History o Scotland

The **History o Scotland** is kent tae hae oreiginatit bi the hinder end o the last glacial period (in the paleolithic), about 10,000 year syne. 

Prehistoric Scotland gaed intae the Neolithic Era roond aboot 4000 bc, the Bronze Age roond aboot 2000 bc, an the Iron Age roond abbot 700 bc. Scotland's clarkit history oreiginatit wi the incomin o the Roman Empire the 1st century, whan the province o Britannia reakit hyne til the nor'lins as the line atweesh the firths o Clyde til the Forth. North o this wis Caledonia, whase fowk war kent in Latin as "Picti", "the paintit yins". Constant fechtin pusht Rome's legions aback: Hadrian's Wall ettelt tae seal aff the Roman sooth an the Antonine Dyke ettelt tae muive the Roman mairch tip the nor'lins. The first yin wis owergaed in the Great Muckle Conspeeracy o the 360s an the second wis swith forhouied. Whilst Rome hinderly retreatit frae Breetain, Gaelic fowk cried the Scoti began tae settle in Wastmaist Scotland an Wales.

By the wey o 9t- an 10t-century soorces, the Gaelic kinrick o Dál Riata wis foondit on the west coast o Scotland in the 6t century. In the neist century, the Gaelic meesionar Columba foondit a monastree at Iona an introduced Celtic Christianity til the fowk thareby. Ahint Ingland's Gregorian mission, the Pictish king Nechtan chose tae abolish maist Celtic practices in favor o the Roman rite, restrictin Gaelic influence on his kingrick an evitin war wi Saxon Northumbria. Taewart the end o the 8t century, the Viking invasions began. Successive defeats bae the Norse forced the Picts an Gaels tae cease their historic hostility atweesh ilk anither an tae unite in the 9th century, forming the Kingrick o Scotland.

The Kinrick o Scotland wis unitit under the descendants o Kenneth MacAlpin, first king o a unitit Scotland. His descendants, kent til modern historians as the Haudin o Alpin, focht amang ilk anither in frequent disputed successions. The last Alpin king, Malcolm II, died wiout issue in the early 11t century an the kingrick passed through his daughter's son, Duncan I, whae stertit a new line o kings kent til modern historians as the Haudin of Dunkeld or Canmore. The last Dunkeld king, Alexander III, died in 1286 leavin anerly a single infant granddaughter as heir; four years later, Margaret, Maid o Norway hersel died in a tragic shipwreck en route tae Scotland. Ingland, under Edward I, would tak advantage o the questioned succession in Scotland tae launch a series of conquests intae Scotland. The resultin Wars o Scots Unthirldom were fought in the late 13t an early 14t centuries as Scotland passed back an forth atween the House of Balliol an the House of Bruce. Scotland's ultimate victory in the Wars o Independence unner David II confirmed Scotland as a fou independent an sovereign kingrick. Whan David II died wiout issue, his nephew Robert II established the Haudin o Stewart (the spelling would be chynged to Stuart in the 16th century), whilk would rule Scotland uncontested for the neist three centuries. James VI, Stuart king o Scotland, inherit the throne o Ingland in 1603 an aw, an the Stuart kings an queens ruled baith independent kingdoms til the Act o Union in 1707 merged the two kingricks intae a new state, the Kinrick o Great Breetain. Queen Anne wis the last Stuart monarch, rulin til 1714. Syne 1714, the succession o the British monarchs o the haudins o Hanover an Saxe-Coburg an Gotha (Windsor) wis due til their descent frae James VI an I o the Haudin o Stuart.

In the Scots Enlichtment an Industrial Revolution, Scotland becam yin o the commercial, intellectual an industrial pouerhooses o Europe. Its industrial dwyne ahint the Second World War wis parteecularly fell, still an on in recent decades the kintra hae enjoyed something of a cultural an economic renaissance, fuelled in pairt bae a resurgent financial services sector, the proceeds o North Sea ile an gas.