Scotland (German Heritage)

Scottish Republic Albannach Poblachd (Scottish Gaelic) Timeline: German Heritage
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  “In My Defens God Me Defend” (Scots) "In my defence God me defend"
Anthem:  “Scotland the Brave”
Capital		Edinburgh
Largest city		Glasgow
Official languages		English Scottish Gaelic
Regional languages		Scots
Demonym		Scottish; Scot
Government		Unitary Parliamentary Republic
-	President	Jack McConnell (SDP)
-	First Minister	Nicola Sturgeon (SNP)
-	Deputy First Minister	John Swinney (SNP)
Legislature		Parliament (Holyrood)
Establishment
-	Established	9th century
-	Union with England	1 May 1707
-	Devolution	12 August 1923
-	Independence Referendum	18 September 2014
-	Independence	24 March 2016
Area
-	Total	77,933 km2  30,090 sq mi
Population
-	2016 estimate	▲ 5,424,800
Currency		Scottish Pound (ALP)
Date formats		dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on the		left
Internet TLD		.gb

The Scottish Republic (Scottish Gaelic: Albannach Poblachd), commonly known as Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Alba), is a Sovereign Nation located in Western Europe. It covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain, with a border with the British Commonwealth to the southeast, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast, the Irish Sea to the south, and more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the European Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, King 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 England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, Great Britain entered into a political union with Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. During 1917, Scotland was at the centre of the British Revolution during the Red Clydeside Era, and was known for its successful communist and republican movement. In 1923, Scotland gained a limited amount of devolution 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, Holyrood gained more and more power, culminating in ”max devolution” in 1990.

In 2014, an Independence Referendum 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 Pan-European Community on 27 November 2016.

Today, Scotland is a parliamentary democracy and a parliamentary republic, with a President, who serves as head of state and a First Minister who serves as the chair of the Scottish Cabinet and head of government. 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 a member of the League of United Nations, the British–Irish Council, the Pan-European Community and Council of Europe.

History

A boom was created by the First World War, with the shipbuilding industry expanding by a third, but a serious depression hit the economy by 1920. The most skilled craftsmen were especially hard hit, because there were few alternative uses for their specialised skills. The main social indicators such as poor health, bad housing, and long-term mass unemployment, pointed to terminal social and economic stagnation at best, or even a downward spiral. The heavy dependence on obsolescent heavy industry and mining was a central problem, and no one offered workable solutions. A few industries did grow, such as chemicals and whisky, which developed a global market for premium "Scotch". However, in general the Scottish economy stagnated leading to growing unemployment and political agitation among industrial workers.

After World War I, the Liberal Party began to disintegrate and Labour emerged as the party of progressive politics in Scotland, gaining a solid following among working classes of the urban lowlands. As a result, the National Party were able to gain most of the votes of the middle classes, who now feared Bolshevik revolution, setting the social and geographical electoral pattern in Scotland that would last until the late 20th century. The fear of the left had been fuelled by the emergence of a radical movement led by militant trades unionists. John MacLean emerged as a key political figure in what became known as Red Clydeside. Formerly a Liberal stronghold, the industrial districts switched to Labour by 1918, with a base in the Irish Catholic working class districts. Women were especially active in building neighbourhood solidarity on housing and rent issues.

Pictured: Anti-Fascists block the road for Scottish Fascists a few minutes before a brawl (top)
Members of the fascist SDFP march through Glasgow during the 1930s (bottom)

In 1932, a group of radicals from the New Party joined with the Scottish faction of fascists to form the Scottish Democratic Fascist Party, led by William Weir Gilmour. The SDFP was fervently anti-catholic and anti-Irish (though it later dropped its anti-Catholicism) and gained its support from the Scots living in the mostly catholic working class areas, which usually supported the Labour or Communist parties. During the mid-1930s, Glascow and Edinburgh erupted into conflict between the fascists and the Communists, a culmination of years of ethnic and political tension between the two communities. The National Government of Henry Page Croft, usually quick to put down civil unrest, wavered when it came to Scotland. Both the Communists and Fascists were supporters of Scottish independence and held significant power bases (combined, the parties held 30% of the vote in Scotland), so the unionist Croft feared Scottish nationalist reprisals if the police or army were sent in. The Progressive Government of Oswald Mosley theorised that the rise in Scottish extremism was due to a lack of development and economic circumstances, and as a result spent money funding public and local works in Scotland in an attempt to reduce unemployment and kickstart the Scottish economy.

In 1939, Prime Minister Mosley appointed Progressive politician Tom Johnston as Secretary of State for Scotland; he controlled Scottish affairs until 1951. He launched numerous initiatives to promote Scotland, attracting businesses and new jobs through his new Scottish Council of Industry. He set up 32 committees to deal with social and economic problems, ranging from juvenile delinquency to sheep farming. He regulated rents, and set up a prototype national health service. His most successful venture was setting up a system of hydro electricity using water power in the Highlands. A long-standing supporter of the Home Rule movement, Johnston persuaded Mosley of the need to counter the nationalist threat north of the border and created a Scottish Council of State and a Council of Industry as institutions to devolve some power away from Whitehall.

Politics

Scotland can best be described as having a multi-party system. Elections are held once every four years, with 73 Members being elected to represent constituencies, and the remaining 56 elected via a system of proportional representation. The most recent election was in 2016, and the next is expected in May 2020.

SNP:74 SDP:42 Lib:5 Greens:5 Conservative:3

Political Parties

Scottish National Party

2 / 6

Democratic Party of Scotland

Scotland (German Heritage) Pàrtaidh Deamocratach na h-Alba
Leader	Ruth Davidson
Chairman	Rab Forman
Deputy Leader	Alistair Carmichael
Preceded by	Scottish Progressives Scottish Free Democrats
Founded	22 August 2017
Headquarters	67 Northumberland Street Edinburgh EH3 6JG
Youth wing	Scottish Young Democrats
Membership	▲ 14,000 (2019)
Ideology	Christian Democracy Economic Liberalism Pro-Europeanism
Political position	Centre-Right
European Parliament group	European People's Party
Colors	Light Blue
National Assembly	42 / 129
Pan-European Parliament (Scottish Seats)	2 / 6

Scottish Greens

1 / 6

Conservative Party

1 / 6