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July 13

July 13

July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining.

Events

- 1174 - William the Lion of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, was captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England.
- 1558 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines.
- 1573 - Eighty Years' War: The Siege of Haarlem ends after seven months.
- 1643 - English Civil War: Battle of Roundway Down - In England, Lord Henry Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, commanding the Royalist forces, wins a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian Sir William Waller.
- 1772 - HMS Resolution, under the command of Captain James Cook, set sail from Plymouth, England.
- 1787 - The Continental Congress enacts the Northwest Ordinance establishing governing rules for the Northwest Territory. It also establishes procedures for the admission of new states and limits the expansion of slavery.
- 1793 - Jean Paul Marat, one of the leaders of the French revolution, is murdered by Charlotte Corday.
- 1794 - Battle of the Vosges between French forces and those of Prussia and Austria
- 1822 - Greek War of Independence: Greeks defeat Ottoman forces at Thermopylae.
- 1837 - Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom moves into the first Buckingham Palace in London and is the first British monarch to live there.
- 1854 - In the battle of Guaymas, Mexico, General Jose Maria Yanez stops the French invasion led by Count Gaston de Raousset Boulbon.
- 1863 - New York Draft Riots: In New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of rioting which will be later regarded as the worst in United States history.
- 1878 - Treaty of Berlin: The European powers redraw the map of the Balkans. Serbia and Montenegro become completely independent of the Ottoman empire.
- 1900 - Boxer Rebellion: In China, Tientsin is retaken by European Allies from the rebelling Boxers.
- 1908 - Women compete in modern Olympics for the first time.
- 1909 - Gold discovered near Cochrane, Ontario.
- 1919 - The British airship R-34 lands in Norfolk, England, completing the first airship return journey across the Atlantic in 182 hours of flight.
- 1923 - The Hollywood Sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, Los Angeles. It originally reads "Hollywoodland " but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
- 1930 - The first FIFA World Cup begins in Uruguay.
- 1936 - A heat wave strikes the Midwestern United States. The all-time highest temperatures for the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana are all recorded on this date.
- 1941 - World War II: Montenegrins start the first popular uprising in Europe against the Axis Powers (Crnogorski ustanak).
- 1942 - World War II: German U-Boats sink three more merchant ships in Gulf of St. Lawrence.
- 1948 - The Coptic and Ethiopian Churches reach an agreement leading to the promotion of the Ethiopian church to the rank of an autocephalous Patriarchate. Five bishops are immediately consecrated by the Patriarch of Alexandria, who are empowered to elect a new Patriarch for their church, and the successor to Abuna Qerellos IV is granted the power to consecrate new bishops.
- 1972 - The United States Democratic Party nominates George McGovern for president at its convention in Miami Beach, Florida but, because of an impassioned platform dispute, McGovern does not give his acceptance speech until the early morning hours of the 14th.
- 1973 - Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of the Nixon tapes to the special Senate committee investigating the Watergate break in.
- 1977 - The New York City Blackout of 1977 lasts for 25 hours and results in looting and other disorder.
- 1978 - Ford Motor Company President Lee Iacocca is fired by chairman Henry Ford II, ending a long dispute between the men.
- 1978 - Sheldon Souray, Defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, was born in Alberta,Canada.
- 1982 - Montreal hosts the first baseball All-Star Game outside the United States.
- 1983 Around 3,000 Tamils were slaughtered by Sinhalese Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka and some 400,000 Tamils fled to neighboring Tamil Nadu, India and this incident led directly to beginig of civil war in Sri Lanka.
- 1985 - The Live Aid benefit concert takes place in London and Philadelphia, as well as other venues such as Sydney and Moscow.
- 1996 - A Garuda Indonesia Airways DC-10 crashes on take-off from Fukuoka Airport, Japan, killing 3 passengers.
- 2002 - A lighting strike sets off the Sour Biscuit Fire in Oregon and northern California, which had burned 499,570 acres (2,020 km²) when finally contained on September 5.
- 2005 - Three trains collide in the Ghotki rail crash in Ghotki, Pakistan, killing over 150 people.

Births

- 100 BC - Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman general and polititian (d. 44 BC)
- 40 - Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Roman Governor of Britain (d. 93)
- 1527 - John Dee, English scientist (d. 1609)
- 1579 - Arthur Dee, English physician and alchemist (d. 1651)
- 1590 - Pope Clement X (d. 1676)
- 1607 - Václav Hollar, Czech-born actor (d. 1677)
- 1608 - Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1657)
- 1808 - Patrice MacMahon, duc de Magenta, President of France (d. 1893)
- 1821 - Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan leader (d. 1877)
- 1841 - Otto Wagner, Austrian architect (d. 1918)
- 1858 - Stewart Culin, American ethnographer (d. 1929)
- 1864 - John Jacob Astor IV, American entrepreneur (d. 1912)
- 1894 - Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (d. 1940)
- 1900 - George Lewis, American musician (d. 1969)
- 1913 - Dave Garroway, American television host (d. 1982)
- 1918 - Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (d. 1955)
- 1921 - Ernest Gold, Austrian composer (d. 1999)
- 1921 - Friedrich Peter, Austrian poltitician (d. 2005)
- 1924 - Carlo Bergonzi, Italian tenor
- 1927 - Simone Veil, French politician
- 1928 - Bob Crane, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1929 - Alan Civil, English French horn player (d. 1989)
- 1931 - Frank Ramsey, American basketball player
- 1934 - Wole Soyinka, Nigerian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1934 - Aleksei Yeliseyev, cosmonaut
- 1935 - Jack Kemp, American football player and Vice Presidential candidate
- 1936 - Albert Ayler, American musician (d. 1970)
- 1940 - Patrick Stewart, English actor
- 1941 - Robert Forster, American actor
- 1942 - Harrison Ford, American actor
- 1942 - Roger McGuinn, American musician
- 1944 - Ernő Rubik, Hungarian inventor, sculptor, and architect
- 1946 - Cheech Marin, American actor and comedian
- 1950 - George "Pinky" Nelson, astronaut
- 1953 - Johnny Clegg, South African composer and musician
- 1954 - Sezen Aksu, Turkish singer and songwriter
- 1957 - Cameron Crowe, American film director and writer
- 1959 - Richard Leman, British field hockey player
- 1961 - Tim Watson, Australian footballer and coach
- 1962 - Rhonda Vincent, American singer and musician
- 1963 - Neal Foulds, English snooker player
- 1966 - Gerald Levert, American singer
- 1968 - Calvin Phelps, American artist
- 1970 - Barry Pinches, English snooker player
- 1974 - Jarno Trulli, Italian race car driver
- 1976 - Bruce Price, American engineer
- 1978 - Sheldon Souray, Canadian NHL player.
- 1979 - Craig Bellamy, Welsh footballer
- 1992 - Dylan Patton, American actor

Deaths

- 939 - Pope Leo VII
- 1189 - Matilda of England, daughter of Henry II of England (b. 1156)
- 1205 - Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury and Justicier of England
- 1357 - Bartolus de Saxoferrato Italian jurist (b. 1313)
- 1399 - Peter Parler, German architect (b. 1330)
- 1402 - Jianwen Emperor of China (b. 1377)
- 1551 - John Wallop, English soldier and diplomat
- 1621 - Archduke Albert of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries (b. 1559)
- 1626 - Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, English statesman (b. 1563)
- 1628 - Robert Shirley, English adventurer
- 1629 - Caspar Bartholin the Elder, Swedish physician and theologian (b. 1585)
- 1645 - Tsar Michael I of Russia (b. 1596)
- 1683 - Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex, English statesman (b. 1631)
- 1705 - Titus Oates, English protestant conspirator (b. 1649)
- 1755 - Edward Braddock, British general
- 1761 - Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (b. 1712)
- 1762 - James Bradley, English Astronomer Royal (b. 1693)
- 1789 - Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau, French economist (b. 1715)
- 1793 - Jean Paul Marat, French revolutionary (murdered) (b. 1743)
- 1807 - Henry Benedict Stuart, Jacobite claimant to the throne of England (b. 1725)
- 1889 - Robert Hamerling, Austrian poet (b. 1830)
- 1896 - Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, German chemist (b. 1829)
- 1946 - Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (b. 1864)
- 1951 - Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer (b. 1874)
- 1954 - Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter (b. 1907)
- 1967 - Tom Simpson, British cyclist (exhaustion) (b. 1937)
- 1974 - Patrick Blackett, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1976 - Joachim Peiper, German military leader (b. 1915)
- 1980 - Seretse Khama, first President of Botswana (b. 1921)
- 1983 - Gabrielle Roy, Canadian author (b. 1909)
- 1993 - Davey Allison, American race car driver (b. 1961)
- 2002 - Yousuf Karsh, Turkish-born photographer (b. 1908)
- 2003 - Compay Segundo, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1907)
- 2004 - Goodwin Girdler, Russian composer (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Arthur Kane, American musician (New York Dolls) (leukemia) (b. 1951)
- 2004 - Carlos Kleiber, Austrian conductor (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

- Kiribati - Independence Day, 2nd day (not a holiday)
- Mongolia - Naadam Holiday, 3rd day
- Bahá'í Faith - Feast of Kálimát (Words) - First day of the seventh month of the Bahá'í Calendar
- Bon Festival - Buddhist festival to honor the dead (East Japan)

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/13 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 12 - July 14 - June 13 - August 13 - more listing of all days ko:7월 13일 ms:13 Julai ja:7月13日 simple:July 13 th:13 กรกฎาคม

July 13

July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining.

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

1174

Events

- Vietnam is given the official name of Annam by China.
- Henry II of England acknowledges Rosamund Clifford as his mistress.
- Revolt of 1173-1174 against Henry II of England ends with defeat of the rebels.
- William I of Scotland is captured by Henry II of England, and Henry occupies Scotland.
- Richard of Dover becomes Archbishop of Canterbury.
- William de Braose, Third Lord of Bramber becomes sheriff of Hereford.
- Baldwin IV becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.
- Fire destroys most of Padua, in Italy
- City of Pombal, is founded by Gualdim Pais in Portugal
- First known race track of the post-classical era opens at Newmarket in London
- Saladin captures Damascus.

Births

- Saint Hedwig of Andechs
- King Peter II of Aragon (died 1213)
- Emeric of Hungary (died 1204)

Deaths

- May 15 - Nur ad-Din, ruler of Syria (born 1118)
- July 11 - King Amalric I of Jerusalem (born 1136)
- September 22 - Uchtred of Galloway
- October 17 - Queen Petronila of Aragon (born 1135)
- Everard des Barres, third Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- Andrei Bogolyubsky, Prince of Vladimir
- Miles of Plancy, French crusader Category:1174 ko:1174년

William I of Scotland

right William I "the Lion" ( known in Gaelic as Uilliam Garm¹ or William the Rough), (1142/1143 - December 4 1214) reigned as King of Scotland from 1165 to 1214. His reign was the longest in Scottish history before the Act of Union with England in 1707. He became King following his brother Malcolm IV's death on 9 December 1165 and was crowned on 24 December 1165. In contrast to his deeply religious, frail brother, William was powerfully-built, redheaded, and headstrong. He was an effective monarch whose reign was marred by his ill-fated attempts to regain control of Northumbria from the English. Traditionally, William founded Arbroath Abbey, the site of the later Declaration of Arbroath. Interestingly, he was not known as "The Lyon" during his own lifetime, and the sobriquet did not relate to his tenacious character or his military prowess. The name "The Lion" became attached to him because of his flag or standard, a red lion rampant on a yellow background. This went on to become the Royal standard of Scotland; the British Monarch when in Scotland still uses it today. The rampant lion also forms part of the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom. William also arranged the Auld Alliance, the first treaty for mutual self-defence between nations. Scotland, France, and Norway subscribed to the treaty. Although Norway never took much part in it, it played a role in Franco-Scottish (and English) affairs until 1746. William also inherited the title of Earl of Northumbria in 1152. However he had to give up this title to King Henry II of England in 1157. This caused trouble after William became king, since he spent a lot of effort trying to regain Northumbria. William was a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174 against Henry II. In 1174, during a raid in support of the revolt, William recklessly charged the English troops himself, shouting, "Now we shall see which of us are good knights!" He was unhorsed and captured by Henry's troops and taken in chains to Northampton, and then transferred to Falaise in Normandy. Henry then sent an army to Scotland and occupied it. As ransom and to regain his kingdom, William had to acknowledge Henry as his feudal superior and agree to pay for the cost of the English army's occupation of Scotland by taxing the Scots. This he did by signing the Treaty of Falaise. He was then allowed to return to Scotland. The Treaty of Falaise remained in force for the next fifteen years. At the end of that time the new English king, Richard the Lionheart, agreed to terminate it in return for 10,000 silver marks. Richard needed the money to take part in the Third Crusade. Due to the terms of the Treaty of Falaise, Henry II had the right to choose William's bride. William was married to Ermengarde de Beaumont, a granddaughter of King Henry I of England, in 1186. Edinburgh Castle was her dowry. The marriage was not very successful, and it was many years before an heir, Alexander, was born. William and Ermengarde's children were: # Margaret (1193-1259), married Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent. # Isabella (1195-1253), married Roger Bigod, 4th Earl of Norfolk. # Alexander II of Scotland (1198-1249), reigned 1214-1249. # Marjorie (1200-1244), married Gilbert Marshal, 4th Earl of Pembroke. William died in Stirling in 1214 and lies buried in Arbroath Abbey. His son, Alexander II, succeeded him as king.

References

1. = Uilleam Garbh; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10

Sources

- Ashley, Mike. Mammoth Book of British Kings & Queens, 1998
- Magnusson, Magnus. Scotland: Story of a Nation, 2001 Category:1140s births Category:1214 deaths Category:Scottish monarchs Category:Earls of Huntingdon Category:Medieval Scotland Category:History of Scotland ja:ウィリアム1世 (スコットランド王)

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