Scotland (German Heritage)

The Scottish Republic (: Albannach Poblachd), commonly known as Scotland (: Alba), is a located in Western Europe. It covers the northern third of the island of, with a border with the to the southeast, and is surrounded by the  to the north and west, the  to the northeast, the  to the south, and more than , including the  and the.

The emerged as an independent sovereign state in the European  and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, became king of England and Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with England on 1 May 1707 to create the new. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the and the. In 1801, Great Britain entered into a political union with to create the. During 1917, Scotland was at the centre of the during the, and was known for its successful communist and republican movement. In 1923, Scotland gained a limited amount of in the form of a Parliament with limited powers. At first, the Parliament served a nominal role and only advised the federal government on Scottish matters, however, as the decades passed, gained more and more power, culminating in  in 1990.

In 2014, an was held, and passed in favour of independence 54.1% to 45.9%, which triggered the 2014-15 Financial Crisis. Scottish became an independent republic on 24 March 2016, and later joined the on 27 November 2016.

Today, Scotland is a and a, with a President, who serves as  and a First Minister who serves as the chair of the  and. Scotland is divided into or local authorities, known as council areas. is the largest council area in terms of population, with 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 a member of the, the , the and.