from the Mediterranean fount of civilisation, but as knowledge of the past increases it has become apparent that some developments were earlier and more advanced than previously thought, and that the seaways were very important to Scottish history. The country's lengthy struggle with England, its more powerful neighbour to the south, was the cause of the Wars of Scottish Independence, forcing Scotland to rely on trade, cultural and often strategic ties with a number of European powers, most notably France. In these, the Scots repudiated the English king's assertions of paramountcy. They fought firstly under the leadership of Sir William Wallace and Andrew de Moray in support of John Balliol, and later under that of Robert the Bruce. Bruce, crowned as King Robert I in 1306, won a decisive victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Battle of Bannockburn From roughly the end of the 14th century, Scotland began to show a split into two cultural areas — the mainly Scots, or English, speaking Lowlands, and the mainly Gaelic-speaking Highlands. Gaelic persisted in remote parts of the southwest, which had formed part of the rival kingdom of Galloway during the early medieval period, probably up until the late 1700s. Historically, the Lowlands were closer to the mainstream European culture, and adopted a variant of the feudal system after the Norman Conquest of England. A number of major families of Norman ancestry, such as the Bruce, Douglas, and Stewart families, provided most of the monarchs after approximately 1100. By comparison, the clan system of the Highlands formed one of the region's more distinctive features, with a number of powerful clans remaining dominant until after the Act of Union. It is worth noting that the Western Isles, along with Orkney and Shetland, were part of Norway until 1266 and 1468 respectively; the culture of these islands, in many ways, remained distinct from the rest of Scotland until the modern period. In 1603, the Scottish King James VI inherited the throne of England, and became James I of England. James moved to London, only returning to Scotland once. Although he subsequently styled himself as the King of Great Britain, this was a personal union: the two nations shared a head of state but remained separate kingdoms, with the exception of a brief period when Oliver Cromwell overthrew the monarchy and Scotland was under English military occupation. In 1707, the Scottish and English Parliaments enacted the Acts of Union, which merged the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union dissolved both the English and the Scottish Parliaments, and transferred all their powers to a new Parliament sitting in London which then became the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, most of Scotland's institutions remained separate, notably the country's legal system and its established church; these distinctions remain to the present day. In 1801, Scotland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, when the Kingdom of Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland. Since 1922, Scotland has been one of the four constituent nations (along with England, Northern Ireland and Wales) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1997 the people of Scotland voted to create a new devolved Scottish Parliament, subsequently established by the UK government under the Scotland Act 1998. Following the Act of Union and the subsequent Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, Scotland became one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Its industrial decline following the Second World War was particularly acute, but in recent decades the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part by a resurgent financial services sector, the proceeds of North Sea oil and gas, and latterly the devolved parliament.

Geography

Clan Grant Main article: Geography of Scotland. Scotland comprises the northern part of the island of Great Britain; it is bordered on the south by England. Scotland's territorial extent is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Exceptions include the Isle of Man, which is now a crown dependency outside the United Kingdom, Orkney and Shetland, which are Scottish rather than Norwegian, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the 1746 Wales and Berwick Act. The country consists of a mainland area plus several island groups, including Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. Three main geographical and geological areas make up the mainland: from north to south, the generally mountainous Highlands containing Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, the low-lying Central Belt, and the hilly Southern Uplands. The majority of the Scottish population resides in the Central Belt, which contains three of the country's six largest cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Stirling) and many large towns. Most of the remaining population lives in the North-East Lowlands, where two of the remaining three cities (Aberdeen and Dundee) are situated. The final city, Inverness, is situated where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, on the Great Glen Fault between the North-West Highlands and the Cairngorms. Highest maximum temperature: 32.9°C (91.2°F) at Greycrook, near Newtown St. Boswells, Borders on 9 August 2003. Lowest minimum temperature: -27.2°C (-17.0°F) at Braemar, Aberdeenshire on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982 and at Altnaharra, Highland on 30 December 1995. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/scotland/#temperature]

Major cities

The six designated cities in descending order of population size:
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh, the capital
- Aberdeen
- Dundee
- Inverness
- Stirling Scottish towns:
- List of burghs in Scotland

Waterways


- Major Rivers:
  - The Clyde, The Dee, The Don, The Forth, The Tay, The Tweed, The Spey, ...
- Firths:
  - Solway, Clyde, Cromarty, Dornoch, Forth, Lorne, Moray, Tay
- Sea Lochs (fjords):
  - Loch Linnhe, Loch Fyne, Loch Long, Loch Etive, Loch Sunart, Loch Nevis, Loch Hourn, Loch Broom, Loch Eil
- Freshwater Lochs (lakes) include:
  - Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, Loch Morar, Loch Tay, Loch Rannoch, Loch Awe, Loch Shiel, Loch Maree, The Lake of Menteith
- Artificial & Enhanced waterways include:
  - Caledonian Canal, Crinan Canal, Forth and Clyde Canal, Union Canal
    - See Also Falkirk Wheel

Geology

When vulcanism actively occurred in East Lothian, 350 million years ago, the rocks which now comprise Scotland lay close to the equator, and formed part of the newly amalgamated supercontinent of Pangaea. The continental plates making up Pangaea continued to converge, and a major collision occurred with the continent of Gondwana. The northern and southern parts of the island of Great Britain became adjoined only 75 million years before the onset of vulcanism in East Lothian. Before then, Scotland lay on the margin of the Laurentian continent, which included North America and Greenland. England and Wales lay some 40° of latitude further south, adjacent to Africa and South America in the Gondwanan continent. In the Early Ordovician, approximately 475 million years ago, England and Wales, on the Avalonian plate, rifted away from Gondwana and drifted northward towards Laurentia. The Iapetus Ocean, which separated the two land masses, began to close. By the mid-Silurian, about 420 million years ago, its margins had become attached along the Iapetus Suture, which roughly follows a line running West to East from the Solway Firth to Northumberland. When the later episode of vulcanism occurred, approximately 270 million years ago, Scotland still comprised part of Pangaea, but had drifted northward. East Lothian stood at about 8°North. Consolidation of Pangaea had continued so that the nearest ocean, the Tethys seaway, lay between Eurasia and Africa. Siccar Point in Berwickshire, Scotland, is where James Hutton (the "father" of modern geology) first observed this classic unconformity and recognized the meaning of stratigraphy.

Government and politics

Government

As one of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, Scotland is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh has the power to govern the country on Scotland-specific matters and has a limited power to vary income tax. The United Kingdom Parliament retains responsibility for Scotland's defence, international relations and certain other areas. The Scottish Parliament is not a sovereign authority, and the UK Parliament could, in theory, overrule or even abolish it at any time. For the purposes of local government, Scotland is divided into 32 unitary authority districts. Popular folk-memory continues to divide Scotland into 33 traditional counties.

Head of state

traditional counties]] Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of the United Kingdom, is descended from King James VI, King of Scots, the first Scottish monarch to also be King of England (James I, King of England from 1603). While great controversy has simmered amongst the Scottish public over her official title since her coronation (many believe that, being the first Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, she should use the regnal name "Elizabeth I"), the courts of Scotland have confirmed "Elizabeth II" as her official title. She has said that in the future monarchs will follow the international ordinal tradition that, where a monarch reigns in a number of non-independent territories (or independent territories that agree to share a monarch) that each have a differing number of previous monarchs of the same name, the highest ordinal used in any of the territories is the one used across all (see List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs). Monarchs between 1603 and 1707, such as James VI and I and James VII and II, reigned over separate states and hence used a dual ordinal (see Personal union). Properly, the Scottish monarch was known as King of Scots or Queen of Scots, and referred to as "your Grace", rather than "your Majesty".

Scots Law

Scotland retains its own unique legal system, based on Roman law, which combines features of both civil law and common law. The terms of union with England specified the retention of separate systems. The barristers being called advocates, and the judges of the high court for civil cases are also the judges for the high court for criminal cases. Scots Law differs from England's common law system. Formerly, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, one of which was Udal Law (also called allodail or odal law) in Shetland and Orkney. This was a direct descendant of Old Norse Law, but was abolished in 1611. Despite this, Scottish courts have acknowledged the supremacy of udal law in some property cases as recently as the 1990s. There is a movement to restore udal law[http://www.udallaw.com/] to the islands as part of a devolution of power from Edinburgh to Shetland and Orkney. The laws regarding the nobility are also different in Scotland. Lords known as "Barons" in England are known as "Lords of Parliament." Gentlemen known as "Barons" in Scotland are not members of the House of Lords, as their titles (although still legitimate) are based on the old system of feudal baronies. Various systems based on common Celtic or Brehon Laws also survived in the Highlands until the 1800s.

Politics

See main article: Politics of Scotland, also Politics of the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom Historically the politics of Scotland have reflected those of the UK as a whole, although with some differences. For example, besides the main UK-wide political parties (Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats) a number of Scottish-specific parties operate. These include the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is Scotland's second largest party and forms the main opposition in Parliament to the Labour-Liberal Democrats coalition, as well as the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Scottish Green Party. These parties became more of a force in Scottish politics after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1998. Unlike England, which has a more of a left/right split politically, the political right in Scotland is actually amongst the smallest political groupings with the four main Parties all coming from a mix of far-left to moderate-left philosophies. The traditional political divides of left and right have also intersected with arguments over devolution, which all the UK-wide parties have supported to some degree throughout their history (although both Labour and the Conservatives have swithered a number of times between supporting and opposing it). However, now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Scotland's constitutional status remains between those who support Scottish independence and those who oppose it. Recent trends indicate, according to the Joseph Rowntree [http://www.jrrt.org.uk/FINDINGS.pdf Reform Trust "State of the Nation Poll"] 2004, that 66% of Scots would like the Scottish Parliament to have more powers, while only 2% would like to see the powers returned to the House of Commons and Whitehall, with 21% happy with the status quo.

Language

Scotland has three distinct languages: English, Gaelic, and Scots. Almost all Scots speak Scottish Standard English. It is estimated by the General Register Office for Scotland that 30% of the population are also fluent in Scots, a West Germanic language sister to the English language. Slightly more than 1% of the population are native Gaelic speakers, a Celtic language similar to Irish. Eilean Siar is the only unitary council region of Scotland where Gaelic is spoken by a majority of the population and that fact is reflected in the use of Gaelic in its official name. Almost all Gaelic speakers also speak fluent English. By the time of James VI's accession to the English throne, the old Scottish Court and Parliament spoke and wrote in Scots, also known as Lowland Scots or Lallans (although strictly speaking Lallans is a literary dialect of the Scots language). Scots is widely believed to have developed from the Northumbrian form of Anglo-Saxon, spoken in Bernicia which, in the 6th century, conquered the Brythonic kingdom of Gododdin (modern-day Lothian) and renamed its capital, Dunedin, to Edinburgh. The influence of settlers from the Low Countries and Norway in the east coast burghs founded from the reign of David I onwards was also an important factor in the development of the language, however. Scots contains a number of loanwords from Gaelic. Equally, there is a strong movement in the Aberdeen area to have Doric, the dialect of Scots spoken around Aberdeen, recognised as a language. In addition, there is a movement to revive Norn, a dialect of Old Norse which died out in the 19th century, on Orkney and Shetland. Town names on signs in Shetland are written in both languages. The Scottish Parliament recognises both English and Gaelic as official languages of Scotland, both receiving "equal respect" although not equal validity. Gaelic received official recognition through the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. The Scots language was also officially recognised as a "regional or minority language" under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by the United Kingdom in 2001, and the Scottish Executive, has promised to provide support in their Partnership Agreement 2003. The [http://www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk/ Scottish Language Dictionaries] receive some state funding via the Scottish Arts Council.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Scotland Scotland has a civic and ethnic culture distinct from that of the rest of the British Isles. It originates from various differences, some entrenched as part of the Act of Union, others facets of nationhood not readily defined but readily identifiable.

Scottish education

The system of Education in Scotland is also separate, and has a distinctive history as the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education. The early roots were in the Education Act of 1496 which first introduced compulsory education for the eldest sons of nobles, then the principle of general public education was set with the Reformation establishment of the national Kirk which in 1561 set out a national programme for spiritual reform, including a school in every parish. In 1633 the Parliament of Scotland introduced a tax on local landowners to fund this, subsequently strengthened with the Education Act of 1696 which remained in force until 1872. The Act of Union guaranteed the rights of the Scottish universities and confirmed the position of the Kirk, maintaining Scotland's pre-eminence in public education. Education finally came under the control of the state rather than the Kirk and became compulsory for all children from the implementation of the Education Act of 1872 onwards. As a result, for over two hundred years Scotland had a higher percentage of its population educated at primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe. The differences in education have manifested themselves in different ways, but most noticeably in the number of Scots who went on to become leaders in their fields during the 18th and 19th centuries. The then-Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace stated in October 2004 that Scotland still produces a higher number of university and college graduates per head than anywhere else in Europe. School students in Scotland sit Standard Grade exams while students in England sit GCSE exams, and then a broad range of Higher Grade exams rather than becoming more specialised under the English A-level system. Following this, a Scottish university's honours degree takes four years of study as opposed to three in the rest of the UK. The university systems in several Commonwealth countries show marked affinities with the Scottish rather than the English system.

Banking and currency

Finance in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England remains the central bank for the UK Government, three Scottish corporate banks still issue their own banknotes: (the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in England, Wales or Northern Ireland; but in practice they are universally accepted throughout the UK (including in Northern Ireland, where Irish banks also issue their own banknotes), as well as in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). The Royal Bank of Scotland still produces a £1 note, unique amongst British banks. The full range of notes commonly accepted are £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100. Bank of England currency is also accepted as legal currency in Scotland. (See British banknotes for further discussion) The only legal tender, by a strict definition, in Scotland is coinage of the Royal Mint (including gold); by statute, Bank of England notes below the value of £5 are legal tender, but none are currently circulating. No Bank of England notes in use, or any of the Scottish banknotes, are legal tender in Scotland. In practice this has little effect, as creditors are obliged to accept any "reasonable" attempt to settle a debt under Scots law. All four sets of banknotes are freely accepted in Scotland, and can be considered legal currency, though it is unusual for notes over £20 to be used in normal business. The pound Scots, which ceased being used with the Act of Union, is still sometimes invoked. Originally the same value as the pound sterling, today it is treated as being worth one-twelfth of a pound sterling, or eight and a third pence, the value it had in 1707. It only exists in a legal sense; generally in archaic laws or bequests, with values given either in pounds Scots or in merks, another archaic unit of currency. The merk, or mark, was worth around thirteen or fourteen shillings Scots — just over one English shilling. Both the Bank of Scotland and the Bank of England were founded by William Paterson of Dumfries. In addition the modern system of branch banking (in which banks maintain a nationwide system of offices rather than one or two central offices) originated in Scotland. Only strong political pressure during the 19th century prevented the resultant strong banking system from taking over banking in England. However, although Scottish banks proved unwelcome in England at the time, their business model became widely copied, firstly in England and later in the rest of the world. The Savings Bank movement was created in Scotland in 1810 by the Reverend Henry Duncan as a means of allowing his parishioners to save smaller amounts of money than the major banks would accept as deposits at that time. His model for the Ruthwell Parish Bank was adopted by well-to-do sponsors throughout the world, with most of the British savings banks eventually amalgamating to form the Trustee Savings Bank - more recently merged with the commercial bank, Lloyds Bank, to form Lloyds TSB - and the American examples becoming a Savings and Loan Association. See [http://www.savingsbanksmuseum.co.uk/] for further information.

Sport

Savings and Loan Association Scotland also has its own sporting competitions distinct from the rest of the UK, such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Rugby Union. This gives the country independent representation at many international sporting events such as the football World Cup and various rugby tournaments such as the Six Nations. Scotland cannot compete in the Olympic Games independently however, and Scottish athletes must compete as part of the Great Britain team if they wish to take part. Scotland does however send its own team to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Association Football is the most popular sport in the country, both played and watched. Innovations such as a passing style of play, a team working as a unit, half-time and free-kicks were introduced by Queen's Park F.C., all of which were later incorporated and remain in the modern game. Their Hampden Park home, the world's first and oldest international football stadium, holds several European attendance records including 149,415 watching a Scottish international. The Scottish Football Association is the second oldest national football association in the world, with the Scottish national football team playing and hosting the world's first ever international football match. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy. The oldest professional football club in Scotland is Kilmarnock FC, founded in 1869. Scotland is considered the "Home of Golf", and is well known for its many courses, including the Old Course that is synonymous with the game. Established in 1754, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews also codified the rules of golf. As well as its world famous Highland Games, where several traditional events such as the McGlashan stones are now common in world strongman events, Scotland has also given the world curling, and shinty, a stick game related to Ireland's hurling, and similar to England's field hockey. Whilst stereotypically seen as an English game, Scottish cricket has always had a large following throughout the country. Scottish cricketScottish professional rugby clubs compete in the Celtic League, along with teams from Ireland and Wales. However, the country retains a national league for amateur and semi-pro clubs. Shinty is run by the Camanachd Association and is played primarily in its Highland heartland, but also in most universities and cities. Kingussie have the distinction of appearing in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful sporting team of all time, having won the league for twenty years in a row.

Media

Scotland has distinct media from the rest of the UK. For example, it produces many national newspapers such as Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid), The Herald broadsheet, based in Glasgow, and The Scotsman in Edinburgh. The Herald, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald, changed its name to promote a national rather than a regional identity, while The Scotsman, which used to be a broadsheet, recently switched to tabloid format. Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail (published by Daily Record parent company Trinity Mirror) and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively. Regional dailies include The Courier and Advertiser in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north. Scotland has its own BBC services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and Gaelic language service, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, whilst others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK and further afield. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football leagues, separate from those of England. Three independent television stations (Scottish TV, Grampian TV and ITV1 Border) also broadcast in Scotland. Although they previously had independent existences, Scottish TV (serving the Central Lowlands) and Grampian (serving the Highlands and Islands) now belong to the same company (The Scottish Media Group) and resemble each other closely, apart from local news coverage. English-based ITV1 Border has had a more complex position, as it serves communities on both sides of the border with England, as well as the Isle of Man, and it now has separate news programs for each side of the border. Most of the independent television output equates to that transmitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of news and current affairs, sport, cultural and Gaelic language programming.

Other facets of Scottish culture

Isle of Man Scotland retains its own distinct sense of nationhood. Academic research consistently shows that people in Scotland feel Scottish, whilst not necessarily feeling the need to see that translated into the establishment of a fully-independent Scottish nation-state. Scotland also has its own unique family of languages and dialects, helping to foster a strong sense of "Scottish-ness". See Scots language and Scottish Gaelic language. An organisation called Iomairt Cholm Cille (http://www.colmcille.net) has been set up to support Gaelic-speaking communities in both Scotland and Ireland and to promote links between them. Scotland retains its own national church, separate from that of England. See Church of Scotland and the section on "Religion" below. These factors combine together to form a strong, readily identifiable Scottish civic culture.

Religion

The Church of Scotland (sometimes referred to as The Kirk) is the national church, but it is not subject to state control nor is it "established" in the same manner as the Church of England within England. It is, however, recognised as the national church by Act of Parliament - Church of Scotland Act 1921. The Church of Scotland differs from the Church of England in several key respects, most notably in terms of not having a prescriptive liturgy and also in that it has a Presbyterian rather than Episcopalian form of church governance. Presbyterian church government was guaranteed by the Act of Union in 1707. The Scots are proud of the fact that the Scottish Reformation took place at a grassroots level, unlike the English experience, where the reformation, at least in its first thrust under Henry VIII, was a politically motivated top-down reform. The Scottish Reformation, initiated in 1560 and led by John Knox, was Calvinist, and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Church of Scotland maintained a strict theology and kept a tight control over the morality of the population. The Church had an overwhelming influence on the cultural development of Scotland in early modern times. Because Calvinism does not adhere to the Liturgical Year, for example, Christmas was not widely celebrated in Scotland until the mid-20th century. The intellectual nature of Calvinism contributed greatly to the predominance of Scottish thinkers in the age of Enlightenment (see Scottish Enlightenment), but the Church's distrust of the sensual is seen as the reason why Scotland contributed little to classical music and art before the 19th century. Since the mid-19th century, however, the Church of Scotland has developed into a generally tolerant and heterogenous church with an interest in ecumenism. A number of other Christian denominations exist in Scotland, foremost amongst them Roman Catholicism, which survived the reformation especially on islands like Uist and Barra despite the suppression of the 16th to late 18th centuries, and was strengthened in the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. It has now become the largest Christian denomination after the Church of Scotland, and is strongest in the West of Scotland (although roadside shrines can be seen in the South Isles of the Outer Hebrides, similar to those in Ireland). Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems caused by the religious divide between Presbyterians and Roman Catholics. Some Scots maintain that sectarianism is still deeply rooted in Scottish society. This problem has historically manifested itself in a number of ways, particularly in discrimination in employment and in football fanaticism. The problems associated with sectarianism in Scotland have diminished markedly in recent years, although some issues remain. The Scottish police have recently moved to restrict the number of Orange Order parades and the state funding of separate Roman Catholic primary and secondary schools remains a controversial issue. As well as the Church of Scotland there are various other Protestant churches, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms a full part of the Anglican Communion, and the Free Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian off-shoot from the Church of Scotland adhering to a more conservative style of Calvinism. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland, although its numbers remain small. There are also significant Jewish (though higher in past decades) and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow (Nancy Morris is Scotland's first woman rabbi). Scotland has a high proportion of persons who regard themselves as belonging to 'no religion'. Indeed, this was the second most common response in the 2001 census.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Scotland Most Scottish industry and commerce is concentrated in a few large cities on the waterways of the central lowlands. Edinburgh, on the Firth of Forth, is a cultural centre, the capital of Scotland, and one of the top financial centres in Europe. Glasgow, one of the largest cities in the UK, lies on the River Clyde; it is Scotland's leading seaport and today is the fourth largest manufacturing centre in the UK, accounting for well over 60% of Scotland's manufactured exports, with particular strengths in shipbuilding, engineering, food and drink, printing, publishing, clothing and textiles as well as new growth sectors such as software development and biotechnology. The dominant sector of Glasgow's economy is the service sector industries such as finance and banking, public administration, education, healthcare, and tourism. Glasgow is one of Europe's top 20 financial centres and is home to many of Britain's leading businesses. Glasgow also has the UK's largest and most economically important commerce and retail district. Although heavy industry has declined, the high-technology Silicon Glen corridor has developed between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Tourism is also very important. The significance of coal, once Scotland's most important mineral resource, has declined. Oil, however, gained prominence in Scotland's economy during the 1970s, with the growth of North Sea oil extraction companies. Natural gas is also abundant in the North Sea fields. Aberdeen is the centre of the oil industry. Scotland is a net exporter of energy to the rest of the UK, with abundant electricity generation capacity. Other important industries are textile production (woollens, worsteds, silks, and linens), distilling, and fishing. Textiles, beer, and whisky, which are among Scotland's chief exports, are produced in many towns. Salmon are taken from the Tay and the Dee, and numerous coastal towns and villages are supported by fishing from the North Sea. Only about one quarter of the land is under cultivation (principally in cereals and vegetables), but sheep raising is important in the less arable mountainous regions. Because of the persistence of feudalism and the land enclosures of the 19th cent. (see History, below), the ownership of most land in Scotland is concentrated in relatively few hands (some 350 people own about half the land). In 2003, as a result, the Scottish Parliament passed a land reform act that empowered tenant farmers and communities to purchase land even if the landlord did not want to sell.

National symbols


- The Flag of Scotland dates from the 9th century making it one of the oldest flags in the world. It now forms part of the Union Flag, the national flag of the United Kingdom. However the Flag of Scotland, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross can be found flying all over Scotland.
- The Royal Standard of Scotland, a banner showing the old royal arms of the Kings of Scotland is also frequently to be seen, particuarly at sporting events involving a Scottish team. Often called the lion rampant (after its chief heraldic device), it is the property of the Queen and its use by anybody else is technically illegal. The banner is flown from Holyrood Palace and Balmoral Castle when the Queen is not in residence.
- The unicorn is also used as a symbol of Scotland. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, used prior to 1603 by the Kings of Scotland, incorporated a lion rampant shield supported by two unicorns. On the union of the crowns, the Arms were quartered with those of England and Ireland, and one unicorn was replaced by a lion (the supporters of England).
- The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, features in many Scottish symbols and logos, and UK currency. According to one common legend, a Danish attacker stepped on one at night, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle; hence it is called the "guardian thistle".
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Holy Roman Empire

:This page is about the Germanic empire. For the ancient empire centred on Rome, see Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation , Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium Nationis Germanicae, see names and designations of the empire) was a political conglomeration of lands in Central Europe in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Emerging from the eastern part of the Frankish realm after its division in the Treaty of Verdun (843), it lasted almost a millennium until its dissolution in 1806. By the 18th century, it consisted of the larger part of modern Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Belgium, and Luxembourg, as well as large parts of modern Poland and small parts of the Netherlands. Previously, it had included all of the Netherlands and Switzerland, and parts of modern France and Italy. In the 18th century, Voltaire ridiculed its nomenclature by saying that the Holy Roman Empire was "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire".

Character of the empire

Empire The Holy Roman Empire was an institution that is unique in world history and therefore difficult to grasp. To understand what it was, it might be helpful to assess first what it was not.
- It was never a nation state. Despite the German ethnicity of most of its rulers and subjects, from the very beginning many ethnicities constituted the Holy Roman Empire. Many of its most important noble families and appointed officials came from outside the German-speaking communities. At the height of the empire it contained most of the territory of today's Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic and Slovenia, as well as eastern France, northern Italy and western Poland. Its languages thus comprised not only German and its many dialects and derivatives, but many Slavic languages and the languages which became modern French and Italian. Furthermore, its division into territories ruled by numerous secular and ecclesiastical princes, prelates, counts, imperial knights, and free cities made it, in the early modern period at least, far less cohesive than the emerging modern states around it.
- However, during most of its time it was more than a mere confederation. The concept of the Reich not only included the government of a specific territory, but had strong Christian religious connotations (hence the holy prefix). Until 1508, German Kings were not considered Emperors of the Reich until the Pope had formally crowned them as such. The Reich can thus best be described as a cross between a state and a religious confederation.

Names and designations of the empire

The Holy Roman Empire was an attempt to resurrect the Western Roman Empire in western Europe, which was established in 800 when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Roman Emperor on Christmas Day, though the empire and the imperial office did not become formalized for some decades. Charlemagne went on to adopt the title 'Augustus' from earlier Roman times. The name of the Empire in different languages:
- German: Heiliges Römisches Reich (later: Heiliges Römisches Reich deutscher Nation)
- Italian: Sacro Romano Impero
- Latin: Sacrum Romanum Imperium
- Czech: Svatá říše římská (later: Svatá říše římská národa německého)
- French: Saint Empire Romain Germanique
- Spanish: Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico
- Portuguese: Sacro Império Romano-Germânico
- Polish: Święte Cesarstwo Rzymskie Narodu Niemieckiego
- Dutch: Heilige Roomse Rijk
- Slovene: Sveto rimsko cesarstvo
- Serbian: Sveto rimsko carstvo nemačke narodnosti
- Hungarian: Német-Római Császárság
- Russian: Священная Римская Империя (later: Священная Римская Империя немецкой нации) Contemporary terminology for the Empire varied greatly over the centuries. The term Roman Empire was used in 1034 to denote the lands under Conrad II, and Holy Empire in 1157. The use of the term Roman Emperor to refer to Northern European rulers started earlier with Otto II (Emperor 973–983). Emperors from Charlemagne (c. 742 or 747 – 814) to Otto I the Great (Emperor 962–973) had simply used the phrase Imperator Augustus ("August Emperor"). The precise term Holy Roman Empire dates from 1254; the final version Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (German Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation) appears in 1512, after several variations in the late 15th century. Contemporaries did not quite know how to describe this entity either. In his famous 1667 description De statu imperii Germanici, published under the alias Severinus de Monzambano, Samuel Pufendorf wrote: "Nihil ergo aliud restat, quam ut dicamus Germaniam esse irregulare aliquod corpus et monstro simile ..." ("We are therefore left with calling Germany a body that conforms to no rule and resembles a monster"). Voltaire later described it as "neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire". In Faust I, in a scene written in 1775, the German author Goethe has one of the drinkers in Auerbach's Cellar in Leipzig ask "Our Holy Roman Empire, lads, what still holds it together?" Goethe also has a longer, not very favourable essay about his personal experiences as a trainee at the Reichskammergericht in his autobiographical work Dichtung und Wahrheit.

Structure and institutions

From the High Middle Ages onwards, the Reich was stamped by a most peculiar coexistence of the Empire with the struggle of the dukes of the local territories to take power away from it. As opposed to the rulers of the West Frankish lands, which later became France, the Emperor never managed to gain much control over the lands that he formally owned. Instead, the Emperor was forced to grant more and more powers to the individual dukes in their respective territories. This process began in the 12th century and was more or less concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Several attempts were made to reverse this degradation of the Reich's former glory, but failed. Formally, the Reich comprised the King, to be crowned Emperor by the pope (until 1508), on one side, and the Reichsstände (imperial estates) on the other.

King of the Romans (German king)

Peace of Westphalia.]] The pope's crowning of Charlemagne as Augustus in 800 formed the example that later kings would follow: it was the result of Charlemagne having defended the pope against the rebellious inhabitants of Rome, which initiated the notion of the Reich being the protector of the church. Becoming Emperor required becoming King of the Romans (Rex romanorum/römischer König) first. German kings had been elected since time immemorial: in the 9th century by the leaders of the five most important tribes (the Franks, Saxons, Bavarians, Swabians and Thuringians), later by the main lay and clerical dukes of the kingdom, finally only by the so-called Kurfürsten (electing dukes, electors). This college was formally established by a 1356 decree known as the Golden Bull. Initially, there were seven electors: the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and the Archbishops of Köln, Mainz, and Trier. During the Thirty Years War, the Duke of Bavaria was given the right to vote as the eighth elector. In order to be elected king, a candidate had to first win over the electors, usually with bribes or promises of land. Until 1508, the newly-elected king then travelled to Rome to be crowned Emperor by the Pope. In many cases, this took several years while the King was held up by other tasks: frequently he first had to resolve conflicts in rebellious northern Italy or was in quarrel with the Pope himself. At no time could the Emperor simply issue decrees and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power was severely restricted by the various local leaders: after the late 15th century, the Reichstag established itself as the legislative body of the Empire, a complicated assembly that convened irregularly at the request of the Emperor at varying locations. Only after 1663 would the Reichstag become a permanent assembly.

Imperial estates

An entity was considered Reichsstand (imperial estate) if, according to feudal law, it had no authority above it except the Holy Roman Emperor himself. They included:
- Territories governed by a prince or duke, and in some cases kings. (Rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of the King of Bohemia, were not allowed to become a king within the Empire, but some had kingdoms outside the Empire, as was, for instance, the case in the Kingdom of Great Britain, where the ruler was also the Prince-elector of Hanover.)
- Clerical territories led by a Bishop or Prince-Bishop. In the latter case, the territory was frequently the same as a bishopric, giving the Bishop both worldly and clerical powers. An example, among many others, was Osnabrück. A noteworthy Prince-Bishop (Fürstbischof) within the Holy Roman Empire was the Bishop of Mainz with his see at Mainz Cathedral.
-