Sentence:  In that context Scotland's fate is a modest element, a symptom of wider fragmentation of the current global order, a <WSD>footnote</WSD> to the fall of empire and the Berlin Wall, important to us and punchdrunk neighbours like France and Italy, a mere curiosity to emerging titans like Brazil. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  An event of lesser importance than some larger event to which it is related.