Scotland

Scotland (Alba in Gaelic) is a nation in northwest Europe and a constituent country of the United Kingdom. The country occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain, shares a land border to the south with England, and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. Scotland has over 790 islands.
The capital, Edinburgh, is one of Europe's largest financial centres. Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil resources in the European Union.
The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state until 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union resulted in a political union with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. Scotland continues to constitute a separate state and jurisdiction in Public International Law. Scots law, the Scottish education system and the Church of Scotland have been three cornerstones contributing to the continuation of Scottish culture and Scottish national identity since the Union.
Prehistory
Prehistoric Scotland
It is believed that the first group of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 11,000 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last ice age. Groups of settlers began building the first permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first significant villages around 6,000 years ago.
First millennium
The written history of Scotland largely began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in southern and central Great Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales, administering it as a Roman province called Britannia. Part of southern Scotland was briefly, indirectly controlled by Rome. To the north was territory not conquered by the Romans: Caledonia. Caledonia was peopled by the Picts, with the Gaels of Dl Riata in Argyll. Pictland became dominated by the Pictish sub-kingdom of Fortriu, but the Kingdom of Scotland is traditionally dated from 843, when Kenneth I of Scotland became King of the Picts and Scots. The Scottish Saltire is believed to have been adopted by King engus II in 832 while engaging the English in battle at Athelstaneford.
Scotland in the High Middle Ages
In the following centuries, the Kingdom of the Scots expanded to something closer to modern Scotland. The period was marked by comparatively good relations with the Wessex rulers of England, intense internal dynastic disunity and, despite this, relatively successful expansionary policies. Sometime after an invasion of the Kingdom of Strathclyde by King Edmund of England in 945, the province was handed over to king Malcolm I. During the reign of King Indulf (954-62), the Scots captured the fortress later called Edinburgh, their first foothold in Lothian. The reign of Malcolm II saw fuller incorporation of these territories. The critical year was perhaps 1018, when Malcolm II defeated the Northumbrians at the Battle of Carham.
The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 initiated a chain of events which started to move the Kingdom of Scotland away from its originally Gaelic cultural orientation. Malcolm III married Margaret the sister of Edgar theling the deposed Anglo-Saxon claimant to the throne of England, who subsequently received some Scottish support. Margaret played a major role in reducing the influence of Celtic Christianity. When her youngest son David I later succeeded, Scotland gained something of its own gradual "Norman Conquest". Having previously become an important Anglo-Norman lord through marriage, David I was instrumental in introducing feudalism into Scotland and in encouraging an influx of settlers from the Low Countries to the newly-founded burghs, to enhance trading links with mainland Europe and Scandinavia. By the late 13th century, scores of Norman and Anglo-Norman families had been granted Scottish lands. The first meetings of the Parliament of Scotland were convened during this period.
After the death of the Maid of Norway, last direct heir of Alexander III of Scotland, Scotland's nobility asked the King of England to adjudicate between rival claimants to the vacant Scottish throne, but Edward I of England, instead, attempted to install a puppet monarchy and exert outright control. The Scots resisted, however, under the leadership of Sir William Wallace and Andrew de Moray in support of John Balliol, and later under that of Robert the Bruce. Bruce, crowned as King Robert I on March 25, 1306, won a decisive victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn on June 23 - June 24, 1314, but warfare flared up again after his death during the second Wars of Scottish Independence from 1332 to 1357 in which Edward Balliol attempted unsuccessfully to win back the throne from Bruce's heirs, with the support of the English king. Eventually, with the emergence of the Stewart dynasty in the 1370s, the situation in Scotland began to stabilise.
By the end of the Middle Ages, Scotland was showing a split into two cultural areas the mainly Scots-speaking Lowlands, and the mainly Gaelic-speaking Highlands. However, Galwegian Gaelic persisted in remote parts of the southwest, which had formed part of the Lordship of Galloway, probably up until the late 18th century. Historically, the Lowlands were closer to mainstream European culture. By comparison, the clan system of the Highlands formed one of the region's more distinctive features, with a number of powerful clans remaining dominant until after the Acts of Union 1707.
Union with England
In 1603, the Scottish King James VI of Scotland inherited the throne of the Kingdom of England, and became also "James I" of England. With the exception of a short period under The Protectorate, Scotland remained a separate state, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the Covenanters over the form of church government. After the Glorious Revolution and the overthrow of the Roman Catholic James VII by William and Mary, Scotland briefly threatened to select a different Protestant monarch from England. In 1707, however, following English threats to end trade and free movement across the border, the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England enacted the twin Acts of Union, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Two major Jacobite risings launched from the west of Scotland in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove the House of Hanover from the British throne. The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly amongst non-Presbyterians.
Modern period
Following the Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, Scotland became one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Its industrial decline following World War II was particularly acute, but in recent decades the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part by a resurgent financial services and electronics sector, the proceeds of North Sea oil and gas, and latterly the devolved Scottish Parliament, established by the UK government under the Scotland Act 1998.
Politics
Politics of Scotland
As one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom, the head of state in Scotland is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952).
Constitutionally the United Kingdom is a unitary state with one national parliament and government. Under a system of devolution (or home rule) adopted in the late 1990s the constitutent countries within the United Kingdom were given limited regional government, subject to the ability of the British Parliament in Westminster at will to amend, change, broaden or abolish the regional governmental systems. As such the Scottish Parliament is not sovereign. However, it is thought unlikely that any British parliament would unilaterally abolish a home rule parliament and government without consultation via a referendum with the voters of the constituent country.
Executive power in the United Kingdom is vested in the Queen-in-Council, while legislative power is vested in the Queen-in-Parliament (the Crown and the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster in London). Under devolution executive and legislative powers in certain areas have been constitutionally delegated to the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood in Edinburgh respectively. The United Kingdom Parliament retains active power over Scotland's taxes, social security system, the military, international relations, broadcasting, and some other areas explicitly specified in the Scotland Act 1998 as reserved matters. The Scottish Parliament has legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland, and has limited power to vary income tax.
The Scottish Parliament is a unicameral legislature comprised of 129 Members, 73 of whom represent individual constituencies and are elected on a first past the post system; 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the additional member system. The Queen appoints one of the members of the Parliament, on the nomination of the Parliament, to be First Minister. Other Ministers are also appointed by the Queen on the nomination of the Parliament and together with the First Minister they make up Scottish Executive, the executive arm of government.
The current (since 2001) First Minister is Jack McConnell of the Labour Party, who forms the government on a coalition basis with the Liberal Democrats. The main opposition party is the Scottish National Party, which campaign for Scottish independence. Other parties include the Conservative and Unionist Party, the Scottish Green Party and the Scottish Socialist Party.
Under devolution Scotland is represented by 59 MPs in the British House of Commons elected from territory-based Scottish constituencies. A Secretary of State for Scotland, who prior to devolution headed the system of government in Scotland, sits in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and is responsible for the limited number of powers the office retains since devolution, as well as relations with other Whitehall Ministers who have power over reserved matters. The Scottish Parliament can refer devolved matters back to Westminster to be considered as part of United Kingdom-wide legislation under the Sewel motion system if United Kingdom-wide legislation is considered to be more appropriate for certain issues. The Scotland Office is a department of the United Kingdom government, responsible for reserved Scottish affairs. The current Secretary of State for Scotland is Alistair Darling. Until 1999, Scottish peers were entitled to sit in the House of Lords.
The main political debate in Scotland tends to revolve around attitudes to the constitutional question. Under the pressure of growing support for Scottish independence a policy of devolution had been advocated by all three UK-wide parties to some degree during their history (although Labour and the Conservatives have also at times opposed it). This question dominated the Scottish political scene in the latter half of the 20th century. Now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Scotland's constitutional status is over whether the Scottish Parliament should accrue additional powers (for example over fiscal policy), or seek to obtain full independence. Ultimately the long term is question is: should the Scottish parliament continue to be a subsidiary assembly created and potentially abolished by the constitutionally dominant and sovereign parliament of the United Kingdom (as in devolution) or should it have an independent existence as of right, with full sovereign powers (either through independence, a federal United Kingdom or a confederal arrangement)? Finally, will the current devolution system satisfy Scottish demands for self-government or strengthen demands for full-blown independence?
The programmes of legislation enacted by the Scottish Parliament have seen the divergence in the provision of public services compared to the rest of the United Kingdom. While the costs of a university education, and care services for the elderly are free at point of use in Scotland, fees are paid in the rest of the UK. Scotland is the first country in the UK to ban smoking in public places. (BBC)
Law
Scots law is the law of Scotland. It is a unique system with ancient roots and has a basis in Roman law, combining features of both uncodified civil law dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis and common law with medieval sources. The terms of the Treaty of Union with England in 1707, guaranteed the continued existence of a separate law system in Scotland from that of England and Wales. Formerly, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, one of which was the use of Udal Law in Orkney and Shetland, based on Old Norse Law, which for the most part was abolished in 1611. Various systems based on common Celtic or Brehon Laws also survived in the Highlands until the 1800s.
Scots law provides for three types of courts: civil, criminal and heraldic courts responsible for the administration of justice in Scotland. In the civil courts, the House of Lords is the highest court of appeal. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court. Both courts are housed at Parliament House, Edinburgh, the home of the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland. The sheriff court is the main criminal and civil court. There are 60 sheriff courts throughout the country [1]. District courts were introduced in 1975 for minor offences. The Court of the Lord Lyon regulates heraldry in Scotland.
Scots law is also unique in that it allows three verdicts in criminal cases including the controversial 'not proven' verdict.
Subdivisions
For the purposes of local government, Scotland was divided into thirty-two council areas in 1996. These are unitary authorities responsible for the provision of all local government services, including education, social work, environment and roads services. Some of the larger councils are also further divided into area committees. Community councils are informal organisations that represent specific areas within a council area. The Queen appoints a Lord Lieutenant to represent her in the thirty five lieutenancy areas of Scotland.
For the purposes of administering justice, Scotland is divided into six sheriffdoms. In the Scottish Parliament, there are 129 MSPs representing 73 individual and 8 regional constituencies (with 7 members per region). In the Parliament of the United Kingdom, there are 59 Scottish constituencies.
City status in the United Kingdom is determined by royal charter. Currently there are six cities in Scotland:
* Aberdeen * Dundee * Edinburgh * Glasgow * Inverness * Stirling
Royal burgh status is also awarded by royal charter, and is held by 66 places. Dundee is the only city to also retain royal burgh status; Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling have all had the honour withdrawn.
Geography
Scotland comprises the northern third of the island of Great Britain, off the coast of north west Europe. The total land mass is around 78,772 square kilometres (30,414 mi). Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for 96 kilometres (60 miles) between the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The island of Ireland lies around 30 kilometres (20 mi) off the south west tip of Scotland, Norway is around 400 kilometres (250 mi) to the north east, and the Faroes and Iceland lie to the north. Scotland lies between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Exceptions include the Isle of Man, which is now a crown dependency outside the United Kingdom, Orkney and Shetland, which are Scottish rather than Norwegian, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the 1746 Wales and Berwick Act. Rockall was annexed by the United Kingdom in 1972 and administratively made part of the Isle of Harris in Scotland, although this is disputed by the Republic of Ireland, Iceland and Denmark.
The country consists of a mainland area plus several island groups. The mainland can be divided into three areas: the Highlands in the north; the Central Belt and the Southern Uplands in the south. The Highlands are generally mountainous and are bisected by the Great Glen. The highest mountains in the British Isles are found here, including Ben Nevis, the highest peak at 1,344 metres (4,409ft). All mountains over 3,000 feet are known as Munros. The Central Belt of Scotland is generally flat and is where most of the population reside. The Central Belt is often divided into the West Coast, which contains the areas around Glasgow; and the East Coast which includes the areas around the capital, Edinburgh. The Southern Uplands are a range of hills and mountains almost 200 km (125 miles) long, stretching from Stranraer by the Irish Sea to East Lothian and the North Sea.
Scotland has over 790 islands, divided into four main groups: Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. The Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth also contain many islands. St. Kilda is the most remote of all the inhabitable Scottish islands, being over 240 km (150 miles) from the mainland.
Climate
The climate of Scotland is temperate and oceanic, and tends to be very changeable. It is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, and as such is much warmer than areas on similar latitudes, for example Oslo, Norway. However, temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the coldest ever UK temperature of -27.2C (-16.96F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains, on February 11, 1895 and January 10, 1982 and also at Altnaharra, Highland, on December 30, 1995. Winter maximums average 6C (42.8F) in the lowlands, with summer maximums averaging 18C (64.4F). The highest temperature recorded was 32.9C (91.22F) at Greycrook, Scottish Borders on August 9, 2003.
In general, the west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, due to the influence of the Atlantic ocean currents, and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea. Tiree, in the Inner Hebrides, is the sunniest place in the country: it had 300 days of sunshine in 1975. Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are the wettest place, with annual rainfall exceeding 3,000 mm (120 inches). In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than 800 mm (31 inches) annually. Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar experiences an average of 59 snow days per year, while coastal areas have an average of less than 10 days.
Economy
The Scottish economy is closely linked with that of the rest of the European Union, and is essentially a market economy with some government intervention. After the Industrial Revolution, the Scottish economy concentrated on heavy industry, dominated by the shipbuilding, coal mining and steel industries. Scottish participation in the British Empire also allowed the Scottish economy to export its output throughout the world. However heavy industry declined in the latter part of the 20th century leading to a remarkable shift in the economy of Scotland towards a technology and service sector-based economy. The 1980s saw an economic boom in the Silicon Glen corridor between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with many large technology firms relocating to Scotland. The discovery of North Sea oil in the 1970s also transformed the Scottish economy.
Edinburgh is the financial services centre of Scotland and the sixth largest financial centre in Europe[2], with many large finance firms based there, including the Royal Bank of Scotland (the second largest bank in Europe), HBOS (owners of the Bank of Scotland) and Standard Life. Glasgow is Scotland's leading seaport and is the fourth largest manufacturing centre in the UK, accounting for well over 60% of Scotland's manufactured exports. Shipbuilding, although significantly diminished from its heights in the early 20th century, is still a large part of the Glasgow economy. The city has Scotland's largest and most economically important commerce and retail district. Glasgow is also one of Europe's top 20 financial centres and is home to many of the UK's leading companies. Aberdeen, sometimes referred to as the Oil Capital of Europe, is the centre of the North Sea oil industry. Other important industries include textile production, chemicals, distilling, brewing, fishing and tourism.
In 2003, total Scottish exports (excluding intra-UK trade) was provisionally estimated to be 18.7 billion, of which 70 per cent (13.1 billion) were attributable to manufacturing. The largest export products for Scotland are whisky, electronics, and financial services. The largest markets were the United States, Germany and France. [3]
Only about one quarter of the land is under cultivation (principally in cereals and vegetables), but sheep farming is important in the less arable highland and island regions. Most land is concentrated in relatively few hands (some 350 people own about half the land). As a result, in 2003, the Scottish Parliament passed a Land Reform Act that empowered tenant farmers and local communities to purchase land even if the landlord did not want to sell.
Finance in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England is the central bank for the UK, three Scottish clearing banks still issue their own Sterling banknotes: (the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, though they are fungible with the Bank of England banknotes. Despite this, shopkeepers unfamiliar with Scottish notes in other parts of the UK, particularly in England, have been known to refuse to accept the Scottish-issued notes.
The Royal Bank of Scotland still produces a 1 note, unique amongst British banks. The full range of Scottish bank notes commonly accepted are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. The current value of the Scottish banknotes in circulation is around 2,000 million, see British banknotes.
Scottish inventions
Since before the Industrial Revolution, Scots have been at the forefront of innovation and discovery across a wide range of spheres: the steam engine, the pedal bicycle, macadam roads, the telephone, television, the transistor, the motion picture, penicillin, electromagnetics, radar, insulin, calculus and animal cloning are only a few of the most significant products of Scottish ingenuity.
Demographics
The population of Scotland in the 2001 census was 5,062,011. This has risen to 5,078,400 according to July 2004 estimates. This would make Scotland the 112th largest country by population if it were a sovereign state.
Languages
Since the United Kingdom lacks a codified constitution, there is no official language. However, Scotland has three officially-recognised languages: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. De facto English is the main language, and almost all Scots speak Scottish Standard English. Scots and Gaelic were recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by the UK in 2001, and the Scottish Executive is committed, based on the UK's undertakings, to providing support based on Part II of the Charter in the case of Scots and Part II plus 39 out of the 65 provisions outlined in Part III of the Charter in the case of Gaelic [4].
Over the past century the number of native speakers of Gaelic , a Celtic language similar to Irish, has declined from around 5% to just 1% of the population, almost always on a fully bilingual basis with English.[5] Gaelic is spoken most in the Western Isles, where the local council uses the Gaelic name- Comhairle nan Eilean Siar ("Council of the Western Isles"). Under the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 which was passed by the Scottish Parliament to provide a statutory basis for a limited range of Gaelic language service provision, English and Gaelic receive "equal respect" but do not have equal legal status [6].
It is estimated by the General Register Office for Scotland that 30% of the population are fluent in Scots, a West Germanic sister language to English. State support for Scots is slowly growing, after nearly three centuries of suppression. The Scottish Executive provides some funding to various Scots language projects and bodies, including the Dictionary of the Scots Language.
Religion
The Church of Scotland, also referred to as The Kirk, is the national church. It is not subject to state control nor is it "established" in the same manner as the Church of England within England. It was formally recognised as independent of the UK parliament by the Church of Scotland Act 1921, settling centuries of dispute between church and state over jurisdiction in spiritual matters.
The Scottish Reformation, initiated in 1560 and led by John Knox, was Calvinist, and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Church of Scotland maintained a strict theology and kept a tight control over the morality of the population. The Church had an overwhelming influence on the cultural development of Scotland in early modern times. Other Protestant denominations include the Free Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian off-shoot from the Church of Scotland adhering to a more conservative style of Calvinism, and the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms part of the Anglican Communion. The Methodists are a small denomination in Scotland as are the Congregationalists, a denomination of which famous Scotsman David Livingstone was a member.
Roman Catholicism in Scotland survived the Reformation, especially on islands like Uist and Barra, despite the suppression of the 16th to late 18th centuries. Catholicism was strengthened particularly in the west of Scotland during the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems caused by sectarianism, particularly relating to football rivalry between the traditionally Catholic team, Celtic, and the Protestant team, Rangers.
Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland. There are also significant Jewish (See History of the Jews in Scotland) and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow. At 28% of the population, Scotland has a relatively high proportion of persons who regard themselves as belonging to 'no religion'. Indeed, this was the second most common response in the 2001 census.
Education
The system of education in Scotland is separate from the rest of the United Kingdom. It has a distinctive history as the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education. The early roots were in the Education Act of 1496 which first introduced compulsory education for the eldest sons of nobles, then the principle of general public education was set with the Reformation establishment of the national Kirk which in 1561 set out a national programme for spiritual reform, including a school in every parish.
Education finally came under the control of the state rather than the Church and became compulsory for all children from the implementation of the Education Act of 1872 onwards. As a result, for over two hundred years Scotland had a higher percentage of its population educated at primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe. The differences in education have manifested themselves in different ways, but most noticeably in the number of Scots who went on to become leaders in their fields during the 18th and 19th centuries.
School students in Scotland sit Standard Grade exams at the age of 15 or 16, sometimes earlier, for up to eight subjects including compulsory exams in English, mathematics, a foreign language, a science subject and a social subject. Each school may vary these compulsory combinations. The school leaving age is 16, after which students may choose to remain at school and study for Access, Intermediate or Higher Grade and Advanced Higher exams. A small number of students at certain private, independent schools may follow the English system and study towards GCSEs instead of Standard Grades, and towards A and AS-Levels instead of Higher Grade and Advanced Higher exams.
The Scottish Executive fund over forty Further and Higher Education Colleges where students can study for more vocational qualifications; degree-entry qualifications such as diplomas; and specialist courses in the arts or agriculture.
Scotland has 13 universities and one university college, including the four ancient universities founded in the medieval period:
* University of St Andrews (1413) * University of Glasgow (1451) * University of Aberdeen (1495) * University of Edinburgh (1583)
Students studying towards Bachelor's degrees at Scottish universities study for 4 years, with the option to graduate with an ordinary degree after 3 years or a fourth year of study for a honours degree. Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, Scottish students studying at a Scottish university do not have to pay for tuition fees. All Scottish universities attract a high percentage of overseas students, and many have links with overseas institutions.
Culture
Scotland shares many aspects of culture with the rest of Europe and the wider Western world. However, distinct cultural differences are identifiable in many areas. There exists a strong, distinct Scottish national identity, firmly founded in a shared commitment to Scottish civil society.
Music
The Scottish music scene is a significant aspect of Scottish culture, with both traditional and modern influences. The most famous type of Scottish music is the bagpipes, a wind instrument consisting of one or more musical pipes which are fed continuously by a reservoir of air in a bag. The fiddle and accordion are also traditional Scottish instruments, heavily featured in Scottish country dance bands. Famous traditional musicians from recent times include Andy Stewart, The Corries and the contemporary Dougie MacLean. Traditional Scottish music was taken with Scottish emigrants to North America, and became a major early influence on traditional styles of music there, for example country music.
Modern Scottish pop music has produced many international bands including the Bay City Rollers, Primal Scream, Simple Minds, The Proclaimers, Deacon Blue, Texas, Franz Ferdinand, Belle and Sebastian,and Travis, as well as individual artists such as Gerry Rafferty, Lulu, Annie Lennox and Lloyd Cole, and world-famous Gaelic groups such as Runrig and Capercaillie. These have been joined by Gaelic punk bands such as Oi Polloi who give an ancient culture a new voice.
Literature
Scottish literature has had a long and successful history. In Scotland, the most famous works are perhaps those of Robert Burns, widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland. The works of Burns, mostly written in the Scots language, is celebrated annually on Burns' Night (January 25). Other famous Scottish writers include Walter Scott, James Hogg, JM Barrie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson; and more recently, Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin, Iain Banks and Irvine Welsh. J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, The Philosopher's Stone, in a coffee shop in Edinburgh.
Sport
Scotland has its own sporting competitions and governing bodies, such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Rugby Union. This gives the country independent representation at many international sporting events, for example the football World Cup and the Commonwealth Games; although notably not the Olympic Games.
Association Football is the most popular sport in the country, both played and watched. The Scottish Football Association is the second oldest national football association in the world, with the Scottish national football team playing and hosting the world's first ever international football match. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy.
Scottish professional rugby union clubs compete in the Celtic League. However, the country retains a national league for amateur and semi-pro clubs.
Shinty is run by the Camanachd Association and is played primarily in its Highland heartland, but also in most universities and cities.
Scotland is the "Home of Golf", and is well-known for its many links courses, including the Old Course at St Andrews.
Scotland is the home of curling (2002 Olympic champions, women) which, although not as popular today as in Canada, remains more popular in Scotland than anywhere else in Europe.
The Highland Games are another distinctive feature of the national sporting culture.
Media
Scotland has distinct media, for example, it produces many national newspapers such as the Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid), The Herald, and The Scotsman. Regional dailies include The Courier in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north.
Scotland has its own BBC Scotland services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country, the largest of which are Clyde 1, Forth One and Real Radio.
In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. The two main Scottish commercial television stations are Scottish TV and Grampian TV, while Border TV, based in Cumbria in England, broadcasts in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders. Scottish TV and Grampian TV will merge brands in mid 2006 to become STV. STV is the common abbreviation for Scottish TV, causing controversy in the North of Scotland where the loss of Grampian TV is felt by some to be part of a growing loss of local identity. Tele-G, the only Gaelic language channel, broadcasts on the Freeview platform between 6-7 pm every day. BBC Scotland and the Scottish ITV channels broadcast Scottish news programmes, as well as Gaelic language programmes.
Scottish news programmes include the BBC's Reporting Scotland and Newsnight Scotland, as well as regional programmes like Scottish TV's Scotland Today and Grampian TV's North Tonight. Lookaround is the news programme broadcast in the areas covered by Border TV.
Transport
Scotland has four main international airports (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Prestwick and Aberdeen) that serve a wide variety of European and intercontinental routes with scheduled and chartered flights. Highland and Islands Airports operate 10 regional airports serving the more remote locations of Scotland.
There is no national airline, however various small airlines have their base in Scotland including Loganair (operates as a franchise of British Airways), Flyglobespan, Air Scotland and ScotAirways.
Scotland has a large and expanding rail network, which is now managed independently from the rest of the UK. The East Coast and West Coast Mainlines and the Cross Country Line connect the major cities and towns of Scotland with the English network. First ScotRail operate services within Scotland. The Scottish Executive has pursued a policy of building new railway lines, and reopening closed ones.
The Scottish motorways and major trunk roads are managed by the Scottish Executive. The rest of the road network is managed by the Scottish local authorities in each of their areas. The country's busiest motorway is the M8 which runs from the outskirts of Edinburgh to central Glasgow, and on to Renfrewshire.
Ferry services operate between the mainland and the Scottish island communities. The Superfast Ferries service from Rosyth is the only scheduled ferry service connecting Scotland to mainland Europe.
* The Flag of Scotland, the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross, dates from the 9th century, and is thus the oldest national flag still in use, and it can be found flying all over Scotland. The Saltire now also forms part of the design of the Union Flag. * The Royal Standard of Scotland, a banner showing the Royal Arms of Scotland, is also frequently to be seen, particuarly at sporting events involving a Scottish team. Often called the Lion Rampant (after its chief heraldic device), it is technically the property of the monarch and its use by anybody else is illegal, although this is almost universally ignored, and never enforced. * The unicorn is also used as a heraldic symbol of Scotland. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, used prior to 1603 by the Kings of Scotland, incorporated a lion rampant shield supported by two unicorns. On the Union of the Crowns, the Arms were quartered with those of England and Ireland, and one unicorn was replaced by a lion (the supporters of England). * The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, features in many Scottish symbols and logos, and on UK currency. Heather is also considered to be a symbol of Scotland. * Flower of Scotland is popularly held to be the national anthem of Scotland, and is played at international events such as football or rugby matches involving the Scotland national team. However, since devolution, more serious discussion of a national anthem has led to this being disputed. Other candidates include Scots Wha Hae and Scotland the Brave. * Tartan is a specific woven textile pattern that often signifies a particular Scottish clan, as featured in a kilt. * St Andrew's Day, the 30th of November, is the national day, although Burns' Night tends to be more widely observed. Tartan Day is a recent innovation from the United States. There is currently a campaign within the Scottish Parliament to create a national holiday on Saint Andrew's Day.