About Scotland
Location and Geography. Scotland occupies approximately the northern third of the United Kingdom’s (UK) mainland, encompassing 7.5 million hectares. The area of Scotland is 29,795 square miles (77,168 square kilometers). The climate is cool, wet, and often windy. Much land in the Highlands and Borders is rugged and difficult to cultivate, but the Lowlands and parts of the Borders include prime agricultural land. Scotland is surrounded by the North Sea, offering fish, oil and natural gas, and potentially tidal and wave power.
Demography. In 1997, the population was 5,122,500, with over 3 million persons in the Central Belt. This distribution shows the effects of rural depopulation, especially during the “Highland Clearances” (c. 1790–1830), when landlords forced tenants off their land to modernize the economy, especially through sheep raising. Some tenants were resettled in coastal villages and encouraged to supplement farming with fishing, linen weaving, and kelp manufacture, while many others migrated to the Central Belt or emigrated abroad. Industrialization led to massive urbanization in the nineteenth century during which the population increased from around 1.5 million to 4.5 million, with the growth concentrated in and around Glasgow.
Immigrants from the Highlands and Ireland played a major role in this growth. Today there are around sixty-five thousand native Gaelic speakers. There are approximately twenty thousand Pakistanis, ten thousand Indians, ten thousand Chinese, six thousand blacks (Africa, Caribbean, other), four thousand five hundred “other” Asians, one thousand one hundred Bangladeshis, and eight thousand five hundred from other ethnic groups. There are many people of Italian and Polish extraction. People raised in Scotland will often identify as Scottish, regardless of non-Scottish ancestry.
Linguistic Affiliation. The Gaelic spoken in Scotland derives from Q-Celtic. Only a portion of the Highland-Island population speaks it as a first language in a bilingual milieu, although those areas have bilingual education and road signs and Gaelic newspapers. Major governmental policy statements and the slogans and publications of political parties are translated into Gaelic.
Scots is a cognate of modern English with a strong Danish influence. Borrowings from Gaelic, Norse, and Norman French have created a diverse patchwork of regional dialects. However, extensive interactions with English and the urban mixture of regional dialects have yielded a Scots to Scottish-English continuum. Scots can be used situationally to emphasize cultural and political identification.
Symbolism. Dominant national symbols evidence a growing demand for political devolution and/or independence. The imagery stemming from the Wars of Independence (1296–1371) produced national heroes such as William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The images of the Scottish thistle, the lion rampant, and the Saint Andrew’s cross (Saltire) on the national flags come from that period. Symbols that evoke the past of the Highlands include the system of clan tartans and bagpipes. Those images were incorporated into Scotland’s modern martial traditions through the Highland regiments in the British Army. A third strain emphasizes Lowland Protestant political history since the Reformation, revolving around the national Presbyterian Church (the “Kirk”). Images of the national covenants from the seventeenth century protesting against interference in Scottish religious affairs are often invoked. The fortunes of the national soccer teams and the dramatic landscape are heavily invested with national meaning.
Scottish history, culture and traditions are very distinctive and it is a country blessed with some of the most spectacular scenery and friendliest people in the world.
Scotland has its own Parliament, its own legal system, its own education system and, of course, its own very distinctive history, culture and traditions.
Today, just over 5 million people live in Scotland, but millions more around the world proudly claim Scottish ancestry. The essence of Scotland has spread out to all corners of the globe and you will find Scottish clubs and Caledonian societies in almost every country of the world.
Scotland is famed for its ancient mountains, majestic glens, tranquil lochs and spectacular coastlines. It has a growing reputation for its vibrant cities and its pulsating contemporary art, music and design. It is one of the world’s foremost destinations for outdoor sports and its cuisine is renowned for drawing on its fine quality Scottish produce like salmon, shellfish, beef and soft fruits.
Scotland appeals to all ages and all interests and offers an unrivalled range of things to see and do. From solitary walking in vast wilderness areas to the world’s largest and busiest annual arts festival, Scotland has it all.
[text sources: greatscotland.co.uk, everyculture.com]
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