Scotland (The Pearl World)

Scotland is the name of a nation located in Northern Europe. Consisting of the northern third of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjacent islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. To the south-east Scotland has its only land border, which is 96 miles (154 kilometres) long and shared with England; the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the north-east and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. . The capital is Edinburgh, and the largest city is Glasgow. The Kingdom of Scotland emerged in the 9th century. In 1603, James VI inherited England and Ireland, forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. On 1 May 1707 Scotland and England combined to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain, with the Parliament of Scotland subsumed into the Parliament of Great Britain. In 1999 a Scottish Parliament was re-established, and has devolved authority over many areas of domestic policy. The country has a distinct legal system, educational system, and religious history , which have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity. Scotland seceded from Great Britain in 2033, and the resulting secession, led to the formation of the United Kingdom of England and Wales. The mainland of Scotland is broadly divided into three regions: the Highlands, a mountainous region in the north and north-west; the Lowlands, a flatter plain across the centre of the country; and the Southern Uplands, a hilly region along the southern border. The Highlands are the most mountainous region of the UK and contain its highest peak, Ben Nevis (1,345 metres (4,413 ft)) The region also contains many lakes, called lochs; the term is also applied to the many saltwater inlets along the country's deeply indented western coastline. The geography of the many islands is varied. Some, such as Mull and Skye, are noted for their mountainous terrain, while the likes of Tiree and Coll are much flatter.
Category:Scenario: The Pearl World
==Government==
Modeled After Great Britain, Scotland is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy operating under the Westminster system, otherwise known as a "democratic parliamentary monarchy". It is a centralised, unitary state wherein the Parliament of Scotland is sovereign. The Scottish Parliament is a unicameral legislature with 129 members (MSPs): 73 of them represent individual constituencies and are elected on a first-past-the-post system, and the other 56 are elected in eight different electoral regions by the additional member system. MSPs normally serve for a five-year period. The Scottish Government is led by the Prime Minister, who is nominated by MSPs and is typically the leader of the largest party in the Parliament. Other ministers are appointed by the first minister and serve at their discretion. 
===Subdivisions===
For local government purposes Scotland is subdivided into 32 Provinces. The areas were established, during Scotland's time in the United Kingdom as Councils, in 1996, The Provinces are in charge of all local government services. Decisions are made by councillors, who are elected at local elections every five years. The leader of the council is typically a councillor from the party with the most seats; councils also have a civic head, typically called the provost or lord provost, who represents the council on ceremonial occasions and chairs council meetings. Community Councils are informal organisations that represent smaller subdivisions within each council area.
Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service cover the entire country. For healthcare and postal districts, and a number of other governmental and non-governmental organisations such as the churches, there are other long-standing methods of subdividing Scotland for the purposes of administration.
There are eight cities in Scotland: Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling and Perth.
== Military==
Scottish Military ranks amongst the smallest in the world, but maintains defense agreements with the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Scotland is also apart of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Defense Community.
Scotland had a long military tradition predating the Treaty of Union with England; the Scots Army and Royal Scots Navy were (with the exception of the Atholl Highlanders, Europe's only legal private army) merged with their English counterparts to form the Royal Navy and the British Army, which together form part of the British Armed Forces. Numerous Scottish regiments have at various times existed in the British Army. Distinctively Scottish regiments in the British Army include the Scots Guards, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and the 154 (Scottish) Regiment RLC, an Army Reserve regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps. In 2006, as a result of the Delivering Security in a Changing World white paper, the Scottish infantry regiments in the Scottish Division were amalgamated to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland. As a result of the Cameron–Clegg coalition's Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, the Scottish regiments of the line in the British Army infantry, having previously formed the Scottish Division, were reorganised into the Scottish, Welsh and Irish Division in 2017. Before the formation of the Scottish Division, the Scottish infantry was organised into a Lowland Brigade and Highland Brigade.
Because of their topography and perceived remoteness, parts of Scotland have housed many sensitive defence establishments. Between 1960 and 1991, the Holy Loch was a base for the US fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines. Today, Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, 25 miles (40 kilometres) north-west of Glasgow, is the base for the four Trident-armed Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines that comprise the Britain's nuclear deterrent.
Scotland's Scapa Flow was the main base for the Royal Navy in the 20th century. As the Cold War intensified in 1961, the United States deployed Polaris ballistic missiles, and submarines, in the Firth of Clyde's Holy Loch. Public protests from CND campaigners proved futile. The Royal Navy successfully convinced the government to allow the base because it wanted its own Polaris submarines, and it obtained them in 1963. The RN's nuclear submarine base opened with four Resolution-class Polaris submarines at the expanded Faslane Naval Base on the Gare Loch. The first patrol of a Trident-armed submarine occurred in 1994, although the US base was closed at the end of the Cold War.
Scotland receives most of its Military aid from the United States. Initially receiving 1/3rd of Britains Military arsenal as part of the Independence Agreement, Scotland acquired various tanks, missiles, and fighter jets from the United Kingdom, but has since transitioned to American made tanks and F-35 Fighter Jets.'
Scotland's Armed Forces, consist of three professional service branches: the Scottish Navy and Marines (forming the Naval Service), the Scottish Army and the Scottish Air Force. The armed forces rae managed by the Ministry of Defence and controlled by the Defence Council, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The Commander-in-Chief is the Prime Minister. Due to the small scale of Scotland's Military, it is mostly protected by the United Kingdom as part of the Scottish-English Defense Agreement. 
Scotland has one Air Base, SAF Lossiemouth, located in Moray, It is home to three fast-jet squadrons.