Just eight months from now, a proud nation in a corner of Europe might just claim what it has been demanding since the past 300 years: its freedom.
Most people around the world are familiar with Scotland. Though we usually equate the words ‘Britain’, ‘the UK’ and ‘England’ in our daily speech and conversations, over the past two decades, popular media (including Hollywood) have given us fabulous images and history (though not completely accurate) of the land north of the River Tweed. When we say ‘Scotland’ today, images of colourful tartans, the bleak landscape of the Scottish Highlands, the piercing sound of bagpipes, whisky and of course, Mel Gibson as William Wallace in ‘Braveheart’ and Liam Neeson as ‘Rob Roy’ come to mind.
For Indians, Scotland is even more familiar. After all, many Scotsmen were part of the colonial enterprise known today as the British Empire, of which India was a part.
The Kingdom of Scotland, the state that rose in 843 AD in the area that is Scotland now, was formed after years of invasions, conflict, migration and settlement. While Scotland has always been recognised as one of the ‘Six Celtic Lands’ (The other five being Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany), it did have its fair share of invaders from other races. These included the Romans, who built Hadrian’s Wall and brought bagpipes to Scotland, Norse Vikings and lastly, Anglo-Saxons, who came from England in the south.
The Anglo-Saxon influence on Scotland caused the country to be forever divided into two distinct geographical, linguistic and ethnic zones: The Scottish Highlands, populated by Gaelic clans who spoke Scottish Gaelic and were Celtic by race as opposed to the Lowlands, which were more Germanic by race and spoke Scots, a Germanic language that is very close to English.
Since a part of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy or ‘Seven Kingdoms’ extended into south eastern Scotland as the Kingdom of Northumbria, Scotland’s fate would forever be linked to that of its powerful neighbour in the south, England.
Between 843 and 1603, the Scots fought internecine wars with their English neighbours, resulting in the shrinking and expansion of Scottish territory. The most prominent English invasions of Scotland were under Edward I (‘Longshanks’) and Edward III. It was during these invasions that heroic figures like the commoner William Wallace and Robert I ‘The Bruce’ led Scots in their battles against the English.
The internecine warfare between the two sides went on till 1603, when King James VI of Scotland (from the House of Stuart) inherited the throne of England and was crowned as James I of England. This landmark event is known to us as ‘The Union of the Crowns’.
A little-known fact of this time (‘The Age of Discovery’) is that Scotland’s nobles attempted to establish a colonial enterprise of their own. This was known as ‘The Darien Scheme’, an attempt to found a Scottish colony on the Gulf of Darien in modern-day Panama. The scheme faced miserably and along with the threat of a renewed English invasion, played a part in what happened next: The Union of Parliaments.
In 1707, the English and Scottish Parliaments voted on an ‘Act of Union’, which joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single, united kingdom named 'Great Britain'. Though there were riots in Scotland at the time against the Act, the Scottish nobles, given their difficult circumstances, had to accept it.
During the 300 years that passed between 1707 and 2007, Scotland has seen a lot. While it has enjoyed the fruits of power as part of Great Britain, namely leading the British Empire ‘over which the sun never set’ as well as other events like the Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, there have been grievances galore too: The Jacobite Uprisings, the Highland Clearances and in the twentieth century, the Poll Tax Riots.
In the twentieth century, Scotland’s main industries have been tourism (especially its highlands), ship building (a carryover from the past), fishing (though fish stocks in the North Atlantic are continuously depleting) and most importantly, oil from the North Sea. The last is Scotland’s most valuable resource. North Sea oil has caused Aberdeen, Scotland’s third-largest city on the sea to be dubbed as ‘Europe’s oil capital’.
But can Scotland survive as a small, independent state of 5 million people in north-western Europe with just petroleum, fish, tourism and ship building? An independent Scotland also stands to lose the power and pelf of being a permanent member of the UN Security Council besides being a member of Nato, the European Union, the G8 and the G20.
Opinion on Scottish independence is sharply divided, with both, nationalists and unionists having their own
fixed views on the matter. And in the run-up to the referendum in September, it would be exciting to watch which side eventually wins.
More importantly, what impact would Scottish independence have on other independence and self-determination movements around the world? Already, the Scottish referendum is being looked at with much interest in Spain, where the Basque Country and Catalonia have a record of long and often bloody separatist movements demanding independence from Madrid.
The referendum is also evincing much interest across the Atlantic, in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec, which has already held a number of referenda about seceding from Ottawa’s rule.
A vote for Scottish independence could even galvanise separatist movements in our own country. Proponents of the ‘Independence of Kashmir’, supported by their patrons across the border, could mount a media or militant blitz for the ‘right to self-determination of Kashmiris’. It could also breathe in new life to the almost-dead Khalistan Movement as well as those in the northeast.
Which way Scots vote in September, remains to be seen. But one thing is certain. An independent Scotland has the potential of opening a ‘Pandora’s Box of Secession’ in many federations across the world. We can only watch with bated breath.
Most people around the world are familiar with Scotland. Though we usually equate the words ‘Britain’, ‘the UK’ and ‘England’ in our daily speech and conversations, over the past two decades, popular media (including Hollywood) have given us fabulous images and history (though not completely accurate) of the land north of the River Tweed. When we say ‘Scotland’ today, images of colourful tartans, the bleak landscape of the Scottish Highlands, the piercing sound of bagpipes, whisky and of course, Mel Gibson as William Wallace in ‘Braveheart’ and Liam Neeson as ‘Rob Roy’ come to mind.
For Indians, Scotland is even more familiar. After all, many Scotsmen were part of the colonial enterprise known today as the British Empire, of which India was a part.
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What most of us do not know though, are the circumstances that led to Scotland becoming part of the UK. Even more importantly, as Scots prepare to vote on whether they want to remain part of the federation that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in September, it is important to note that if Scotia does win its freedom, it could have far-reaching effects on many countries around the world, including in our own.
The Kingdom of Scotland, the state that rose in 843 AD in the area that is Scotland now, was formed after years of invasions, conflict, migration and settlement. While Scotland has always been recognised as one of the ‘Six Celtic Lands’ (The other five being Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and Brittany), it did have its fair share of invaders from other races. These included the Romans, who built Hadrian’s Wall and brought bagpipes to Scotland, Norse Vikings and lastly, Anglo-Saxons, who came from England in the south.
The Anglo-Saxon influence on Scotland caused the country to be forever divided into two distinct geographical, linguistic and ethnic zones: The Scottish Highlands, populated by Gaelic clans who spoke Scottish Gaelic and were Celtic by race as opposed to the Lowlands, which were more Germanic by race and spoke Scots, a Germanic language that is very close to English.
Since a part of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy or ‘Seven Kingdoms’ extended into south eastern Scotland as the Kingdom of Northumbria, Scotland’s fate would forever be linked to that of its powerful neighbour in the south, England.
Between 843 and 1603, the Scots fought internecine wars with their English neighbours, resulting in the shrinking and expansion of Scottish territory. The most prominent English invasions of Scotland were under Edward I (‘Longshanks’) and Edward III. It was during these invasions that heroic figures like the commoner William Wallace and Robert I ‘The Bruce’ led Scots in their battles against the English.
The internecine warfare between the two sides went on till 1603, when King James VI of Scotland (from the House of Stuart) inherited the throne of England and was crowned as James I of England. This landmark event is known to us as ‘The Union of the Crowns’.
A little-known fact of this time (‘The Age of Discovery’) is that Scotland’s nobles attempted to establish a colonial enterprise of their own. This was known as ‘The Darien Scheme’, an attempt to found a Scottish colony on the Gulf of Darien in modern-day Panama. The scheme faced miserably and along with the threat of a renewed English invasion, played a part in what happened next: The Union of Parliaments.
In 1707, the English and Scottish Parliaments voted on an ‘Act of Union’, which joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland (previously separate states, with separate legislatures but with the same monarch) into a single, united kingdom named 'Great Britain'. Though there were riots in Scotland at the time against the Act, the Scottish nobles, given their difficult circumstances, had to accept it.
During the 300 years that passed between 1707 and 2007, Scotland has seen a lot. While it has enjoyed the fruits of power as part of Great Britain, namely leading the British Empire ‘over which the sun never set’ as well as other events like the Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, there have been grievances galore too: The Jacobite Uprisings, the Highland Clearances and in the twentieth century, the Poll Tax Riots.
In the twentieth century, Scotland’s main industries have been tourism (especially its highlands), ship building (a carryover from the past), fishing (though fish stocks in the North Atlantic are continuously depleting) and most importantly, oil from the North Sea. The last is Scotland’s most valuable resource. North Sea oil has caused Aberdeen, Scotland’s third-largest city on the sea to be dubbed as ‘Europe’s oil capital’.
But can Scotland survive as a small, independent state of 5 million people in north-western Europe with just petroleum, fish, tourism and ship building? An independent Scotland also stands to lose the power and pelf of being a permanent member of the UN Security Council besides being a member of Nato, the European Union, the G8 and the G20.
Opinion on Scottish independence is sharply divided, with both, nationalists and unionists having their own
fixed views on the matter. And in the run-up to the referendum in September, it would be exciting to watch which side eventually wins.
More importantly, what impact would Scottish independence have on other independence and self-determination movements around the world? Already, the Scottish referendum is being looked at with much interest in Spain, where the Basque Country and Catalonia have a record of long and often bloody separatist movements demanding independence from Madrid.
The referendum is also evincing much interest across the Atlantic, in Canada’s French-speaking Quebec, which has already held a number of referenda about seceding from Ottawa’s rule.
A vote for Scottish independence could even galvanise separatist movements in our own country. Proponents of the ‘Independence of Kashmir’, supported by their patrons across the border, could mount a media or militant blitz for the ‘right to self-determination of Kashmiris’. It could also breathe in new life to the almost-dead Khalistan Movement as well as those in the northeast.
Which way Scots vote in September, remains to be seen. But one thing is certain. An independent Scotland has the potential of opening a ‘Pandora’s Box of Secession’ in many federations across the world. We can only watch with bated breath.