Alba (Live History)

September 18, 2014.

The day a union, 307 years in the making, was shattered by the forces of democracy.

After years of negotiations, Scotland had devolved within the United Kingdom to the point where it was allowed to conduct a referendum for independence. This grounbreaking agreement, the Edinburgh Agreement, led to the eventual referendum on that fateful Thursday.

When the votes - 3.7 million of them - were cast, one word could be heard from the lips of First Minister Alex Salmond: "Alba!"

There are a number of Points of Divergence, including:


 * The wording of the referendum remains "Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?";
 * Andy Murray campaigns for "Yes Scotland" from early on;
 * Alex Salmond is more convincing on the issue of which currency Scotland will use; and
 * Voter turnout tops 92%, with Dundee and Glasgow both experiencing voter turnout in the 90th percentile.

All news reported is taken from the Associated Press (AP) headlines published on the date shown.

September
September 18, 2014: Scotland Experiences Record Turnout in Election -  GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM: As voting opened today, at 7:00 BST, thousands of eager voters enterred polling places across Scotland with enthusiasm for the monumental decision that hung in the balance of the nations' 4.2 eligible voters, aged 16 and up. From preliminary estimates, it is expected that voter turnout will surpass the estimates of 90% voter turnout, a fact which many expect will aid the "Yes" campaign. Both Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and Former Chancellor of the Excheqeur Alistair Darling casted their respective votes to relatively high coverage from local news outlets. Here in Glasgow, voter turnout has been quite high, additionally being a good sign for the "Yes" front, who are trailing by 2-4% in the most recent polls.

September 19, 2014: Scotland Votes "YES" on Independence -   GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM:

September 20, 2014: Cameron and Salmond React to Independence -   EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM:

September 24, 2014: Cameron Delivers Reconciliatory Speech In NYC -   NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: