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Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that theScottish people form a cohesivenation andnational identity.
Modern Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with theNational Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into theScottish National Movement in the 1920s[1] maturing by the 1970s[2] and achieved its present ideological maturity in the 1980s and 1990s.
The nation's origin, political context and unique characteristics including theGaelic language,[3][4]poetry andfilm maintains an individual's distinct identification and support ofScotland.
Scottish nationalism, the concept of Scotland as an individualnation state became prominent withinScotland in the Middle Ages.[5] During theAnglo-Scottish Wars, the campaign led by Scotland[6] was to obtainScottish independence as a separatesovereign state. The campaign was successful, and following theDeclaration of Arbroath, a formal letter sent toPope John XXII, Scotland, and the nation's individual identity were officially recognised as sovereign in 1328.[7][8][9]
Scotland proceeded to operate as an independent nation state until theActs of Union[10] which merged both the Parliaments and Kingdoms ofScotland andEngland in 1707 to be"united into one Kingdom of Great Britain", a united state[11] retaining separatelegal system, however a distinct Scottish institution continues to exist.[12]
Scottish national identity, those identifying as Scottish only nationals has been effectively measured over recent years, evaluated officially where Scottish citizens were asked within theUK Census to identify as Scottish only, British and Scottish or just British.
In the last two census completions, the majority of Scottish citizens had identified with predominantly a Scottish only identity on the nationality questionnaire.
In the2011 Census in Scotland:[13]
82% of respondents who took part had selected they had some Scottish National Identity.[14]
In the2021 Census in Scotland:[15]
89.8% of respondents who took part had selected they had some Scottish National Identity.[16]
The UK Office for National Statistics 2021 statement on National identity clarifies that National identity is a self-determined assessment of their own identity; it could be the country or countries where they feel they belong or think of as home. It is not dependent on ethnic group or citizenship. Respondents could select more than one national identity.[17]
From measurable statistics, the 2021 UK census held had concluded that the majority of Scottish nationals, those in Scotland identifyScotland as their only Nation or country, supporting the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity.
Scottish Gaelic, also known as the founding or Native language of Scotland[18][19][20][21] is currently the oldest Scottish language still in use today.
TheHistory of Scottish Gaelic itself has been through a tremendous legacy of turmoil, from Scots nobles learning only English as a first language as far back as the 13th century, the implementation of theStatutes of Iona[22] in 1609 forcing Scots nobles to learn English, or the 1616 Education Act implemented by theScottish Privy Council which declared that no heir of a Gaelic chief could inherit unless he could write, read and speak English[23]
Around ten such Acts were raised between 1494 and 1698, passed by the Scots Parliament to make English the first language,[24] Gaelic had struggled to retain a foothold over Scotland. As Scotland and Great Britain were united under theActs of Union 1707, Gaelic lost its legitimacy as a legal and administrative language. Gaelic did however continued to gain importance as the language of the Highland clans, and the language of the Jacobites.[citation needed]
Prior to theEducation (Scotland) Act 1872, theAct of Proscription 1746 was implemented to assimilate Highland Scots into Lowland & British culture. Following the Government victory over the Jacobites,Jacobitism as a significant political force diminished, Highland dress was outlawed, banned, and Highland culture & Language deterred, those speaking Gaelic, or wearing highland dress historically received various forms of punishment. On 1 July 1782, royal assent was given to Repeal of the Act Proscribing the Wearing of Highland Dress 22 George III, Chap. 63, 1782 and a proclamation issued in Gaelic and English. Under the Education (Scotland) Act, school attendance was compulsory and only English was taught, or tolerated in the schools of both theLowlands and theHighlands and Islands. As a result, any student who spokeScottish Gaelic in the school or on its grounds could expect what Ronald Black calls the, "familiar Scottish experience of being thrashed" for speaking their native language of Gaelic.[25]
Sincedevolution and the passing of theGaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, Scottish nationalists have spearheaded an effort to bring Scottish Gaelic back from the brink of extinction through the spread ofimmersion schools funded by theScottish Parliament.[26]
The lowlandScots Language, previously known asInglis/Early Scots is a member of theWest Germanic languages[27][28] which also has a reported history of being deterred within Scottish Education. Scots speakers today agree that they have received various forms of punishment for speaking Scots. For this reason, the protection and revival of bothScottish Gaelic[4][29] and Lowland Scots play a key role in nationalist ideology.[30][31]
Linguistic independence is primarily associated with the poetry ofRobert Burns about the events of theWars of Scottish Independence, before it experienced a resurgence during theScottish Renaissance, as led byHugh MacDiarmid.[32]
Within politics, Scottish nationalism was held as a key ideology by theNational Party of Scotland which later became theScottish National Party (SNP). Their rise in popularity since being elected to government at Holyrood in 2007 led to talks in place with Westminster in 2012 to legally mandate the2014 Scottish independence referendum. The referendum was held on Thursday 18 September 2014, and was a victory for theBetter Together campaign; who advocated keeping Scotland part of the United Kingdom, with 55% of the Scottish electorate across all 32 council areas voting "No" to independence. However, four of the thirty-two local authority council areas in Scotland did have a majority "Yes" vote in support of independence:Dundee,Glasgow,North Lanarkshire andWest Dunbartonshire, which accounted for the wishes of 1,617,989 people who voted in favour of independence across Scotland as a whole.[citation needed]
Despite the nationalist side losing the referendum, the SNP experienced a surge in support in the following months, and won a landslide majority in Scotland at the UK general election the following year; ending 51 years of dominance byScottish Labour. Many long-serving Labour politicians lost their seats in the biggest political upset in decades, with the SNP winning all but three Scottish House of Commons seats and displacing theLiberal Democrats to become the third party of the United Kingdom; despite only standing for election in Scotland. On Thursday, 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on continuing membership of the European Union, which resulted in 52% of the British electorate voting for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union. Asecond Scottish independence referendum has been proposed, as 62% of the Scottish electorate voted for the UK to remain in the European Union, and guaranteed prosperity throughsingle market access was part of the Better Together campaign's argument to convince the Scottish people to vote to stay part of the UK.[33]
In 2021, former SNP Leader andFirst Minister of ScotlandAlex Salmond launched theAlba Party and announced it would run in the2021 Scottish Parliament election, to try to achieve "supermajority" for Scottish independence.[34] However, the party failed to win any seats in Parliament and has never won any election it has contested to the present day.[35]
On 15 June 2022, First MinisterNicola Sturgeon declared that she planned to hold a second Scottish independence referendum in October 2023.[36] Her decision was unanimously struck down asnull and void by theSupreme Court of the United Kingdom on 23 November 2022.[37]
TheScottish National Liberation Army, aparamilitary group also known as the Tartan Terrorists was formed byAdam Busby after the1979 Scottish devolution referendum. The SNLA claimed responsibility for many letter bomb deliveries to public figures such asMargaret Thatcher andDiana, Princess of Wales,[38] along with a string of arson attacks during the 1980s, including a firebomb attack at the Conservative party headquarters located in Glasgow, in addition to larger scale attacks at targets such as the British Ministry of Defence Headquarters and aBritish Airways office in London.[39][40][41] Activity from the group continued sporadically until 2012, when the group announced a ceasefire in order to make space for democratic debates in the lead-up to the 2014 independence referendum.[42]
Siol nan Gaidheal, anultranationalist group was founded by Tom Moore in 1978 which bases membership of the nation on blood descent or heredity, often articulated in terms of common blood or kinship such as the traditionalScottish clan system rather than on political, or civil membership.[43]
Arm nan Gaidheal was a short lived paramilitary wing of SNG, which was responsible for various petrol bomb attacks in the early 1980s after afailed referendum on Scottish devolution.[44] Currently, Siol nan Gaidheal is remains a banned group in Scotland under theScottish National Party.[45]
Frederick Boothby led and created the Army of the Provisional Government, otherwise known as the Tartan Army, who were responsible for a series of bombings in 1975 and a failed attempted bank robbery where Boothby was apprehended.[46][47]
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Media related toScottish nationalism at Wikimedia Commons
