Scottish History Explained in 11 minutes

this video is brought to you by captivating history the history of modern day scotland is a complex tale this nation has been subject to numerous attempted invasions has continuously had to define itself in relation to its neighbors and has a vibrant and rich culture steeped in myth and mysticism that reflects its inhabitants complicated story along the way there have been plenty of wars fascinating stories of powerful monarchs and noble clansmen engaging warriors like william wallace and robert the bruce and enlightened philosophers changing the political landscape whether you're a veritable expert in all things scots or you know little beyond tartan highland toffee and burns's night tributes let's delve a little deeper into the history of this compelling nation the earliest evidence we have of settlement in what is now scotland is from around 3000 bce these early mesolithic settlers were fishermen and hunters probably reaching the area by an ancient land bridge from continental europe by the early second millennium bce there is evidence of farming cultivating cereal crops and keeping cattle in sheep with settlements found along the west coast and as far north as shetland most conventional histories of scotland will start their story around the time the romans came into contact with the british isles the romans invaded britain in the 1st century a.d adding southern britain to their empire as the province britannia here is the first instance of a running theme of myth-making in which the scottish people take great pride in having never been truly invaded claiming a warrior-like spirit that runs deep in popular consciousness the romans could not subdue the north's fierce tribes eventually building a long line of fortifications from sea to sea across the island of britannia under emperor hadrian parts of hadrian's wall remain to this day this is referred to in the nation's foundation myth though it would be wrong to think of the land above hadrian's wall as a united scottish nation during roman times or even beyond scotland is derived from the latin word scotia which means land of the scots the scots were a celtic people of irish origins who settled on the west coast of great britain however these were not the only tribe to occupy lands north of the wall where a wide range of cultures and languages could be observed from caledonians to celts and pigs scottish became the lingua franca over a period of time but had to coexist with celtic gaelic and scandinavian languages as the roman empire collapsed four main groups emerged that eventually united to form scotland's kingdom the picts the celts the britons and the anglos from diverse backgrounds and dominating different regions we know relatively little about this period of scottish history however it is challenging to understand scottish identity without an appreciation for this idea of a tribal melting pot local regional and dynastic identities and affiliations had more meaning and relevance than any notion of national identity during this tribal period identities were formed based on the specific physical geography that individuals families and clans found themselves in scotland's terrain is mostly rugged and subject to weather extremes evoking a poetic mysticism deeply ingrained in the fiercely unique cultures of scottish tribes this relationship to the land is still very relevant to scottish identity today in 843 kenneth mcalpin became king of the picts on assuming the throne he crushed any resistance on his way to forming the kingdom of alba the precursor to the realm of scotland he was named king kenneth the first of scots a critical factor in the forming of a more unified kingdom was probably the increasingly threatening viking raids as the english kingdom was consolidated around this time its kings responding to attacks from the vikings found it useful to have an alliance of convenience with alba here is another step in the cult of defense myth making as unity was forged in the spirit of repelling enemies this time the vikings an intriguing element of celtic tradition is the form of succession called tanistry a king could be succeeded by any male member of a family group of four generations sometimes a successor would be named in his predecessor's lifetime any expert of history will spot the potential for untoward practices here and your predictions would be correct this often led to many successions by the killing of one's predecessor this is covered in shakespeare's macbeth a fictionalized account of a real historical figure macbeth killed his cousin duncan to claim the throne and macbeth in turn was murdered by duncan's son malcolm a considerable portion of scotland's history and identity comes in its relationship with its southern neighbors england during the middle ages this relationship was mostly defined by conflict and an uneasy balance of power another set of invaders the normans conquered england in 1066 this caused many anglo-saxons from england to settle in the lowlands of scotland scots gradually adopted english ways during this time with clan chiefs becoming nobles and the english language merging and even replacing some of the ancient scottish languages scotland thrived as trading networks grew increasingly sophisticated leading to the growth of towns margaret the heiress to the throne died in 1290 leaving a power vacuum in scotland and an opportunity for edward the first at this time the english throne had become increasingly powerful resulting in sir edward the first of england claiming he had the right to bestow scotland's crown he made john de belliol the king however when edward sought help from jon in his wars against the french john instead allied with france this was the beginning of a 260-year alliance with england's other historical enemy france called the old alliance in a fury edward crossed the scottish borders in 1296 he took john prisoner and proclaimed himself the king of scotland rising in national unity once more in the face of an external enemy the scots rebelled sir william wallace led them under his leadership they defeated the english at the battle of sterling bridge in 1297 chasing the english forces across the border however edward returned the following year and routed the scots at falkirk wallace was imprisoned and brutally executed robert the bruce another glorified highland warrior continued the struggle and fought against the english in 1314 at bannockburn near sterling castle finally in 1328 edward iii formally recognized scotland's independence the massive global success of the hollywood blockbuster braveheart in which mel gibson plays william wallace in the scottish wars of independence has helped instill this seductive image of the scottish as being valiant underdogs capable of overturning the odds in the face of their muddy southern neighbors while this may not always ring true it certainly works as a simplistic assessment of what happened under william wallace and robert the bruce's commands through the 15th and 16th centuries the house of stewart ruled scotland mary stewart mary queen of scots became embroiled in the succession question over england's rightful ruler mary's position as a catholic heir threatened queen elizabeth the first precarious position as queen of england england had been excommunicated by the pope inviting catholics to dethrone her mary having been proven to be complicit in a regicidal plot was beheaded in 1587. her son king james vi of scotland is said to have reacted calmly to his mother's execution upon queen elizabeth's death without an error in 1603 he became king of the separate kingdoms of england scotland and ireland england and its globetrotting imperial expansionism ultimately outmatched scotland under cromwell and his new model army england achieved decisive victories at dunbar in 1650 and worcester in 1651 scotland was thus incorporated into the commonwealth of england scotland's independent clergy parliament and legal system were no more in 1707 the act of union brought scotland closer to britain it created a single parliament of the united kingdom of great britain from the focal point of the palace of westminster while there is a perception of scotland being subjugated under the union taking a backseat role in a primarily english westminster government scotland's people retain their national identity perhaps even strengthening this in the face of perceived english superiority as an example of this several thinkers made an indelible mark on the modern world during the enlightenment while undoubtedly seeing themselves as scottish figures like thomas hobbs adam smith robert burns david hume and sir walter scott are still lauded for their respective fields contributions moving into the 20th century scottish regiments play significant roles in both world war one and world war ii glasgow became a center for industry contributing to economic growth in the country a significant industrial achievement in the 60s was the successful drilling of oil in the north sea creating a substantial supporting industry in scotland and gave the uk local access to oil for the first time today scotland has a clearly defined character and national identity it has perpetuated its image to attract millions of visitors each year who come for varying reasons tourists come to taste its haggis and shortbread drink its whiskey delve into its folk history sample its outstanding golf courses get lost in its rugged mountainous highlands and even try to spot the elusive loch ness monster its people have earned a rightful reputation for a humorous brusqueness a hearty character that takes its roots from its combative history and mystic folklore legends scotland's future is uncertain amid growing calls for independence it was granted an independence referendum in 2014 by the narrowest of margins the scottish people voted to stay within the union this decision became even more contentious as the uk voted to leave the eu despite overwhelmingly pro-eu sentiments in scotland going forward the future looks set for more conflict between scotland and england and it remains to be seen whether we are headed for another referendum to learn more about scottish history then check out our book scottish history a captivating guide to the history of scotland it's available as an e-book paperback and audiobook also grab your free mythology bundle ebook for free while still available all links are in the description if you enjoyed the video please hit the like button and subscribe for more videos like this

Channel: Captivating History

Views: 7,387

Rating: 4.7611942 out of 5

Keywords: Scottish History, History of Scotland, History of Scots, Scottish Feminism, Loch Ness Monster, Scottish Enlightenment, Queen of Scots, Scottish Nation-State, Scotland Medieval Strife, Scotland Golden Age, Scottish Wars of Independence, Scotland Black Death, Scotland Great Britain, Scotland Industrial Revolution, Scotland, Scottish, Scots, England History, Great Britain History, United Kingdom History, Gaelic kingdom, William Wallace, King Alexander, Irish-Scots, Irish, Ireland

Id: ouR6GeZrRUc

Length: 11min 29sec (689 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 06 2021