Fiona Macdonald - Scotland, A Very Peculiar History – Volume 1

Title Page

SCOTLAND, A VERY PECULIAR HISTORY

VOLUME 1

From Ancient Times to Robert the Bruce

by

Fiona Macdonald

Created and designed by David Salariya

Illustrated by Mark Bergin

Publisher Information

First published in Great Britain in MMIX by Book House, an imprint of

The Salariya Book Company Ltd

25 Marlborough Place, Brighton BN1 1UB

www.salariya.com

www.book-house.co.uk

Digital edition converted and distributed in 2011 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

Editor: Jamie Pitman

Assistant editor: Jodie Leyman

The Salariya Book Company Ltd MMIX

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders. The Salariya Book Company apologises for any omissions and would be pleased, in such cases, to add an acknowledgement in future editions.

Visit our website at

www.book-house.co.uk

or go to

www.salariya.com

for free electronic versions of:

You Wouldnt Want to be an Egyptian Mummy!

You Wouldnt Want to be a Roman Gladiator!

You Wouldnt Want to Join Shackletons Polar Expedition!

You Wouldnt Want to Sail on a 19th-Century Whaling Ship!

WARNING: The Salariya Book Company accepts no responsibility for the historical recipes in this book. They are included only for their historical interest and may not be suitable for modern use.

Dedication

To A, and my ancestors, with love and thanks.

FMacD

Quotes

There is a great peculiarity about the Highlands and Highlanders

Queen Victoria (English/German, 18191901)

I have been trying all my life to like Scotchmen, and am obliged to desist from the experiment in despair.

Charles Lamb (English, 17751834)

Much may be made of a Scotchman if he be caught young.

Dr Samuel Johnson (English, 17091784)

O wad some Powr the giftie gie us

To see oursels as others see us.

Robert Burns (Scottish, 17591796)

Ten things to thank the Scots for

1. Golf Of this diversion the Scots are so fond, that when the weather will permit, you may see a multitude of all ranks, from the senator of justice to the lowest tradesman, mingled together in their shirts, and following the balls with the utmost eagerness. (Scottish novelist Tobias Smollet, 17211771)

2. Economics The dismal science was invented by famously eccentric Edinburgh professor Adam Smith (17231790). The real price of every thingis the toil and trouble of acquiring it.

3. Science and technology Scots invented logarithms, explained electromagnetism, discovered thermodynamics and created modern chemistry. They gave us medical breakthroughs from anaesthetics and antiseptics to kidney dialysis and ultrasound. They built boats, bridges, roads, railways, furnaces and steam engines. To measure is to know. (William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, 18241907)

Encyclopaedia Britannica A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan. First compiled 17681781 in Edinburgh and still in print today.

5. Whisky Freedom and Whisky gang thegither! (Robert Burns, 1786) Whiskey loses its beneficial effect when taken in too large quantities. (Lord Dunsany, 18781957)

6. Bicycles Invented by blacksmith Kirkpatrick MacMillan (18131878). The cheapest, most democratic, transport machine. Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. (US President John F. Kennedy, 19171963)

7. Waterproof coats, or macs Named after their Scots inventor, Charles Mackintosh (17661843). In Scotland there is no such thing as bad weather only the wrong clothes. (Billy Connolly, born 1942)

8. Geology The study of rocks and the earths rotation was pioneered by James Hutton (17261797). Your country [Scotland] consists of two things, stone and water. (Dr Samuel Johnson, 17091784)

9. Environmental conservation Pioneered by Scots-American John Muir (18381914): Nature loves man, beetles and birds with the same love.

10. Sherlock Holmes Created by Scottish doctor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (18591930): When a doctor goes wrong he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge.

Putting Scotland on the map

1.c.3100 BC: Stone houses at Skara Brae

2.c.2500 BC: Stone circles at Brodgar and (2a) Callanish

3.c.1600 BC: Mummies at Cladh Hallan, South Uist

4.c 750 BC: Celtic hillfort at Eildon Hill

5.c.100 BC: Broch at Mousa

6.AD 84: Celts fight Romans at Mons Graupius

7.AD 122143: Romans build Hadrians Wall and (7a) Antonine Wall

8.AD 795826: Vikings raid St Columbas monastery on Iona

9.AD 842: Cinead MacAlpin crowned king of Picts and Scots at Scone

10.1297 and 1314: Scots defeat English invaders at Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn

11.1513: Scots badly defeated at battle of Flodden

12.15571558: Religious riots after Protestant Reformer John Knox returns to Edinburgh

13.1692: Massacre at Glencoe; MacDonald clan members killed by Campbells loyal to London

14.1746: Hanoverians defeat Jacobites at Culloden

15.1759: Carron Ironworks opens

16.c.17801820: Edinburgh New Town built

17.1853: Queen Victoria starts to build Balmoral Castle

18.18771890: Rail bridges over the Forth and (18a) Tay

19.1882: Crofters fight landowners for rights to land

20.2004: New Scottish Parliament building opens

Wha deed ye cry me? (What did you call me?)

They might all come from Scotland, but Scots, Scotch and Scottish people and things are not all the same!

Scots is a language, spoken in the Lowlands.

Scotch is an adjective, applied mostly to foodstuffs, such as whisky, beef, broth, eggs and pancakes. Traditionally, to call a person Scotch was offensive possibly because the word was mostly used by the English (its a shortened, English, version of Scottish).

Scottish is what the people of Scotland call themselves, and also their national institutions such as the Scottish Parliament.

But just to keep you on your toes the Church of Scotland is always the Church of Scotland. And a Scottish person living in Scotland is always a Scot.

Introduction

Whas like us?

Scotland is not a big country. It occupies just one-third of the land mass of Great Britain and its total area is only 78,783 square kilometres (30,418 square miles). It is surrounded on three sides by water; the coastline is so ragged that, stretched out, it would measure an astonishing 10,000 km (6,200 miles).