Historic Sites in Scotland

The Antonine Wall is a stone and turf fortification, built by the Romans across what is now the central belt of Scotland. Construction of the Antonine Wall began in 142 CE during the reign of Antoninus Pius, and was completed in 144. The wall stretches 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Old Kirkpatrick in West Dunbartonshire on the Firth of Clyde to Bo'ness, Falkirk, on the Firth of Forth. The wall was intended to replace Hadrian's Wall 160 km (100 miles) to the south, as the frontier of Britannia, but while the Romans did es ...

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For more detail on this period see Prehistoric Scotland. People lived in Scotland for at least 8500 years before recorded history dealt with Britain. At times during the last interglacial period (130,000 – 70,000 BC) Europe had a climate warmer than today's, and early humans may have made their way to Scotland, though archaeologists have found no traces of this. Glaciers then scoured their way across most of Britain, and only after the ice ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement

See Also Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Scottish Civil War History of Scotland - Bishops Wars. Shortly after his reign began, an attempt by Charles I to impose English-style prayer books on the Scottish church resulted in anger and widespread rioting. (The story goes that it was initiated by a certain Jenny Geddes who threw a stool in St Giles Cathedral.) Representatives of various sections of Scottish society drew up the National Covenant, asserting Presbyterian practice. Charles gathered a military force, b ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth

James's attempt to introduce religious toleration to England's Roman Catholics alienated his Protestant subjects. Neither this, nor his moves towards absolutism, provoked outright rebellion, as it was believed that he would be succeeded by his daughter Mary, a Protestant and future wife of William of Orange. When, in 1688, James produced a male heir, everything changed. At the invitation of seven Englishmen, William landed in England with 40,000 men, and James fled. Whilst this was primarily an English event, the "Glorious Revolution" had a ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution

After 1745, British authorities acted to suppress the clan loyalties in the Highlands. The wearing of tartan and the playing of bagpipes were both forbidden for a time. The warrior culture of the Highlands was re-diverted as Highlanders were recruited as soldiers to serve in the wider British Empire. Clan Chiefs were encouraged to consider themselves as owners of the land in their control, in the English manner - it was previously considered common to the clan. As these new landowners converted land to more profitable sheep pasture, m ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment

Tied as it was to the health of the British Empire, Scotland suffered after the First World War as it had gained beforehand. In the Highlands, which had provided a disproportionate number of recruits for the army, a whole generation of young men were lost, and many villages and communities suffered greatly. In the Lowlands, particularly Glasgow, poor working and living conditions led to industrial and political unrest. John MacLean became a key political figure in what became known as Red Clydeside, and in January 1919, the British Governmen ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland

During the 16th century, Scotland underwent a Protestant Reformation. In the earlier part of the century, the teachings of first Martin Luther and then John Calvin began to influence Scotland. The execution of a number of Protestant preachers, most notably the Lutheran influenced Patrick Hamilton in 1527 and later the Calvinist George Wishart in 1546 who were burnt at the stake in St. Andrews by Cardinal Beaton for heresy, did nothing to stem the growth of these ideas. Beaton w ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

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By 1700, the Protestant monarchy seemed in danger of coming to an end with the childless Stuart Queen Anne. Rather than return to her Roman Catholic brother James Francis Edward Stuart, the English Parliament enacted that Sophia of Hanover and her descendants should succeed (Act of Settlement 1701). However, the Scottish counterpart, the Act of Security, merely prohibited a Roman Catholic successor, leaving open the possibility that the crowns would diverge. Rather than risk the possible return of James Francis Edward Stuart, then liv ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites

Within two years, the Rough Wooing, Henry VIII's military attempt to force a marriage between Mary and his son, Edward, had begun. This took the form of border skirmishing and it was at this time that the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed was finally taken by the English. To avoid the "wooing", Mary was sent to France at the age of five, as the intended bride of the heir to the French throne. Her mother stayed in Scotland to look after the interests of Mary — and of France ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots

In the wake of the Roman withdrawal Scotland's population comprised two main groups: the Picts, a people of uncertain origin (but possibly a Brythonic Celtic group) who occupied most of Scotland north of the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth: the area known as "Pictavia" the Britons formed a Roman-influenced Brythonic Celtic culture in the south, with the kingdom of Y Strad Glud (Strathclyde) from the Firth of Clyde southwards, Rheged in Cumbria, Selgovae in the central Borders area and the Votadini o ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland

The written history of Scotland largely begins with the coming of the Roman empire to Britain. Although the pre-Roman inhabitants occasionally used writing for commemorative purpose, these societies favoured a strong oral history. With the loss of the druidic tradition (due to war, famine, and particularly the proscriptions of later Christian missionaries), the people forgot much of this lore. The only surviving pre-Roman account of Scotland originated with the Greek Pytheas of Massalia who circumnavigated the British islands (which he called Pretaniké) in 325 ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Roman invasion

The myth of MacAlpin's Treason tells how Alba was born when the Dalriadan Kenneth mac Alpin conquered the Picts. Modern studies are less sure of Kenneth's Dalriadan roots and consider Kenneth and his successors to be Pictish Kings. Kenneth's son Constantine had the Series Longoir written to show his family's claim to the throne of a united Pictland. The triumph of Gaelic over Pictish and the change from Pictland to Alba is placed in the half-century r ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba

Malcolm's victory foreshadowed what became a major thread of Scottish history for the next thousand years. He had relied on Northumbrian assistance to return to the throne, and from then on Scotland at no time remained very far from the thoughts of England's rulers. The reciprocal condition equally applied. In 1066 the Norman Conquest shook England to its foundations and one of the claimants of the English throne opposing William the Conqueror, Edgar, eventually fled to Scotland. Malcolm married Edgar's sister Margaret, and thus came ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence

Margaret's death (1290) now left the Scottish throne with no clear successor, and Edward became the arbitrator between the various claimants to the crown. He immediately stated that any claimant to the throne would have to acknowledge him as overlord. With a large number of claimants, it was not difficult to find a plausible one who would accept this condition: Edward selected him, and John Balliol became king (17 November 1292). Balliol soon tried to back out of the arrangement, largely because Edward put considerable ingenuity into ...

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History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - War with England

After David's death, Robert II, the first of the Stewart (later Stuart) kings, came to the throne in 1371. There followed in 1390 his ailing son John, who, due to the hatred inspired by the previous King John (Balliol), took the regnal name Robert III. During Robert III's reign (1390 – 1406), actual power rested largely in the hands of his brother, also named Robert, the Duke of Albany. In 1396 during this king's reign, the last trial by combat in Europe, the See also:

History of Scotland, History of Scotland - Prehistoric settlement, History of Scotland - Roman invasion, History of Scotland - Post-Roman Scotland, History of Scotland - Rise of the Kingdom of Alba, History of Scotland - Anglo-Norman influence, History of Scotland - War with England, History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events, History of Scotland - Mary Queen of Scots, History of Scotland - Protestant Reformation, History of Scotland - Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Puritan Commonwealth, History of Scotland - Bishops Wars, History of Scotland - Civil War in England and Scotland, History of Scotland - Cromwellian Occupation and Restoration, History of Scotland - The Glorious Revolution, History of Scotland - Scottish overseas colonies, History of Scotland - Union the Hanoverians and the Jacobites, History of Scotland - Industrial Revolution Clearance and Enlightenment, History of Scotland - 20th Century Scotland, History of Scotland - 21st Century Scotland

Read more here: » History of Scotland: Encyclopedia II - History of Scotland - Late Mediaeval events