Scotland (Gaelic/Gàidhlig 92,400 people aged three and over in Scotland had some Gaelic language ability in 2001 with an additional 2,000 in Nova Scotia. 1,610 speakers in the United States in 2000. 822 in Australia in 2001. 669 in New Zealand in 2006: Alba Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the other Goidelic Insular Celtic language, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish (Alban) and Welsh (Yr Alban) also meaning Scotland) is a country A country is a geographical region considered to be the physical territory of a sovereign state, or of a smaller, or former, political division within a geographical region. Usually, but not always, a country coincides with a sovereign territory and is associated with a state, nation or government that is part of Countries of the United Kingdom is a term used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales: these four together form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which is a sovereign state. While "countries" is the commonly used descriptive term, owing to the lack of a formal British constitution, and the the United Kingdom.[7][8][9] Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain Great Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.8 million people in mid-2009, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1,000 smaller islands and islets. The island of, it shares a border The Anglo-Scottish border is the official border and mark of entry between Scotland and England. It runs for 154 km (96 miles) between the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. It is Scotland's only land border; England shares a longer border with Wales with England The area now called England has been settled by people of various cultures for about 35,000 years, but it takes its name from the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in AD 927, and since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century, has had a significant to the south and is bounded by the North Sea The North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres (360 mi) wide, with an area of around 750,000 square kilometres (290,000 sq mi). A large part to the east, the Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106,400,000 square kilometres , it covers approximately twenty percent of the Earth's surface and about twenty-six percent of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek mythology, making the Atlantic the " to the north and west, and the North Channel The North Channel is the strait which separates eastern Northern Ireland from south western Scotland. It is part of the marine area officially classified as the "Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland" by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and Irish Sea The Irish Sea also known as the Mann Sea or Manx Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean in the south by St George's Channel, and in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland includes over 790 islands This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is that of "land that is surrounded by seawater on a daily basis, but not necessarily at all stages of the tide, excluding human[10] including the Northern Isles The Northern Isles are a chain of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland and the Hebrides The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive influences of Celtic, Norse and English speaking.
Edinburgh Edinburgh (pronounced /ˈɛdɪnbɹə/ ( listen), ED-in-brə or ED-in-bə-rə) (Scots: Edinburgh/Embra/Emburrie) (Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland after Glasgow and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government, the country's capital A capital city is the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status; although there are exceptions, a capital is almost always a city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and is fixed by law. An alternate term is political capital, but this phrase has a second and second largest city, is one of Europe Europe is one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus region (Specification of borders) and the Black Sea to the southeast. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and's largest financial centres.[11] Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy of the 18th century, which transformed Scotland into one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow Glasgow (pronounced /ˈɡlæzɡoʊ/ ; Scots: Glesga Scottish Gaelic: Glaschu) is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands. A person from Glasgow is known as a Glaswegian, which is also the name of the local dialect, Scotland's largest city, was once one of the world's leading industrial Industry refers to the production of an economic good within an economy. There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction, and manufacturing; the tertiary sector, which deals with services (such as law cities and now lies at the centre of the Greater Glasgow Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area . It does not relate to municipal government boundaries and its territorial extent is defined by the General Register Office for Scotland, which determines the size and conurbation. Scottish waters The Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 is a statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, defining "the boundaries between waters which are to be treated as internal waters or territorial sea of the United Kingdom adjacent to Scotland and those which are not". It was introduced in accordance with the Scotland consist of a large sector[12] of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves Oil reserves are the quantities of crude oil estimated to be commercially recoverable by application of development projects to known accumulations from a given date forward under defined conditions. To qualify as a reserve, they must be discovered, commercially recoverable, and still remaining. Reserves are further categorized by the level of in the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5. This has given Aberdeen Aberdeen (pronounced /æbərˈdiːn/ ; Scots: Aiberdeen, Scottish Gaelic: Obar Dheathain) is Scotland's third most populous city and one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It has an official population estimate of 210,400, the third largest city in Scotland, the title of Europe's oil capital.[13]
The Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England, with which it was united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, under the terms of the Acts of Union, in 1707. Since 1482, was an independent sovereign state A sovereign state is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. While in abstract terms a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised states will often find it hard to before 1707, although it had been in a personal union A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states are governed by the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state. Nor is it to be confused with dynastic union, where the union can be under with the Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales. It had a land border with the Kingdom of since James VI and I succeeded to the English throne in 1603. On May 1 1707 Scotland entered into an incorporating political union A political union is a type of state which is composed of or created out of smaller states. Unlike a personal union, the individual states share a common government and the union is recognized internationally as a single political entity. A political union may also be called a legislative union or state union with England to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801. It was created by the merger of the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, under the Acts of Union 1707, to create a single kingdom encompassing the whole of the island of Great.[14][15] This union resulted from the Treaty of Union The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of England and Scotland, that took effect on 1 May 1707. The details of the Treaty were agreed on 22 July 1706, leading to Acts of Union being passed by the separate parliaments of England and Scotland agreed in 1706 and enacted by the twin Acts of Union The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. The Acts joined the Kingdom of passed by the Parliaments of both countries, despite widespread protest across Scotland.[16][17] Scotland's legal system The three major legal systems of the world today consist of civil law, common law and religious law. However, each country often develops variations on each system or incorporates many other features into the system continues to be separate from those of England, Wales English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States . It was exported to Commonwealth countries while the British Empire was established and maintained, and it forms the basis of the jurisprudence of most of those countries. English law prior to, and Northern Ireland Northern Ireland law has been the legal system of Northern Ireland since the creation of Northern Ireland as a separate country within the United Kingdomon 3rd May, 1921, under the Government of Ireland Act 1920 and Scotland still constitutes a distinct jurisdiction Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility. The term is also used to denote the geographical area or subject-matter to which such authority in public Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond domestic legal interpretation and enforcement and in private Conflict of laws is a set of rules of procedural law which determine which legal system and the law of which jurisdiction apply to a given legal dispute. They typically apply when a legal dispute has a "foreign" element such as a contract agreed by parties located in different countries, although the "foreign" element also law.[18]
The continued existence of legal Scots law is a unique legal system which has roots in various different sources of law. Up until the mid-tenth century, the law in Scotland was almost certainly Celtic, but after that point, feudal and canon law gradually took over. On succeeding to the throne in 1124, King David I introduced elements of Anglo-Norman laws and legal institutions,, educational Scotland has a long history of universal provision of public education, and the Scottish education system is distinctly different from other parts of the United Kingdom and religious Christianity is the largest religion in Scotland. At the 2001 census 65% of the Scottish population was Christian. The Church of Scotland, often known as The Kirk, is recognised in law as the national church of Scotland. It is not an established church and is independent of state control. However, it is the largest religious grouping in Scotland, institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture The culture of Scotland refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with Scotland and the Scottish people. Some elements of Scottish culture, such as its separate national church, are protected in law as agreed in the Treaty of Union, and other instruments and national identity Scottish national identity is a term referring to the sense of national identity and common culture of Scottish people and is shared by a considerable majority of the people of Scotland since the Union.[19] Although Scotland is no longer a separate sovereign state, issues surrounding devolution The decision of the Parliament of Scotland to ratify the Treaty of Union in 1707 was not unanimous and from that time, individuals and organisations have advocated the return of a Scottish Parliament. Some have argued for devolution - a Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom - whereas others have advocated complete independence. The people and independence Scottish independence is a political ambition of political parties, advocacy groups and individuals for Scotland to secede from the United Kingdom and become a sovereign state, separate from England, Wales and Northern Ireland continue to be debated. After the creation of the devolved Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Members are elected for four-year in 1999, the first ever pro-independence Scottish Government The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive (or Administration) remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998. Following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, the term Executive was was elected in 2007 when the Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba; Scots: Scottis Naitional Pairtie) is a political party committed to Scottish independence. The SNP's liberal nationalism is left-wing nationalism, a trait which it shares with other Celtic Nationalist parties such as Plaid Cymru, Mebyon Kernow, SDLP and Sinn Féin. Its formed a minority administration A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when the governing political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament. It is also known as a hung parliament. In bicameral parliaments, the term relates to the situation in the chamber whose confidence is.
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Etymology
Main article: Etymology of ScotlandScotland is from the Latin Scoti, the term applied to Gaels, people from what is now Scotland and Ireland, both pirates and the Dal Riada who had come from Ireland to reside in the Northwest of what is now Scotland, in contrast, for example, to the Picts.[20] Accordingly, the Late Latin word Scotia (land of the Gaels) was initially used to refer to Ireland.[21] However, by the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the river Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, both derived from the Gaelic Alba.[22] The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages.[14]
History
The founders of Scotland of late medieval legend, Scota with Goídel Glas, voyaging from Egypt, as depicted in a 15th century manuscript of the Scotichronicon of Walter Bower. Main article: History of ScotlandEarly history
Main article: Prehistoric ScotlandRepeated glaciations, which covered the entire land-mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the Mesolithic period. It is believed that the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation.[23][24]
Groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the Mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Neolithic habitation, burial and ritual sites are particularly common and well-preserved in the Northern Isles and Western Isles, where a lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone.[25]
A four thousand year old tomb with burial treasures was discovered at Forteviot, near Perth, the capital of a Pictish Kingdom in the eighth/ninth century AD. Unrivalled anywhere in Britain, it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark, with possessions including a bronze and gold dagger, a wooden bowl, leather bag, and plant matter, later found to be flowers. This is the first evidence that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves.[26][27]
Scotland may have been part of a Late Bronze Age maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included the other Celtic nations, England, France, Spain and Portugal.[28][29][30]
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Thu, 02 Sep 2010 05:09:17 GMT+00:00
Herald Scotland Two of Scotland's biggest energy firms are facing fines running into hundreds of millions of pounds after the industry watchdog announced it was ...
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Embrace Tradition Find Hotels in Scotland
Lewis Orr
Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:13:23 GM
In a game . Scotland. had to win against a side actually worse than us Craig Levein went for a very cautious 4-5-1. He then decided not to start James McFadden who over the last 7 years has been . Scotland's. best outfield player. ...
Q. Hi, I missed out on flying on the hovercraft in Edinburgh this summer. Anyone know of hovercraft flights elsewhere in Scotland, or if this one is going to return? Thanks.
Asked by flygod27 - Tue Dec 11 09:17:42 2007 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. you cant fly in them
Answered by David Q - Tue Dec 11 09:20:46 2007
