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Introduction
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Scotland (Scots: Scotland, Scottish Gaelic: Alba [ˈal̪ˠapə] (listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96-mile (154-kilometre) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands.
Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas. Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the Scottish Government to each subdivision. Scotland is the second-largest country in the United Kingdom, and accounted for 8.3% of the population in 2012.
The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the 9th century and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI of Scotland became king of England and Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created the Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (in 1922, the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being officially renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927).
Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles and other royal symbols of statehood specific to the pre-union Kingdom of Scotland. The legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland; Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. The continued existence of legal, educational, religious and other institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the 1707 incorporating union with England.
In 1999, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. The head of the Scottish Government is the first minister of Scotland, who is supported by the deputy first minister of Scotland. Scotland is represented in the United Kingdom Parliament by 59 MPs. It is also a member of the British–Irish Council, sending five members of the Scottish Parliament to the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly, as well as being part of the Joint Ministerial Committee, represented by the first minister. (Full article...)
Selected article
Scots (endonym: Scots; Scottish Gaelic: Albais/Beurla Ghallta) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly spoken in the Scottish Lowlands, Northern Isles and northern Ulster, it is sometimes called Lowland Scots or Broad Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Goidelic Celtic language that was historically restricted to most of the Scottish Highlands, the Hebrides and Galloway after the 16th century. Modern Scots is a sister language of Modern English, as the two diverged independently from the same source: Early Middle English (1150–1300).
Scots is recognised as an indigenous language of Scotland, a regional or minority language of Europe, and a vulnerable language by UNESCO. In the 2011 Scottish Census, over 1.5 million people in Scotland reported being able to speak Scots.
As there are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing a language from a dialect, scholars and other interested parties often disagree about the linguistic, historical and social status of Scots, particularly its relationship to English. Although a number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects exist, they often render contradictory results. Broad Scots is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum, with Scottish Standard English at the other. Scots is sometimes regarded as a variety of English, though it has its own distinct dialects; other scholars treat Scots as a distinct Germanic language, in the way that Norwegian is closely linked to but distinct from Danish. (Full article...) Read more ...
Selected quotes
" ... Courage is the thing. All goes if courage goes ... "
" ... I am not here, then, as the accused; I am here as the accuser of capitalism dripping with blood from head to foot ... "
— John Maclean from his famous "speech from the dock"
In the news
- 28 June 2022 – Scottish independence
- Proposed second Scottish independence referendum
- Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, announces during a parliamentary debate session that an independence referendum bill will be tabled in the Scottish Parliament. The bill sets the date for the break-up vote at October 19, 2023. Sturgeon will try to bypass Prime Minister Boris Johnson's unlikely permission to conduct the referendum by referring the bill to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. (CNBC) (The Guardian)
- 23 May 2022 – 2022 monkeypox outbreak
- Scotland confirms its first case of monkeypox. The patient has been hospitalized. In response, smallpox vaccines are being stockpiled in the country. (Reuters) (BBC News) (Glasgow Times)
- 20 May 2022 – Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II
- The Cabinet Office announces that eight British towns will become cities as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. The new cities are Milton Keynes, Colchester, and Doncaster in England, Dunfermline in Scotland, Wrexham in Wales, and Bangor in Northern Ireland, as well as Stanley, Falkland Islands, and Douglas, Isle of Man, which become the first towns in the British Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies, respectively, to receive city status. (BBC News)
- 20 May 2022 – COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
- Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tests positive for COVID-19. (BBC News)
Selected biography
William McGregor (13 April 1846 – 20 December 1911) was a Scottish association football administrator in the Victorian era who is regarded as the founder of the Football League, the first organised association football league in the world.
After moving from Perthshire to Birmingham to set up business as a draper, McGregor became involved with local football club Aston Villa, which he helped to establish as one of the leading teams in England. He served the club for over 20 years in various capacities, including president, director and chairman. In 1888, frustrated by the regular cancellation of Villa's matches, McGregor organised a meeting of representatives of England's leading clubs, which led to the formation of the Football League, giving member clubs a guaranteed fixture list each season. This was instrumental in the transition of football from an amateur pastime to a professional business.
McGregor served as both chairman and president of the Football League and was also chairman of The Football Association (the FA). He was recognised by the FA for his service to the game shortly before his death in 1911, and was posthumously honoured by the local football authorities and Aston Villa. (Full article...) Read more ...
Selected picture
Did You Know...
- ... that forensic artists at the University of Dundee used 100-year-old photographs of a skull to digitally recreate the face of an accused witch in Scotland?
- ... that Sir Donald Douglas was President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, and his son Sir Neil Douglas was President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh?
- ... that the Scottish gynaecologist Benjamin Philip Watson was examined in surgery by Joseph Bell, the model for Sherlock Holmes?
- ... that the standard of the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, contains references to his status as a former prince of Greece and Denmark, and his title as Duke of Edinburgh?
- ... that of the 16 teams to enter the inaugural Scottish Cup, only Dumbarton, Kilmarnock and Queen's Park still regularly compete in the competition?
- ... that St Andrew's Cross in Glasgow is also known as Eglinton Toll, as it was the entry point to an inland dock for a canal established by Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton, in the early 19th century?
- ... that Better Together's "The woman who made up her mind" advert opposing Scottish independence so upset politician Sandra Grieve that she changed her mind and began supporting independence?
- ... that seeds from Asia allowed Dorothy Renton to create "the finest two acres of private garden" in Scotland?
Get involved
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Scotland-related articles, see WikiProject Scotland.
To get involved in helping to improve Wikipedia's Scotland related content, please consider doing some of the following tasks or joining one or more of the associated Wikiprojects:
- Visit the Scottish Wikipedians' notice board and help to write new Scotland-related articles, and expand and improve existing ones.
- Visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Scotland/Assessment, and help out by assessing unrated Scottish articles.
- Add the Project Banner to Scottish articles around Wikipedia.
- Participate in WikiProject Scotland's Peer Review, including responding to PR requests and nominating Scottish articles.
- Help nominate and select new content for the Scotland portal.
Do you have a question about The Scotland Portal that you can't find the answer to?
Post a question on the Talk Page or consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
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