Recent from talks
Scottish independence
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Scottish independence
Scottish independence (Scottish Gaelic: Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; Scots: Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. It also refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring about Scottish independence.
Scotland was an independent kingdom through the Middle Ages, and fought wars to maintain its independence from the Kingdom of England. The two kingdoms were united in personal union in 1603 when, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, King James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. The kingdoms were united politically into one kingdom called Great Britain by the Acts of Union 1707 during the reign of Queen Anne. This united the countries, ended the wars of independence and created relative peace. Political campaigns for Scottish self-government began in the 19th century, initially in the form of demands for home rule within the United Kingdom. Two referendums on devolution were held in 1979 and in 1997, and a devolved Scottish Parliament was established on 1 July 1999.
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) first became the governing party of the devolved parliament following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, and it won an outright majority of seats at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. This led to an agreement between the Scottish and British governments to hold the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Voters were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" 44.7 per cent answered "Yes" and 55.3 per cent answered "No". There was a record voter turnout of 85 per cent.
A second referendum on independence has been proposed, particularly since the UK voted to leave the European Union in the June 2016 membership referendum and since pro-independence parties increased their majority at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. In June 2022 Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland and the leader of the SNP, proposed the date of 19 October 2023 for a new independence referendum, subject to confirmation of its legality and constitutionality. In November 2022 the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to legislate for a second referendum.
Scotland emerged as an independent polity during the Early Middle Ages with some historians dating its foundation from the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin in 843. The level of independence of the Scottish kingdom was fought over by the Scottish kings and by the Norman and Angevin rulers of England who petitioned the pope in Rome and other foreign rulers.
A watershed in the Scottish kingdom's history was a succession crisis that erupted in 1290 when Edward I of England claimed the right of appointment to the Scottish throne. The Auld Alliance of Scotland and France against English interests was first invoked at that time and remained active through to the 16th century. The Wars of Scottish Independence ended in a renewed kingdom under Robert the Bruce (crowned 1306), whose grandson Robert II of Scotland was the first Scottish king of the House of Stuart.
From 1603 Scotland and England shared the same monarch in a personal union when James VI of Scotland was declared King of England and Scotland in what was known as the Union of the Crowns. After James II and VII was deposed in 1688 amid Catholic-Protestant disputes, and as the line of Protestant Stuarts showed signs of failing (as indeed occurred in 1714), English fears that Scotland would select a different monarch, potentially causing conflict within Great Britain, and the bankruptcy of many Scottish nobles through the Darien scheme led to the formal union of the two kingdoms in 1707, with the Treaty of Union and subsequent Acts of Union, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish Jacobite resistance to the union, led by descendants of James II and VII including Bonnie Prince Charlie, continued until 1746.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed by the Acts of Union 1800, which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. Following the Irish War of Independence (1919–21) and the Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the war, Ireland was partitioned into two states: Southern Ireland, which opted to become independent (and is now known as Republic of Ireland), and Northern Ireland, which – given its geographical extent which tended to ensure a Unionist majority – chose to remain within the United Kingdom.
Hub AI
Scottish independence AI simulator
(@Scottish independence_simulator)
Scottish independence
Scottish independence (Scottish Gaelic: Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; Scots: Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. It also refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring about Scottish independence.
Scotland was an independent kingdom through the Middle Ages, and fought wars to maintain its independence from the Kingdom of England. The two kingdoms were united in personal union in 1603 when, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I of England, King James VI of Scotland also became James I of England. The kingdoms were united politically into one kingdom called Great Britain by the Acts of Union 1707 during the reign of Queen Anne. This united the countries, ended the wars of independence and created relative peace. Political campaigns for Scottish self-government began in the 19th century, initially in the form of demands for home rule within the United Kingdom. Two referendums on devolution were held in 1979 and in 1997, and a devolved Scottish Parliament was established on 1 July 1999.
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) first became the governing party of the devolved parliament following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, and it won an outright majority of seats at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. This led to an agreement between the Scottish and British governments to hold the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Voters were asked: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" 44.7 per cent answered "Yes" and 55.3 per cent answered "No". There was a record voter turnout of 85 per cent.
A second referendum on independence has been proposed, particularly since the UK voted to leave the European Union in the June 2016 membership referendum and since pro-independence parties increased their majority at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. In June 2022 Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister of Scotland and the leader of the SNP, proposed the date of 19 October 2023 for a new independence referendum, subject to confirmation of its legality and constitutionality. In November 2022 the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to legislate for a second referendum.
Scotland emerged as an independent polity during the Early Middle Ages with some historians dating its foundation from the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin in 843. The level of independence of the Scottish kingdom was fought over by the Scottish kings and by the Norman and Angevin rulers of England who petitioned the pope in Rome and other foreign rulers.
A watershed in the Scottish kingdom's history was a succession crisis that erupted in 1290 when Edward I of England claimed the right of appointment to the Scottish throne. The Auld Alliance of Scotland and France against English interests was first invoked at that time and remained active through to the 16th century. The Wars of Scottish Independence ended in a renewed kingdom under Robert the Bruce (crowned 1306), whose grandson Robert II of Scotland was the first Scottish king of the House of Stuart.
From 1603 Scotland and England shared the same monarch in a personal union when James VI of Scotland was declared King of England and Scotland in what was known as the Union of the Crowns. After James II and VII was deposed in 1688 amid Catholic-Protestant disputes, and as the line of Protestant Stuarts showed signs of failing (as indeed occurred in 1714), English fears that Scotland would select a different monarch, potentially causing conflict within Great Britain, and the bankruptcy of many Scottish nobles through the Darien scheme led to the formal union of the two kingdoms in 1707, with the Treaty of Union and subsequent Acts of Union, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish Jacobite resistance to the union, led by descendants of James II and VII including Bonnie Prince Charlie, continued until 1746.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed by the Acts of Union 1800, which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland. Following the Irish War of Independence (1919–21) and the Anglo-Irish Treaty that ended the war, Ireland was partitioned into two states: Southern Ireland, which opted to become independent (and is now known as Republic of Ireland), and Northern Ireland, which – given its geographical extent which tended to ensure a Unionist majority – chose to remain within the United Kingdom.
Recent media