Julie Franzetta
Global Business
Country Assignment: Scotland
April 22, 2018
Scotland
What do you think of when you hear the word Scotland? You might think of kilts and whiskey, or maybe you remember the story of Macbeth. Although some of these stereotypes prove themselves true, Scotland has so much more to offer. It currently stands as part of a reserved island nation called the United Kingdom, but alone is a fast-growing region with great autonomy and pride. The culture, history, and politics in Scotland are all reasons it stands strong and proud.
Scotland wasn’t always a part of the United Kingdom. At around 10,000 BC, the first man was recorded in what would later be known as Scotland. It was common to see these men hunting and fishing and beginning their new life in the Paleolithic Era. (Scotland.org) During Roman times, Scotland was known as a place called Caledonia, which was made up of separate tribes who all faced the threat of the invading Roman army. In AD 84, these Caledonian tribes joined forces to fight off the Romans, but due to their lack of organization, they lost their battle. Many tribes accepted this fate and the Roman rule, but there were still a large number of tribes who refused and continued to fight back. In AD 122, the Roman army built the Hadrian’s Wall to block out the Caledonian tribes because this fight was costing them time and money. In AD 140, they also built the Antoine Wall when fighting ceased to stop. The Romans eventually abandoned the Antoine Wall, leaving Hadrian’s Wall as the new border. (Britroyals) The Caledonian tribes began uniting and calling themselves the Picts around the same time that Vikings were settling in present-day Scotland. (Scotland.org) Due to the threat of this stronger group of Caledonians and other disputes, the Romans retreated from Britain. (Britroyals) The Picts later created the Kingdom of Alba where Macbeth ruled from 1040 AD to 1057 AD. Later in 1297, after the death of Alexander II and Alexander III, the England Monarch, Edward I, wanted to rule Scotland but failed when Scottish troops attacked England troops at the Bridge of Stirling. This caused England to retreat and the battle was later named the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The battle continued when Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scotland. Edward II and Robert the Bruce fought for several years resulting in the defeat of England. In 1320, The Declaration of Albroath declared Scotland an independent sovereign state.
Fast forward to 1603, Mary Queen of Scots, who was the daughter of King James V, had a son who became king when his mother was executed. In 1707, After Elizabeth I, Queen of England, died, James VI inherited that crown as well. This historical event is known as the Union of the Crowns and is what brought England and Scotland together. (Scotland.org) In 1914, during WWI, Scotland provided important products to Scottish troops and their allies from their shipyards and steel works.
Since then, Scotland had struck oil in the North Sea, became a largely artistic country, and recently, in 2014, voted on a referendum. The people of Scotland voted that Scotland should not be independent from the United Kingdom, and so it remains there today. (Scotland.org)
Once Scotland settled into its new role of being a part of the United Kingdom, it started to form its own government. Of course, the Scottish parliament had to follow UK parliament guidelines and could be dismantled at any time if the UK feels it is going against the structure of its own parliament. Before the UK was formed, Scotland followed the Roman law, which was dictated by the rights and obligations of its citizens. It wasn’t until 1999 that Scotland was granted a great amount of autonomy and created its own parliament. This was done by The Scotland Act of 1998. (Where Does Scots Law Come From)
Located in Edinburgh, Scotland, the government is currently run by a lady named Nicola Sturgeon in a position called First Minister. (Scotland Government and Politics) The First Minister is surrounded by a group of ministers called the Cabinet Secretaries that he or she appoints. They assist with decision-making and meet in the Bute House every Tuesday afternoon to discuss current issues and policies. The cabinet is permitted to appoint Junior Scottish Ministers to help them with their everyday duties. The Bute House is where the First Minister lives and occasionally, The Lord Advocate will attend these meetings if the First Minister requests. The Lord Advocate, along with the Solicitor General, are the Scottish Law Officers and only attend if the meeting is about something of great importance. (Scotland Government and Politics)
The majority party in Scottish Parliament is called the Scottish National party. They are the ones who proposed the referendum in September of 2014. At this time, the First Minister was Alex Salmond, who resigned when Scottish voters voted that they did not want independence from the UK. (Scotland Government and Politics)
Even though Scotland did not agree with Alex Salmond’s passion for independence, it is possible that the referendum in 2014 benefitted Scotland anyway. The population in Scotland has been increasing since the early 2000s but really made a jump around the time the referendum ended. Statistics predict that the population will continue to increase continuously until the year 2034, where it will continue it’s climb, but much more slowly. Despite the heavy increase in population, the unemployment rate is still low and continues to fall. The increasing number of people in Scotland has had no effect on the number of employed Scots. (Jaaskelainen) This low unemployment rate may have something to do with the education system in Scotland. Most students receive As and Bs as their final grades and take the higher level exams if they want to continue their education in college.(Jaaskelainen)
The Scottish government values education and values the ability for every child to receive it. They started providing free part-time preschool for children of age in 2002. Preschool is not mandatory, so the government also provided nursery groups and playgroups for children whose parents work during the day. Parents can enter their child into preschool at the age of 3. Not all childcare businesses offer free services, only those who are partnered with local authorities. When a child turns 4, they can no longer attend preschool. Parents are given the choice to send to their child to start primary school or wait another year, but the child must start school when they are 5 years old. (Free Early Learning and Childcare: The Basics) Scotland school systems run on a system called "Curriculum for Excellence." Education is free for all students between the ages of 3 and 18, including nursery, primary, and secondary education. In the last three years of secondary school, students can test to see if they qualify for further education. After secondary school, students can continue their education at one of Scotland’s many universities. Scotland has the most universities in all of Europe and multiple of these universities are in the "Times Higher Education Top 200 World Universities." (Scotland School System)
Scotland is one of the less diverse countries of the world. Of Scotland’s population, 96% of people identify as white, with Asians as the next largest group of people with only 2.3% of the total population. (Jaaskelainen). A surprising 62% of people living in Scotland identified with Scottish only as their national identity, most being children. Many Scottish people also have British in them and identify as both. (Scotland Census). 50% of people follow a Christian denomination and another 50% of the population do not have a religion that they follow. (Jaaskelainen) A large portion of Scottish people, 32.4%, follow the Church of Scotland. Roman Catholic is the second largest group with 15.9% of the population.
Scotland may contain a lot of similar people, but the days in Scotland are far from dull. Most Scottish people celebrate a large holiday called St. Andrew’s Day on November 30th. This is a celebration of a fisherman who is known to have introduced the first foreigners to Jesus. He also got these people to share their food with others and not be selfish. Scottish people gather with friends and family to feast on their own meals and spend time with each other in St. Andrew’s name. Scotland also celebrates Hogmanay and the Burns Supper! (Scotland.org)
Scotland values creativity and the arts have become a huge part of its culture today. For example, Scottish people value their fashion and share their clothing with over 150 other countries around the world through their exports. There are many large designers in Scotland that people from other countries are dying to wear, such as Christopher Kane and Holly Fulton. Scottish people also enjoy art and sculptures in places like the Glue Factory and the Edinburgh Palette. There are many dance and opera groups in Scotland that perform in the famous Edinburgh Playhouse, which is the largest theatre in Scotland. Traveling and a fast-paced lifestyle isn’t for all Scots, though. There are many good authors who have written out of Scotland such as the author of Peter Pan, JM Barrie, and the author of the Sherlock Holmes series, Sir Author Doyle. (Scotland.org)
As pretty as the picture is painted, Scotland does have it’s flaws. There are many life-changing events happening in Scotland. A main one being what people are calling, “Brexit.” Brexit is a combination of the words Britain and exit, describing the UK’s consideration of leaving the European Union, taking Scotland, Ireland, and Wales with it.
The debate on whether or not Britain should leave the EU or not looks at the masking of Britain’s independence in Europe and whether or not the economy can handle it. Some believe that Britain will benefit from this split and restore its identity, but others fear that issues involving the economy and migration may arise. Britain’s main reason for leaving is their loss of autonomy and self. British citizens feel as if their culture and traditions are being threatened. This is partly due to the massive amount of foreigners moving into Britain for work. This labor migration is not only threatening to the British way of life, but could damage the nation economically as well. Unfortunately, leaving could be even more damaging. With Europe being such an important partner in trade and a huge part of Britain’s market, leaving the EU will destroy this trade agreement and hurt Britain financially. The number of jobs available will decrease due to the decrease in labor need and the nation will start to struggle. (Taub)
Being a big part of the UK, Scotland now faces two challenges. The first challenge being the possibility of leaving the EU with the United Kingdom. Scotland is currently very against this because it will devastate the Scottish economy and cause a job loss of 80,000. The second challenge they face deals with their own independence. In 2014, Scotland voted to remain a part of the UK because it was most beneficial for them. Now that the UK may be losing it’s biggest trade partner and heading for obstacles, Scotland must decide if now is the time to go its separate way. The First Minister is debating on having another referendum if the UK decides to separate from the EU. This could give Scotland the ability to become independent and rejoin the EU. (Henley, Brooks and Stihler)
Besides the possible loss of a huge market and another referendum, the First Minister is also facing trouble inside her own government. Mark McDonald, the former childcare minister, was accused of abusing his power and sexually harassing members of the cabinet. Multiple harassed women and witnesses were interviewed and McDonald was found guilty. He publicly apologized for his behavior on social media and wrote a personal apology to one of the women who requested it. He has been absent from parliament while the investigation took place, but now plans to return to Holyrood, where the Scottish parliament resides. The First Minister forced McDonald to resign from his former position as a minister in her party, but now faces complaints from female Ministers about his return to parliament. Since McDonald was not sentenced a year or more, the First Minister cannot force him to resign from this position as well. Many people are questioning the First Minister about why his behavior was seen as not bad enough to be resign from parliament but it was to resign from the party. After doing a survey, one in three women in Holyrood have been harassed by someone there. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon now faces the challenge of making her cabinet members feel safe and ending this sexual harassment that seems to be spreading like a disease in her own government (Carrell).
As all countries do, Scotland has their fair share of obstacles. Despite these, the Scottish people remain hopeful and full of pride due to their strong culture and political policies that have led their prosperous lives for many years before.