Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain, with a border with England to the southeast, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast, the Irish Sea to the south, and more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.
History
The recorded history of Scotland begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. As Rome finally withdrew from Britain, Gaelic raiders called the Scoti began colonising Western Scotland and Wales.
During the 16th century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation that created a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk, which became Presbyterian in outlook and severely reduced the powers of bishops. In the earlier part of the century, the teachings of first Martin Luther and then John Calvin began to influence Scotland. Knox, having escaped the galleys and spent time in Geneva as a follower of Calvin, emerged as the most significant figure of the period.
The 1707 Union with England merged the two into Great Britain. The Scottish parliament voted on 6 January 1707, by 110 to 69, to adopt the Treaty of Union. It was also a full economic union; indeed, most of its 25 articles dealt with economic arrangements for the new state known as "Great Britain". It added 45 Scots to the 513 members of the House of Commons and 16 Scots to the 190 members of the House of Lords, and ended the Scottish parliament. It also replaced the Scottish systems of currency, taxation and laws regulating trade with laws made in London.
Scotland operated on a Clan system of Lords that ruled over scattered lands.
Notable Wars
Wars of the Three Kingdoms (British Civil War England, Scotland, Ireland )
- Bishops' Wars (1639, 1640)
- Civil War (1642-1651)
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