WHAT IS SCOTLAND?

SCOTLAND, with over five million people, is one of the oldest countries in the world, having been united as a single nation by King Kenneth MacAlpin in the year 843. It remained an independent state for more than 800 years until the formation of Great Britain in 1707.

When England found itself at war with France in the early 18th century, fears that Scotland would side with the enemy prompted London to block trade and deprive Scots of property they owned south of the border unless they agreed to create a single country. After much debate — and widespread Scottish hostility — both the Scottish and English parliaments were dissolved on May 1, 1707 and replaced with a new British one.

HOW IS SCOTLAND DIFFERENT FROM REST OF UK: Scotland has its own legal system, and the national Church of Scotland was guaranteed under the Act of Union. However, all monetary and finance matters are controlled by the government in London and the Bank of England, which was founded by Scotsman William Paterson in 1694

DOESN’T SCOTLAND ALREADY HAVE ITS OWN PARLIAMENT: A desire for more autonomy in Scotland led to Westminster holding a referendum in 1997 for the establishment of a devolved Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. The idea was backed by 74.3 per cent of the voters and in 1999 the parliament was opened for business by veteran politician Winnie Ewing, who chaired the first meeting, with the words: “The Scottish Parliament adjourned on the 25th day of March in the year 1707 is hereby reconvened.”

Members of the Scottish Parliament can legislate on education, health spending, housing, tourism, transport and a few other areas; they have no control over immigration, defense, foreign policy, employment, trade, energy or the main levers of finance.

Most of the money used by the Scottish Parliament to finance public services comes from a grant allocated by the United Kingdom government.___

WHAT ARE SCOTLAND’S ECONOMIC STRENGTHS: The United Kingdom. produces more than 75 per cent of the European Union’s offshore oil production, of which 90 per cent is extracted from Scottish waters, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. Based on 2012 figures, the Scottish government says this Scottish oil contributes around 24.4 billion pound ($39.5 billion) to the UK economy. In addition to oil, the Scottish government calculates the country could produce 25 per cent of the EU’s offshore wind and tidal energy and 10 per cent of the EU’s wave energy.

Scottish exports are worth around 100 billion year to the British Treasury, including more than 11 billion from financial services, along with almost 9 billion from food and drink, including whisky.

WHAT HAVE THE SCOTS GIVEN THE WORLD: Scotland’s influence has been out of proportion to its size. The Declaration of Arbroath, asserting Scottish independence in 1320, influenced the American Declaration of Independence. A rare copy of the Scottish manuscript was given to the US National Archives by the Scottish government in 2011 in appreciation of the US Senate passing a resolution designating every April 6 as Tartan Day in the United States.

Published in Dawn, September 18th , 2014