Scotland-History And Influence Essay, Research Paper
Scotland
History/English Influence
Scottish history and English history are the same because they are so close.
English influence first appeared in Scotland when Malcolm III (1005-1034) married
Princess Margaret. She introduced several reforms to the Scottish Church and imported
many English priests into Scotland. She also introduced the English language to
Scotland during her life. The next major infiltration of English culture was when David I
(1082-1153) became king. David I was also the earl of Huntingdon (in England) and
spent his childhood at English courts. The next major event was right after Alexander III
died, in 1286, when he died without any male heirs. All that he had was a 4-year old
granddaughter. Edward I of England saw this and pursued to unify England, Scotland,
and Wales. He persisted with the attempts until, in 1296, he successfully unified the
three together. This unification was not accepted by the Scots, however. They were
furious and there were wars between the two for independence. The significant one was
lead by Robert the Bruce and fought at Bannockburn in 1314. After this war,
independence was gained from the English and Robert the Bruce became King Robert I
of Scotland. For the next 200 years or so there was not much activity in Scotland. The
next
major occurrence came after Mary Queen of Scots(1542-1587) was executed by her
cousin, Elizabeth I. Her heir, her son James VI, was also Elizabeth I of England s heir as
well. Being the leader of both of the countries, he unified the two successfully once
again. This unification led to many disputes over religious beliefs between the two
countries. When the Stuart kings, Scottish family, tried to promote the Church of
Scotland as the national religion, they were countered by hostility from the Presbyterian
Church. This was just the beginning of religious disagreements between the two,
however. In 1689, the English Parliament stripped the Catholic king, James II, of his
crown and gave it two Protestant monarchs, William and Mary from Holland. This
enraged many Scottish people and became the focal point for their unrest. This group
became known as the Jacobites and fought to bring the Stuart line back to power. Many
wars were fought between the two and the Jacobites were defeated heavily in all of them.
During the 18th century, things seemed to be good for the Scottish. After the British
government built roads, so they could have better military access in case of another civil
uprising, the area began to boom in the areas of business and commerce. This boom
lasted for 100 years (1750-1850) and forever changed the way Scottish inhabitants lived.
There was an increase of industrialization, migration into urban centers, and a mammoth
wave of emigration out of Scotland to other areas. Rapid progress in the arts, science,
and education accompanied this and led Scotland into the 20th century. During the 20th
century, Scotland discovered petroleum in the North Sea. This discovery gave Scotland
and economic boost that it was searching for. And this leads us to where Scotland is at
today.
Scotland Today
Scotland is finally gained independence from England in 1998. This followed a
series of small steps taken by the Scots in the 90s. In 1997, a victory of the Labour Party
got the Scots back to thinking of independence once again. Later in that year, Scotland
set up its own legislature for the first time since 1707. One year later, the Scots gained
their independence and they are free once again.