Facts about Scotland

History of Scotland

History of Scotland

The history of Scotland is a story of bravery. courage and incredible battles. We can trace back over 10,000 years ago to find the first inhabitants of Scotland, indeed the oldest standing house in Northern Europe was built over 5000 years ago ! History records became more clear about the time of the Roman empire and it's attempted invasion of Caledonian ( Romans name for Scotland), the Romans had some minor success but failed to conquer Scotland due to fierce resistance and many other factors.Emperor Hadrian of the Romans built a massive wall known as Hadrian's wall to keep the Scots fierce fighting army out of England and Wales which the Romans did conquer at the time.

It was only about the 10th century that the land was known as Scotland and by this time many immigrants from Ireland had come over to Scotland and helped influence the emergence of christianity The history of Scotland then became more complex in the next few centuries as Scotland formed an alliance with the French rather than the English. When King Edward I seized the symbolic stone of stone in 1296 and declared himself King of Scotland there was a rebellion in Scotland marshalled by the famous William Wallace.

The Scots defeated the English in 1297 at Stirling Bridge as William Wallace became a Scottish legend but the following year Wallace was defeated by Edward in a bloody battle at Falkirk. Many of these events were depicted in the oscar winning film Braveheart starring Mel Gibson but many of the real facts when not correctly portrayed in the film. However, William Wallace was captured and executed by the English and his head was hung from London Bridge in order to deter other Scots who defied the English army. Shortly after this crushing defeat for Wallace, the Scots regrouped and defeated the English in the famous battle of Bannockburn in 1314 despite the English army heavily outnumbering the Scots, Robert the Bruce and his army drove the English out and eventually in 1328 King Edward III finally recognised Scotlands independence. However, the next few centuries did continue to see battles between Scotland and England until the 1707 act of Union that brought Scotland and England together as the United Kingdom and sharing the same parliament.

Modern history of Scotland is similar to modern British history but there is still a movement for independence for Scotland in many areas as the Scottish parliament has recently been formed and devolution has kept many Scottish affairs seperate from Westminister parliament in London.

Home facts about Scotland Capital of Scotland Jobs in Scotland Scotland Real Estate Edinburgh Scotland Scotland Castles Glasgow Scotland Visit Scotland Glasgow nightlife Things-to-do-in-Glasgow Scotland Football Edinburgh things to do Flower of Scotland History of Scotland Eating out Glasgow East of Scotland Sitemap