164-894: The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–1649). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith , the Westminster Shorter Catechism , the Westminster Larger Catechism , the Directory of Public Worship , and the Form of Church Government , and represent the doctrine and church polity of 17th century English and Scottish Presbyterianism . The Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechism have been adopted as doctrinal standards by
328-524: A catechism between December 1643 and January 1647 containing fifty-five questions, before it decided to create two catechisms rather than one. The Larger Catechism was intended to assist ministers in teaching the Reformed faith to their congregations. The Shorter Catechism was based on the Larger Catechism but intended for use in teaching the faith to children. Parliament demanded scripture proofs for
492-745: A psalter , translated by Francis Rous for use in worship. A Confession of Faith to replace the Thirty-Nine Articles was begun in August 1646. While there is little record of the actions of the Assembly during the writing of the Confession, it is clear that there were significant debates in the Assembly over almost every doctrine found in it. The Confession was printed and sent to Parliament in December. The House of Commons requested scripture citations be added to
656-941: A referendum on devolution proposals in 1997 , the Scotland Act 1998 was passed by the British Parliament, which established a devolved Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government with responsibility for most laws specific to Scotland. The Scottish Parliament was reconvened in Edinburgh on 4 July 1999. The first to hold the office of first minister of Scotland was Donald Dewar , who served until his sudden death in 2000. The Scottish Parliament Building at Holyrood opened in October 2004 after lengthy construction delays and running over budget. The Scottish Parliament's form of proportional representation (the additional member system ) resulted in no one party having an overall majority for
820-509: A "primitive" episcopacy, which would include elements of presbyterianism and a reduced role for bishops. There were also several congregationalists , who favoured autonomy for individual local churches. Their most influential divines were Thomas Goodwin , Philip Nye , Sidrach Simpson , Jeremiah Burroughs , and William Bridge . They were often called the "dissenting brethren" in the Assembly. They have sometimes been labelled "Independents", but they rejected this term. The Assembly members for
984-403: A break with the rest of the Assembly when they published An Apologeticall Narration , a polemical pamphlet appealing to Parliament. It argued that the congregational system was more amenable to state control of religious matters than that of the presbyterians because they did not desire the church to retain any real power except to withdraw fellowship from aberrant congregations. By 17 January,
1148-413: A church to be a single local congregation, while the majority considered the national church to be a unity and were alarmed at the prospect of a disintegrated English church. Despite these debates, up until the end of 1643 there was hope that a common church government could be framed that would be satisfactory to all parties involved. On 3 or 4 January 1644, the five leading dissenting brethren signalled
1312-612: A distinctive Norse–Gaelic culture that saw many Old Norse loanwords enter the Scottish Gaelic spoken by islanders, and through successive generations the Norse would become almost completely assimilated into Gaelic culture and the Scottish clan system. After the conflict, Scotland had to affirm Norwegian sovereignty of the Northern Isles , but they were later integrated into Scotland in
1476-401: A doctrine called particular redemption . A vocal minority of the divines of the Assembly argued for a position known as hypothetical universalism . Edmund Calamy held such a view, and he argued that Christ's death, as well as saving those who had been chosen, offered salvation to all people on condition that they believe. The Assembly's Confession did not teach such a view, and its language
1640-569: A full legal union be sought instead, a proposal to which the Scots Parliament would not assent, causing the king to withdraw the plan. Except for a short period under the Protectorate , Scotland remained a separate state in the 17th century, but there was considerable conflict between the crown and the Covenanters over the form of church government . The military was strengthened, allowing
1804-491: A hierarchy of bishops . Puritans, unlike separatists , did not leave the established church. Under Charles, the Puritans' opponents were placed in high positions of authority, most notably William Laud who was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633, even though these " high churchmen " were in the minority. Puritans were forced to keep their views private or face fines and imprisonment. Laud promoted advocates of Arminianism ,
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#17328453928431968-578: A letter addressed to Adolf Hitler that detailed his intentions to open peace negotiations with the British. Pintsch delivered the letter to Hitler at the Berghof around noon on 11 May. Albert Speer later said Hitler described Hess's departure as one of the worst personal blows of his life, as he considered it a personal betrayal. Hitler worried that his allies, Italy and Japan, would perceive Hess's act as an attempt by Hitler to secretly open peace negotiations with
2132-619: A line between the River Tyne and the Solway Firth . Along this line, Trajan's successor Hadrian ( r. 117–138 ) erected Hadrian's Wall in northern England and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire. The Roman influence on the southern part of the country was considerable, and they introduced Christianity to Scotland. The Antonine Wall
2296-571: A military alliance with Scotland , Parliament agreed that the outcome of the Assembly would bring the English Church into closer conformity with the Church of Scotland. The Scottish Church was governed by a system of elected assemblies of elders called presbyterianism , rather than rule by bishops , called episcopalianism , which was used in the English church. Scottish commissioners attended and advised
2460-564: A number of Reformed and Presbyterian Christian denominations, but not the Church of Scotland nor those derived directly from it. Following the approval of the Confession and catechisms by the Church of Scotland in 1648, printers in England and Scotland began publishing them with other religious documents in collections referred to as the Westminster Standards. In 1658 printers began including
2624-402: A number of Scottish-born authors achieved international reputations, such as Robert Louis Stevenson , Arthur Conan Doyle , J. M. Barrie and George MacDonald . Scotland also played a major part in the development of art and architecture. The Glasgow School , which developed in the late 19th century, and flourished in the early 20th century, produced a distinctive blend of influences including
2788-594: A part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) 's Book of Confessions . The Confession has been called "by far the most influential doctrinal symbol in American Protestant history" by the historian of religion Sydney E. Ahlstrom . 51°29′58″N 0°07′43″W / 51.4994°N 0.1286°W / 51.4994; -0.1286 Scotland – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in
2952-460: A population of 4.8 million in 1911, Scotland sent over half a million men to the war, of whom over a quarter died in combat or from disease, and 150,000 were seriously wounded. Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig was Britain's commander on the Western Front. The war saw the emergence of a radical movement called " Red Clydeside " led by militant trades unionists. Formerly a Liberal stronghold,
3116-632: A presbyterian form of government but lacked the power to implement it. During the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, all of the documents of the Assembly were repudiated and episcopal church government was reinstated in England. The Assembly worked in the Reformed Protestant theological tradition, also known as Calvinism. It took the Bible as the authoritative word of God , from which all theological reflection must be based. The divines were committed to
3280-481: A proposal was also included in the Grand Remonstrance , a list of grievances which Parliament presented to Charles on 1 December that year. Charles responded on 23 December that the church required no reforms. Undeterred, Parliament passed three bills in 1642 appointing an assembly and stipulating that its members would be chosen by Parliament. Charles, whose royal assent was required for the bills to become law,
3444-460: A rather mechanical view of biblical inspiration , believing that not only the words and ideas but also the letters and vowel points of the Hebrew text were inspired by God. On the other hand, they acknowledged that the text was written by humans in their own styles. They did not make any distinction between essential and incidental matters with respect to biblical inspiration. Puritans believed that God
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#17328453928433608-526: A requirement for children in many Presbyterian churches. The migrations and missionary efforts of each of these groups lead to the widespread significance of the Westminster Assembly throughout the English-speaking world. The Assembly's Confession was particularly influential in American Protestant theology. It was included with congregationalist changes as part of the 1648 Cambridge Platform ,
3772-399: A statement produced by ministers of colonial Massachusetts and the surrounding region, and again in colonial Connecticut as part of the 1708 Saybrook Platform . The Confession was modified for American Baptists in the 1707 Philadelphia Confession . The Adopting Act of 1729 required American Presbyterians to agree to the theology of the Assembly's Confession, and the Confession remains
3936-521: A system known as presbyterianism , which features elected assemblies. James , Charles's predecessor as King of Scotland , made it clear that he intended to impose elements of episcopal church government and the Book of Common Prayer on the Scots beginning in 1604. The Scots considered this a reversion to Roman Catholicism. Charles furthered English impositions on the Church of Scotland in 1636 and 1637. This led to
4100-553: A theological perspective opposed to the Reformed theology of the Puritans. Worship practices such as kneeling at communion, bowing at the name of Christ, and the placement of communion tables at the East end of churches were also reinstated. To the Puritans, these seemed to be a step in the direction of Catholicism. There were also conflicts between the king and the Scots , whose church was ruled by
4264-619: Is 30,977 square miles (80,231 km ) with a land area of 30,078 square miles (77,901 km ), comparable to the size of the Czech Republic . Scotland's only land border is with England, and runs for 96 miles (154 km) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 13 miles (21 km) from
4428-514: Is 96 miles (154 km) 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 population in 2022 was 5,439,842. Edinburgh is the capital and Glasgow is the largest of the cities of Scotland . The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in
4592-459: Is much more amenable to a particular redemption interpretation, but there is a general agreement among scholars that the Confession's language allows an hypothetical universalist interpretation. Covenant theology is an interpretive framework used by Reformed theologians which was significantly developed during the seventeenth century. Under this scheme, as articulated by the Assembly, God's dealings with men are described in terms of two covenants:
4756-672: Is said to have invested in the Darien scheme . After another proposal from the English House of Lords was rejected in 1695, and a further Lords motion was voted down in the House of Commons in 1700, the Parliament of Scotland again rejected union in 1702. The failure of the Darien Scheme bankrupted the landowners who had invested, though not the burghs. Nevertheless, the nobles' bankruptcy, along with
4920-403: Is sovereign over all of history and nature and that none of what were called his decrees would be frustrated. There was significant debate in the Assembly over the relationship of God's decree of predestination to the redemption purchased by Christ's death. Many of the Reformed during this period taught that Christ died with the purpose only to save those who were eternally chosen to be saved,
5084-544: Is the first of the Reformed confessions to teach a doctrine called the covenant of works , which teaches that before the fall of man , God promised eternal life to Adam on condition that he perfectly obeyed God. Parliament called the Westminster Assembly during a time of increasing hostility between Charles I , monarch of England and Scotland, and the Puritans . Puritans could be distinguished by their insistence that worship practices be supported implicitly or explicitly by
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5248-525: Is typical of the north-west of Europe, although several of the larger mammals such as the lynx, brown bear, wolf, elk and walrus were hunted to extinction in historic times. There are important populations of seals and internationally significant nesting grounds for a variety of seabirds such as gannets . The golden eagle is something of a national icon. On the high mountain tops, species including ptarmigan , mountain hare and stoat can be seen in their white colour phase during winter months. Remnants of
5412-727: The Bruce dynasty and their long-term rivals of the House of Comyn and House of Balliol lasted until the middle of the 14th century. Although the Bruce faction was successful, David II's lack of an heir allowed his half-nephew Robert II , the Lord High Steward of Scotland , to come to the throne and establish the House of Stewart . The Stewarts ruled Scotland for the remainder of the Middle Ages . The country they ruled experienced greater prosperity from
5576-672: The Celtic Revival the Arts and Crafts movement , and Japonism , which found favour throughout the modern art world of continental Europe and helped define the Art Nouveau style. Proponents included architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh . Scotland played a major role in the British effort in the First World War . It especially provided manpower, ships, machinery, fish and money. With
5740-467: The Church of Scotland . As many as 121 ministers were called to the Assembly, with nineteen others added later to replace those who did not attend or could no longer attend. It produced a new Form of Church Government , a Confession of Faith or statement of belief, two catechisms or manuals for religious instruction ( Shorter and Larger ), and a liturgical manual, the Directory for Public Worship , for
5904-570: The Community Charge (widely known as the Poll Tax) one year before the rest of Great Britain, contributed to a growing movement for Scottish control over domestic affairs. On 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded mid–air over the town of Lockerbie , killing all on board as well as eleven Lockerbie residents. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in the United Kingdom . Following
6068-818: The First Bishops' War between Charles and the Scots in 1639. Charles called what came to be known as the Short Parliament to raise funds for the war, but he soon dissolved it when it began voicing opposition to his policies. Following the Second Bishops' War with the Scots in 1640, Charles was forced to call another parliament to raise additional funds. What came to be known as the Long Parliament also began to voice vague grievances against Charles, many of which were religious in nature. Parliament had many Puritans and Puritan-sympathizing members, who generally opposed
6232-580: The Hebrides , which had been ruled by various Scottish clans following the death of Somerled in 1164. In 1266, Scotland fought the short but consequential Scottish-Norwegian War which saw the reclamation of the Hebrides after the strong defeat of King Haakon IV and his forces at the Battle of Largs . Up until that point, the Hebrides had been under Norwegian Viking control for roughly 400 years and had developed
6396-625: The Highland Boundary Fault , which runs from Arran to Stonehaven . This part of Scotland largely comprises ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian , which were uplifted during the later Caledonian orogeny . It is interspersed with igneous intrusions of a more recent age, remnants of which formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and Skye Cuillins . In north-eastern mainland Scotland weathering of rock that occurred before
6560-516: The House of Hanover from the British throne. The threat of the Jacobite movement to the United Kingdom and its monarchs effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden , Great Britain's last pitched battle . The passing of the Treaty of Union did not bring about immediate economic prosperity to Scotland as was widely speculated by the pamphleteer as a result of the little consideration given to prospects of
6724-500: The House of Stuart was resumed with the Restoration in Scotland in 1660. The Parliament of Scotland sought a commercial union with England in 1664; the proposal was rejected in 1668. In 1670 the Parliament of England rejected a proposed political union with Scotland. English proposals along the same lines were abandoned in 1674 and in 1685. The Scots Parliament rejected proposals for a political union with England in 1689. Jacobitism ,
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6888-743: The Last Ice Age has shaped much of the landscape. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstones found principally along the Moray Firth coast. The Highlands are generally mountainous and the highest elevations in the British Isles are found here. Scotland has over 790 islands divided into four main groups: Shetland , Orkney , and the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides . There are numerous bodies of freshwater including Loch Lomond and Loch Ness . Some parts of
7052-793: The Moscow region in Russia , and the Kamchatka Peninsula on the opposite side of Eurasia . Temperatures are generally lower than in the rest of the UK, with the temperature of −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F) recorded at Braemar in the Grampian Mountains , on 11 February 1895, the coldest ever recorded anywhere in the UK. Winter maxima average 6 °C (43 °F) in the Lowlands, with summer maxima averaging 18 °C (64 °F). The highest temperature recorded
7216-411: The Northern Isles and Western Isles , where a lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone. Evidence of sophisticated pre-Christian belief systems is demonstrated by sites such as the Callanish Stones on Lewis and the Maes Howe on Orkney , which were built in the third millennium BC. The first written reference to Scotland was in 320 BC by Greek sailor Pytheas , who called
7380-475: The Parliament of Great Britain , which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England , which rejected proposals from the Parliament of Ireland that the third kingdom be incorporated in the union. Andrew Fletcher , a prominent Scottish patriot, argued that the ratification of the treaty would see Scotland "more like a conquered province", and by 1713, the former Lord Chancellor of Scotland , James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater , who
7544-409: The River Tay , flows for a distance of 117 miles (188 km). The whole of Scotland was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages and the landscape is much affected by glaciation. From a geological perspective, the country has three main sub-divisions: the Highlands and Islands, the Central Lowlands, and the Southern Uplands. The Highlands and Islands lie to the north and west of
7708-413: The Roman Empire , was culturally divergent. Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the Mesolithic period . It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation . At the time, Scotland
7872-448: The Rump Parliament on 20 April 1653. The Assembly was a product of the British Reformed tradition, taking as a major source the Thirty-Nine Articles as well as the theology of James Ussher and his Irish Articles of 1615. The divines also considered themselves to be within the broader European Reformed tradition. They were in frequent correspondence with continental Reformed theologians, and sought their approval. They also drew upon
8036-416: The Scots Confession , which signalled the Scottish Reformation 's sharp break from papal authority and Roman Catholic teaching. The Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in 1567 . In 1603, James VI, King of Scots inherited the thrones of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland in the Union of the Crowns , and moved to London. This was a personal union as despite having
8200-446: The Thirty-Nine Articles , the current doctrinal standard of the Church of England, and "to free and vindicate the Doctrine of them from all Aspersions of false Interpretations". After a day of fasting , the Assembly took a vow, as directed by Parliament, to "not maintain any thing in Matters of Doctrine, but what I think, in my conscience, to be truth". The divines organized themselves into three standing committees, though each committee
8364-454: The United Kingdom (green) Scotland ( Scots : Scotland ; Scottish Gaelic : Alba ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom . It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part 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
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#17328453928438528-441: The Wars of Scottish Independence , until Robert the Bruce was crowned king of Scotland in 1306. Victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 proved the Scots had regained control of their kingdom. In 1320 the world's first documented declaration of independence, the Declaration of Arbroath , won the support of Pope John XXII , leading to the legal recognition of Scottish sovereignty by the English Crown. A civil war between
8692-428: The beaver and wild boar . Today, much of the remaining native Caledonian Forest lies within the Cairngorms National Park and remnants of the forest remain at 84 locations across Scotland. On the west coast, remnants of ancient Celtic Rainforest remain, particularly on the Taynish peninsula in Argyll , these forests are particularly rare due to high rates of deforestation throughout Scottish history. The flora of
8856-464: The glens in the Highlands, the Caledonians were again in revolt in 210–211 and these were overrun. To the Roman historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio , the Scottish Highlands and the area north of the River Forth was called Caledonia . According to Cassius Dio, the inhabitants of Caledonia were the Caledonians and the Maeatae . Other ancient authors used the adjective "Caledonian" to mean anywhere in northern or inland Britain, often mentioning
9020-471: The 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland , which were acquired from Norway in 1472; and Berwick-upon-Tweed , lost to England in 1482 The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch . Rising to 4,413 feet (1,345 m) above sea level, Scotland's highest point is the summit of Ben Nevis , in Lochaber , while Scotland's longest river,
9184-401: The 15th century. Scandinavian culture in the form of the Norn language survived for a lot longer than in the Hebrides, and would strongly influence the local Scots dialect on Shetland and Orkney . Later, a system of feudalism was consolidated, with both Anglo-Norman incomers and native Gaelic chieftains being granted land in exchange for serving the king. The relationship with England
9348-561: The 9th century. In 1603, James VI succeeded to the thrones of 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 its own distinct legal system , education system and religious history , which have all contributed to
9512-399: The Assembly and Parliament were already deteriorating in 1644, when Parliament ignored the Assembly's request that "grossly ignorant and notoriously profane" individuals be barred from communion. While members of Parliament agreed that the sacrament should be kept pure, many of them disagreed with the presbyterian majority in the Assembly over who had the final power of excommunication , taking
9676-449: The Assembly and not have expected them to attend because Charles had not approved of the Assembly. Only one, Daniel Featley , participated, and he only until his arrest for treason in October 1643. Debate on church officers began on 19 October. The Assembly began with the issue of ordination, as many of the divines were concerned about the rise of various sectarian movements and the lack of any mechanism for ordination of ministers of
9840-487: The Assembly as part of the agreement. Disagreements over church government caused open division in the Assembly, despite attempts to maintain unity. The party of divines who favoured presbyterianism was in the majority, but the congregationalist party, which held greater influence in the military, favoured autonomy for individual congregations rather than the subjection of congregations to regional and national assemblies entailed in presbyterianism. Parliament eventually adopted
10004-438: The Assembly continued to try to find ways to reconcile the dissenting brethren with the majority throughout 1644, including the establishment of a special committee for that purpose in March. However, on 15 November, the dissenting brethren presented their reasons for disagreement with the rest of the Assembly to Parliament, and on 11 December the majority submitted a draft of a presbyterian form of government. Relations between
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#173284539284310168-446: The Assembly's vision of a national, compulsory presbyterian church would never come to fruition. In London, where support for presbyterianism was greatest, presbyteries were established in only sixty-four of 108 city parishes, and regional presbyterian classes were only formed in fourteen of England's forty counties. A planned national general assembly never met. Many presbyterians did, however, establish voluntary presbyteries in what
10332-457: The Assembly. Twenty-two appointed members of the Assembly died before 1649, and they along with those who did not attend for other reasons were replaced by another nineteen members. Three non-voting scribes were also added in 1643. The Assembly's first meeting began with a sermon by William Twisse in the nave of Westminster Abbey on 1 July 1643. The nave was so full that the House of Commons had to send members ahead to secure seats. Following
10496-400: The Bible, while their opponents gave greater authority to traditional customs. They believed the Church of England , which had separated itself from the Roman Catholic Church during the English Reformation , was still too heavily influenced by Catholicism. They sought to rid the church and nation of any of these remaining influences. This included the Church's episcopal polity , or rule by
10660-593: The Book of Common Prayer. The Assembly was strictly under the control of Parliament, and was only to debate topics which Parliament directed. Assembly members were not permitted to state their disagreements with majority opinions or share any information about the proceedings, except in writing to Parliament. Parliament chose William Twisse , an internationally respected theologian, to be the Assembly's prolocutor or chairman . Due to Twisse's ill health, Cornelius Burges , whom Parliament appointed as one of several assessors , served as prolocutor pro tempore for most of
10824-493: The British. After 1945, Scotland's economic situation worsened due to overseas competition, inefficient industry, and industrial disputes. Only in recent decades has the country enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance. Economic factors contributing to this recovery included a resurgent financial services industry, electronics manufacturing , (see Silicon Glen ), and the North Sea oil and gas industry. The introduction in 1989 by Margaret Thatcher's government of
10988-415: The Church during the tenure of William Laud . Some had been ejected from their churches or cited by ecclesiastical courts for their views. Some had fled to the Continent , and one to the American colonies . Nonetheless, they all considered themselves members of the Church of England and had received episcopal ordination. Most were conformists , meaning they agreed to follow the Act of Uniformity 1558 and
11152-408: The Churches of England and Scotland. The Confession and catechisms were adopted as doctrinal standards in the Church of Scotland and other Presbyterian churches, where they remain normative. Amended versions of the Confession were also adopted in Congregational and Baptist churches in England and New England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Confession became influential throughout
11316-528: The Commons, and ten from the House of Lords. The Assembly was almost entirely English; Parliament appointed Englishmen for the counties of Wales, but the French stranger churches (churches of Protestant refugees from Catholic France) sent two ministers in place of any from the Channel Islands . Many of the divines were internationally recognized scholars of the Bible, ancient languages, patristics , and scholastic theology . Many were also famous preachers. Most of these theologians had retained their positions in
11480-432: The Confession, which were provided in April 1648. Parliament approved the Confession with revisions to the chapters on church censures, synods and councils, and marriage on 20 June 1648. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland had already adopted the Confession without revision in 1647. The restoration of Charles II in 1660 effectively made this legislation a nullity. The Assembly had already done significant work on
11644-418: The English Parliament. Eleven of these, four theologians and seven members of Parliament, were also invited to the Assembly. The commissioners were given the opportunity to become full voting members of the Assembly but declined, preferring to maintain their independence as commissioners of their own nation and church. Samuel Rutherford , George Gillespie , and Alexander Henderson were the most outspoken of
11808-560: The English-speaking world, but especially in American Protestant theology. The Assembly was called by the Long Parliament before and during the beginning of the First English Civil War . The Long Parliament was influenced by Puritanism , a religious movement which sought further reform of the church. They were opposed to the religious policies of King Charles I and William Laud , Archbishop of Canterbury . As part of
11972-627: The Erastian view that it was the state. Also, by 1646, Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army had won the war on behalf of Parliament. Cromwell, along with a majority of the army, was strongly in favour of religious toleration for all sorts of Christians even if the national church was to be presbyterian. His rise to power as a result of his military victories made the idea of a strictly presbyterian settlement without freedom of worship for others very unlikely. Parliament at least wanted to know which sins in particular were grave enough to trigger excommunication by
12136-425: The Erastian view, John Lightfoot and Thomas Coleman , but the presence of members of Parliament, especially John Selden , as well as the fact of parliamentary oversight of the Assembly, gave Erastian views disproportional influence. Several episcopalians, supporters of the existing system of bishops, were also included in the summoning ordinance, but Parliament may have nominated them to lend greater legitimacy to
12300-705: The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was reestablished in 1690 following the Glorious Revolution , it ratified the Westminster Confession, but not any other document produced at Westminster. The Confession remains, according to the 1929 Declaratory Articles , the Church of Scotland's "principal subordinate standard ", subordinate to the Bible. Memorization of the Shorter Catechism has been made
12464-557: The Pictish language went extinct as its speakers shifted to Gaelic. From a base in eastern Scotland north of the River Forth and south of the River Spey , the kingdom expanded first southwards, into the former Northumbrian lands, and northwards into Moray . Around the turn of the millennium, there was a centralization in agricultural lands and the first towns began to be established. In
12628-408: The Reformed doctrine of predestination — that God chooses certain men to be saved and enjoy eternal life rather than eternal punishment. There was some disagreement at the Assembly over the doctrine of particular redemption — that Christ died only for those chosen for salvation. The Assembly also held to Reformed covenant theology , a framework for interpreting the Bible. The Assembly's Confession
12792-451: The Reformed doctrine. The divines had a strong view of the inspiration of the Bible , and believed that God revealed himself in the propositions found in Scripture. While the issue of biblical inerrancy , the belief that there are no errors in the Bible, did not arise until the eighteenth century, the divines clearly did not believe the Bible to contain any errors. Many of the divines held
12956-671: The Roman victory, Roman forts were briefly set along the Gask Ridge close to the Highland line , but by three years after the battle, the Roman armies had withdrawn to the Southern Uplands . Remains of Roman forts established in the 1st century have been found as far north as the Moray Firth . By the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan ( r. 98–117 ), Roman control had lapsed to Britain south of
13120-470: The Scottish Enlightenment is traditionally considered to have concluded toward the end of the 18th century, disproportionately large Scottish contributions to British science and letters continued for another 50 years or more, thanks to such figures as the physicists James Clerk Maxwell and Lord Kelvin , and the engineers and inventors James Watt and William Murdoch , whose work was critical to
13284-730: The Scottish Parliament after the referendum, following cross-party talks in the Smith Commission . Since the 2014 referendum, events such as the UK leaving the European Union, despite a majority of voters in Scotland voting to remain a member, have led to calls for a second independence referendum . In 2022, the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain argued the case for the Scottish Government to hold another referendum on
13448-566: The Scottish economy. Campaigners for the union between Scotland and England believed that there would be economic advantages to Scotland as a result of the failed Darien scheme which left the Kingdom of Scotland bankrupt. Eventually however, with trade tariffs with England abolished, trade blossomed, especially with Colonial America . The clippers belonging to the Glasgow Tobacco Lords were
13612-657: The Southern Uplands is Merrick with an elevation of 843 m (2,766 ft). The Southern Uplands is home to Scotland's highest village, Wanlockhead (430 m or 1,411 ft above sea level). The climate of most of Scotland is temperate and oceanic , and tends to be very changeable. As it is warmed by the Gulf Stream from the Atlantic, it has much milder winters (but cooler, wetter summers) than areas on similar latitudes, such as Labrador , southern Scandinavia ,
13776-518: The Standards continues to be printed by the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland . In the nineteenth century, several churches separated from the Church of Scotland on the basis of the established church's departure from a list of documents similar to those found in standard collections of the Westminster Standards. Dissenters asserted that the General Assembly had adopted these documents, but
13940-588: The Thirty-Nine articles would need to be proven from the Bible. Assembly members were prone to long speeches and they made slow progress, frustrating the leadership. The eighth of the Thirty-Nine Articles recommended the Apostles' Creed , Nicene Creed , and Athanasian Creed , considered to be basic statements of orthodoxy , to be received and believed. The Assembly was unable to resolve conflicts between those who would not be bound by creeds and those who wished to retain
14104-696: The Westminster Assembly was repudiated by the Church of England during the Restoration in 1660. The Act of Uniformity 1662 , a law requiring even greater adherence to the Book of Common Prayer and support for episcopalianism than had previously been required, forced Puritan ministers to leave the Church . Though some presbyterians continued to desire to be readmitted to the established church, restrictions on worship for non-conformists led to presbyterians putting aside differences with congregationalists and adopting congregational church orders. The Civil War brought with it
14268-442: The army and navy, trade, economics, colonial enterprises and other areas across the nascent British Empire . Historian Neil Davidson notes "after 1746 there was an entirely new level of participation by Scots in political life, particularly outside Scotland." Davidson also states "far from being 'peripheral' to the British economy, Scotland – or more precisely, the Lowlands – lay at its core." The Scottish Reform Act 1832 increased
14432-428: The army supported congregationalism. A third group of divines were known as Erastians , a term for those who believed that the state should have significant power over the church. The entire Assembly was Erastian in the sense that the body had been called by Parliament and was completely under state control. Those labelled "Erastian" at the Assembly believed the civil authority, rather than church officers, should hold
14596-685: The beginning of the First Civil War, the Long Parliament recognized that they would need assistance from the Scots. In return for a military alliance, the Scottish Parliament required the English to sign the Solemn League and Covenant in 1643, which stipulated that the English would bring their church into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland. The Scottish Parliament sent commissioners to London to represent Scotland's interests to
14760-558: The catechisms as well. The Scots General Assembly approved both catechisms in 1648. The Assembly understood its mandate under the Solemn League and Covenant to have been fulfilled on 14 April 1648 when it delivered the scripture citations to Parliament, and the Scottish Commissioners had already left by the end of 1647. The Assembly continued to meet primarily for the purpose of examination of ministers for ordination. Most of
14924-611: The central belt of the country. Perhaps the most significant air raid in Scotland was the Clydebank Blitz of March 1941, which intended to destroy naval shipbuilding in the area. 528 people were killed and 4,000 homes totally destroyed. Perhaps Scotland's most unusual wartime episode occurred in 1941 when Rudolf Hess flew to Renfrewshire, possibly intending to broker a peace deal through the Duke of Hamilton . Before his departure from Germany, Hess had given his adjutant, Karlheinz Pintsch ,
15088-410: The church; the Assembly was reticent to provide such information, as the majority considered the power of the church in this area to be absolute. In May 1645, Parliament passed an ordinance allowing excommunicants to appeal the church's sentences to Parliament. Another ordinance on 20 October contained a list of sins to which the church would be limited in its power to excommunicate. To the majority of
15252-506: The civil war, the divines saw these two groups as the greatest threat to the church. With the rise of radical sectarian movements during the war, the divines became much more concerned with these groups than polemics against Catholicism. The divines were particularly concerned with those they labeled antinomians . This was a loose term for those who saw the moral law as no longer relevant for Christians. The divines saw these groups as more immediately threatening than Catholicism. The work of
15416-451: The coastline consist of machair , a low-lying dune pasture land. The Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations. Many of these sediments have economic significance for it is here that the coal and iron-bearing rocks that fuelled Scotland's industrial revolution are found. This area has also experienced intense volcanism, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh being
15580-581: The commissioners. On 12 October 1643, Parliament ordered the Assembly to cease work on the Thirty-Nine Articles and to begin to frame a common form of church government for the two nations. The Assembly would spend a quarter of its full sessions on the subject of church government. The majority of the Assembly members supported presbyterian polity, or church government by elected assemblies of lay and clerical representatives, though many were not dogmatically committed to it. Several members of this group, numbering about twenty and including William Twisse, favoured
15744-402: The continuation of Scottish culture and national identity . Scottish English and Scots are the most widely spoken languages in the country , existing on a dialect continuum with each other. Scottish Gaelic speakers can be found all over Scotland, however the language is largely spoken natively by communities within the Hebrides . The number of Gaelic speakers numbers less than 2% of
15908-444: The country is varied incorporating both deciduous and coniferous woodland as well as moorland and tundra species. Large-scale commercial tree planting and management of upland moorland habitat for the grazing of sheep and field sport activities like deer stalking and driven grouse shooting impacts the distribution of indigenous plants and animals. The UK's tallest tree is a grand fir planted beside Loch Fyne , Argyll in
16072-452: The covenant of works and covenant of grace. The Westminster Confession was the first major Reformed symbol to explicitly mention the covenant of works (sometimes called the covenant of life), in which God offered Adam eternal life on condition of perfect obedience. In the fall of man , Adam broke the covenant of works by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil . To remedy this, God offered salvation apart from human initiative in what
16236-582: The divine right ( jure divino ) of church government. While the presbyterian divines were capable of defending their vision for church government as established by divine right in the Bible, they were unwilling to answer the queries because doing so would further expose the disunity of the Assembly and weaken their case in Parliament. In July 1647, the New Model Army invaded London and conservative members of Parliament were forced out. Parliament passed an ordinance establishing religious tolerance and ensuring that
16400-501: The divines were unhappy with the republican Commonwealth that emerged after Colonel Pride's Purge of the Long Parliament in 1648. As a result, a majority stopped attending rather than agree to the oath of Engagement to the Commonwealth that was imposed in 1649. Newspapers continued to report on the meetings of the Assembly as late as March 1653. The Assembly must have stopped meeting sometime between then and Cromwell's dissolution of
16564-527: The divines' dismay, an even more Erastian ordinance was proposed in March 1646. The Assembly published a protest, provoking the Commons to charge it with breach of privilege and to submit nine questions to the divines on the matter. Votes were to be included with the answers, an attempt to force the divines associated with the protest petition to reveal themselves. The Nine Queries, as they came to be called, focused on
16728-631: The end of the 14th century through the Scottish Renaissance to the Reformation , despite the effects of the Black Death in 1349 and increasing division between Highlands and Lowlands . Multiple truces reduced warfare on the southern border. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed in 1502 by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England . James married Henry's daughter, Margaret Tudor . James invaded England in support of France under
16892-429: The end of the consensus among English Protestants that there should be a single church imposed by the state, though there was still not complete freedom of religion. The ideals of the dissenting brethren of the Assembly were significant in the rise of denominationalism , the doctrine that the church is found in several institutions rather than a single one in a given location. Though Protestants already commonly recognized
17056-445: The established church. While some members did not seem to think ordination necessary for preachers (though they should not administer the sacraments without it), a majority of the divines thought any regular preaching without ordination unacceptable and wished to erect a provisional presbytery for purposes of ordination. There was also debate at this early stage over the nature of the visible church . The congregationalists considered
17220-652: The execution of the Scottish king at Whitehall in 1649, amid the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and its events in Scotland , Oliver Cromwell , the victorious Lord Protector , imposed the British Isles' first written constitution – the Instrument of Government – on Scotland in 1652 as part of the republican Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland . The Protectorate Parliament was the first Westminster parliament to include representatives nominally from Scotland. The monarchy of
17384-454: The existing episcopal system, but there was little agreement over what shape the church should take. Later in 1640, the Root and Branch petition was presented to the House of Commons , the lower house of Parliament. It was signed by about 15,000 Londoners and called for total elimination of the episcopal system. Committees were organized in the House of Commons to enact religious reforms, leading to
17548-409: The existing language that the creeds be "thoroughly received and believed". The "excepters", who took the former position, argued that the articles only require the "matter" of the creeds be believed. On 25 August the article was put off until the rest of the articles could be dealt with. This early disagreement on fundamental issues revealed deep rifts between different factions of the assembly. From
17712-426: The family unit and had sharp divisions in wealth, although the vast majority were poor and worked full-time in subsistence agriculture . The Picts kept slaves (mostly captured in war) through the ninth century. Gaelic influence over Pictland and Northumbria was facilitated by the large number of Gaelic-speaking clerics working as missionaries. Operating in the sixth century on the island of Iona , Saint Columba
17876-739: The fastest ships on the route to Virginia . Until the American War of Independence in 1776, Glasgow was the world's premier tobacco port, dominating world trade. The disparity between the wealth of the merchant classes of the Scottish Lowlands and the ancient clans of the Scottish Highlands grew, amplifying centuries of division. In the Highlands, clan chiefs gradually started to think of themselves more as commercial landlords than leaders of their people. These social and economic changes included
18040-647: The first phase of the Highland Clearances and, ultimately, the demise of clanship. The Scottish Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution turned Scotland into an intellectual, commercial and industrial powerhouse — so much so Voltaire said "We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation." With the demise of Jacobitism and the advent of the Union, thousands of Scots, mainly Lowlanders, took up numerous positions of power in politics, civil service,
18204-604: The first three Scottish parliament elections. The pro- independence Scottish National Party led by Alex Salmond achieved an overall majority in the 2011 election , winning 69 of the 129 seats available. The success of the SNP in achieving a majority in the Scottish Parliament paved the way for the September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence . The majority voted against the proposition, with 55% voting no to independence. More powers, particularly concerning taxation, were devolved to
18368-496: The full Scripture passages which are cited in the confessional documents. These collections became standardized in a 1728 edition, which follows a 1679 work published by Covenanters exiled in Holland and contains twenty-two documents including parliamentary acts related to the Assembly and devotional works. These collections were intended to serve as ecclesiastical manuals as well as comprehensive popular religious books. The 1728 form of
18532-408: The groups were. Philip Nye, one of the dissenting brethren, asserted in a speech that a presbytery set over local congregations would become as powerful as the state and was dangerous to the commonwealth, provoking vigorous opposition from presbyterians. The next day, the Assembly finally began to establish a prescription for presbyterian government. Owing to a strong belief in the unity of the church,
18696-414: The imposition of royal authority on the western Highland clans. The 1609 Statutes of Iona compelled the cultural integration of Hebridean clan leaders. In 1641 and again in 1643, the Parliament of Scotland unsuccessfully sought a union with England which was "federative" and not "incorporating", in which Scotland would retain a separate parliament. The issue of union split the parliament in 1648. After
18860-529: The imprisonment of Archbishop Laud and his supporters in the Tower of London as retaliation for their repression of Puritans. The Court of High Commission and the Star Chamber , courts which had inflicted severe punishments on Puritan dissenters, were also abolished. The idea of a national assembly of theologians to advise Parliament on further church reforms was first presented to the House of Commons in 1641. Such
19024-756: The industrial districts switched to Labour by 1922, with a base among the Irish Catholic working-class districts. Women were especially active in building neighbourhood solidarity on housing issues. The "Reds" operated within the Labour Party with little influence in Parliament and the mood changed to passive despair by the late 1920s. During the Second World War, Scotland was targeted by Nazi Germany largely due to its factories, shipyards, and coal mines. Cities such as Glasgow and Edinburgh were targeted by German bombers, as were smaller towns mostly located in
19188-543: The issue, with the Supreme Court later ruling against the argument. Following the Supreme Court decision, the Scottish Government stated that it wished to make amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 that would allow a referendum to be held in 2023. The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the northwest coast of Continental Europe . The total area
19352-665: The later 4th century, which included the participation of the Gaelic Scoti and the Caledonians, who were then known as Picts by the Romans. This was defeated by the comes Theodosius ; but Roman military government was withdrawn from the island altogether by the early 5th century, resulting in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the immigration of the Saxons to southeastern Scotland and
19516-667: The likes of Tiree and Coll are much flatter. Scotland comes from Scoti , the Latin name for the Gaels . Philip Freeman has speculated on the likelihood of a group of raiders adopting a name from an Indo-European root , * skot , citing the parallel in Greek skotos ( σκότος ), meaning "darkness, gloom". The Late Latin word Scotia ("land of the Gaels") was initially used to refer to Ireland, and likewise in early Old English Scotland
19680-483: The majority of the Assembly had become convinced that the best way forward was a presbyterian system similar to that of the Scots, but the dissenting brethren were allowed to continue to state their case in hope that they could eventually be reconciled. It was hoped that by avoiding asserting that presbyterianism was established by divine right, the congregationalists could be accommodated. Despite these efforts, on 21 February it became clear just how fundamentally opposed
19844-432: The members in this way to ensure that their local constituencies were represented in the decision. The House of Lords , Parliament's upper house, added another fourteen names on 14 May, to which the Commons agreed. Meanwhile, relations continued to deteriorate between the king and Parliament. Charles raised the royal standard at Nottingham on 22 August, marking the beginning of the First English Civil War . The start of
20008-409: The most mountainous region of the British Isles and contain its highest peak, Ben Nevis , at 4,413 feet (1,345 m). 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
20172-405: The most part reserved the label "Independent" for separatists who left the established church. The congregationalist divines cannot be equated with separatists and Brownists , as they had accepted episcopal ordination and remained in the Church of England. Their influence was assisted by the success of Oliver Cromwell and his New Model Army in the ongoing civil war. Cromwell and many others in
20336-405: The native Scots pine forest exist and within these areas the Scottish crossbill , the UK's only endemic bird species and vertebrate , can be found alongside capercaillie , Scottish wildcat , red squirrel and pine marten . Various animals have been re-introduced, including the white-tailed eagle in 1975, the red kite in the 1980s, and there have been experimental projects involving
20500-412: The ninth century, the Norse threat allowed a Gael named Kenneth I (Cináed mac Ailpín) to seize power over Pictland, establishing a royal dynasty to which the modern monarchs trace their lineage, and marking the beginning of the end of Pictish culture. The kingdom of Cináed and his descendants, called Alba, was Gaelic in character but existed on the same area as Pictland. By the end of the tenth century,
20664-510: The northern tip of Britain "Orcas", the source of the name of the Orkney islands. Most of modern Scotland was not incorporated into the Roman Empire , and Roman control over parts of the area fluctuated over a rather short period. The first Roman incursion into Scotland was in 79 AD, when Agricola invaded Scotland; he defeated a Caledonian army at the Battle of Mons Graupius in 83 AD. After
20828-458: The number of Scottish MPs and widened the franchise to include more of the middle classes. From the mid-century, there were increasing calls for Home Rule for Scotland and the post of Secretary of State for Scotland was revived. Towards the end of the century prime ministers of Scottish descent included William Gladstone , and the Earl of Rosebery . In the late 19th century the growing importance of
20992-468: The only Westminster document legislated for the Church of Scotland after its reconstitution in 1690 was the Confession. Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England . Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopted by
21156-465: The original. This caused significant debate between Reformed polemicists and Roman Catholics. Catholics argued that such a discovery demonstrated the need for an authoritative magisterium to interpret the Bible as opposed to the Protestant doctrine of perspicuity , that the essential teachings of the Bible could be interpreted by anyone. English Reformed writers in particular took up the work of defending
21320-617: The political support for the exiled Catholic Stuart dynasty, remained a threat to the security of the British state under the Protestant House of Orange and the succeeding House of Hanover until the defeat of the Jacobite rising of 1745 . In 1698, the Company of Scotland attempted a project to secure a trading colony on the Isthmus of Panama . Almost every Scottish landowner who had money to spare
21484-420: The power of church discipline . This included the power to withhold communion from unrepentant sinners. They did not see any particular form of church government as divinely mandated, and because of this the dissenting brethren allied with them when it became clear that a presbyterian establishment would be much less tolerant of congregationalism than Parliament. There were only two divines at the Assembly who held
21648-519: The pre-Reformation British theological tradition, which emphasized biblical knowledge and was influenced by the Augustinian theological tradition exemplified by Anselm , Thomas Bradwardine , and John Wycliffe . The recorded debates of the Assembly are full of citations of church fathers and medieval scholastic theologians. The Confession starts with the doctrine of revelation , or how people can know about God. The divines believed knowledge of God
21812-557: The region's people and animals, its cold climate, its pearls, and a noteworthy region of wooded hills ( Latin : saltus ) which the 2nd century AD Roman philosopher Ptolemy , in his Geography , described as being south-west of the Beauly Firth . The name Caledonia is echoed in the place names of Dunkeld , Rohallion , and Schiehallion . The Great Conspiracy constituted a seemingly coordinated invasion against Roman rule in Britain in
21976-573: The remnant of a once much larger volcano. This area is relatively low-lying, although even here hills such as the Ochils and Campsie Fells are rarely far from view. The Southern Uplands is a range of hills almost 125 miles (200 km) long, interspersed with broad valleys. They lie south of a second fault line (the Southern Uplands fault) that runs from Girvan to Dunbar . The geological foundations largely comprise Silurian deposits laid down some 400 to 500 million years ago. The high point of
22140-514: The rest of eastern Great Britain. Beginning in the sixth century, the area that is now Scotland was divided into three areas: Pictland , a patchwork of small lordships in central Scotland; the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria , which had conquered southeastern Scotland; and Dál Riata , which included territory in western Scotland and northern Ireland, and spread Gaelic language and culture into Scotland. These societies were based on
22304-514: The same monarch the kingdoms retained their separate parliaments, laws and other institutions. The first Union Jack was designed at James's behest, to be flown in addition to the St Andrew's Cross on Scots vessels at sea. James VI and I intended to create a single kingdom of Great Britain, but was thwarted in his attempt to do so by the Parliament of England , which supported the wrecking proposal that
22468-509: The same time they announced their desire to formally unite the two churches. Following the rise of Cromwell and the secret Engagement of some Scots with Charles this hope was abandoned, and the documents were never formally adopted. The General Assembly ceased to function under Cromwell and the kings who succeeded him from 1649 to 1690. During and after the debates over church government, the Assembly framed other documents which did not cause open rifts. The Directory for Public Worship , which
22632-464: The sermon, the divines processed to the Henry VII Chapel , which would be their place of meeting until 2 October when they moved to the warmer and more private Jerusalem Chamber . After their initial meeting they adjourned for about a week, as Parliament had not yet given specific instructions. On 6 July, they received a set of rules from Parliament and were ordered to examine the first ten of
22796-544: The south-western peninsula of Kintyre ; Norway is 190 miles (305 km) to the northeast and the Faroe Islands , 168 miles (270 km) to the north. The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and the Kingdom of England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Important exceptions include the Isle of Man , which having been lost to England in
22960-412: The technological developments of the Industrial Revolution throughout Britain. In literature, the most successful figure of the mid-19th century was Walter Scott . His first prose work, Waverley in 1814, is often called the first historical novel. It launched a highly successful career that probably more than any other helped define and popularise Scottish cultural identity. In the late 19th century,
23124-446: The terms of the Auld Alliance and became the last monarch in Great Britain to die in battle, at Flodden in 1513. The war with England during the minority years of Mary, Queen of Scots between 1543 and 1551 is known as the Rough Wooing . In 1560, the Treaty of Edinburgh brought an end to the Siege of Leith and recognized the Protestant Elizabeth I as Queen of England. The Parliament of Scotland met and immediately adopted
23288-513: The threat of an English invasion, played a leading role in convincing the Scots elite to back a union with England. On 22 July 1706, the Treaty of Union was agreed between representatives of the Scots Parliament and the Parliament of England . The following year, twin Acts of Union were passed by both parliaments to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain with effect from 1 May 1707 with popular opposition and anti-union riots in Edinburgh , Glasgow , and elsewhere. The union also created
23452-422: The total population, though state-sponsored revitalisation attempts have led to a growing community of second language speakers. 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
23616-641: The twelfth and thirteenth centuries, much of Scotland was under the control of a single ruler. Initially, Gaelic culture predominated, but immigrants from France, England and Flanders steadily created a more diverse society, with the Gaelic language starting to be replaced by Scots; and a modern nation-state emerged from this. At the end of this period, war against England started the growth of a Scottish national consciousness . David I (1124–1153) and his successors centralised royal power and united mainland Scotland, capturing regions such as Moray, Galloway , and Caithness , although he could not extend his power over
23780-429: The validity of churches in different territories, the outcome of the Assembly's debates marks the wider acceptance of the idea that several true churches may be found in the same territory. The Confession produced by the Assembly was adopted with amendments by Congregationalists in England in the form of the 1658 Savoy Declaration , as well as by Particular Baptists in the form of the 1689 Baptist Confession . When
23944-501: The war lent support to the cause of the Assembly in Parliament, because holding it would convince the Scots that Parliament was serious about reforming the church and induce the Scots to come to their aid. On the other hand, the war added strain to the already busy Parliament. Parliament finally passed an ordinance to hold the assembly on its own authority without Charles's assent on 12 June 1643. It named as many as 121 ministers and thirty non-voting parliamentary observers: twenty from
24108-418: The wettest, with annual rainfall in a few places exceeding 3,000 mm (120 in). In comparison, much of lowland Scotland receives less than 800 mm (31 in) annually. Heavy snowfall is not common in the lowlands, but becomes more common with altitude. Braemar has an average of 59 snow days per year, while many coastal areas average fewer than 10 days of lying snow per year. Scotland's wildlife
24272-407: The whole of Great Britain was forestalled by Roman forces becoming bogged down in punishing guerrilla warfare and the death of the senior emperor Septimius Severus ( r. 193–211 ) at Eboracum ( York ) after he was taken ill while on campaign. Although forts erected by the Roman army in the Severan campaign were placed near those established by Agricola and were clustered at the mouths of
24436-488: The wooden sailing vessels of both the merchant fleets and the battle fleets of the world. It became the world's pre-eminent shipbuilding centre. The industrial developments, while they brought work and wealth, were so rapid that housing, town planning, and provision for public health did not keep pace with them, and for a time living conditions in some of the towns and cities were notoriously bad, with overcrowding, high infant mortality, and growing rates of tuberculosis. While
24600-500: The working classes was marked by Keir Hardie 's success in the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, 1888 , leading to the foundation of the Scottish Labour Party , which was absorbed into the Independent Labour Party in 1895, with Hardie as its first leader. Glasgow became one of the largest cities in the world and known as "the Second City of the Empire " after London. After 1860, the Clydeside shipyards specialised in steamships made of iron (after 1870, made of steel), which rapidly replaced
24764-461: Was 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) at Floors Castle , Scottish Borders on 19 July 2022. The west of Scotland is usually warmer than the east, owing to the influence of Atlantic ocean currents and the colder surface temperatures of the North Sea . Tiree , in the Inner Hebrides, is one of the sunniest places in the country: it had more than 300 hours of sunshine in May 1975. Rainfall varies widely across Scotland. The western highlands of Scotland are
24928-418: Was a de facto free church situation until the Restoration in 1660, when a compulsory episcopal system was reinstated. The new Form of Government was much more acceptable to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland . They passed it on 10 February 1645, contingent on some particularities of presbyterian government which were expected to be worked out in a forthcoming Directory for Church Government. At
25092-445: Was a prominent supporter for the Treaty of Union between Scotland and England had changed his position on the treaty, and unsuccessfully advocated for the treaty to be reversed. The deposed Jacobite Stuart claimants had remained popular in the Highlands and north-east, particularly among non- Presbyterians , including Roman Catholics and Episcopalian Protestants . Two major Jacobite risings launched in 1715 and 1745 failed to remove
25256-426: Was available to people through nature as well as the Bible, but they also believed that the Bible, or Scripture, is the only way in which people attain saving knowledge of God. The doctrine of Scripture was also a particularly important area of debate at the time. Scholars had begun to argue that the Hebrew vowel points , marks added to the text to aid in pronunciation, of the Old Testament were probably not part of
25420-446: Was built from 142 at the order of Hadrian's successor Antoninus Pius ( r. 138–161 ), defending the Roman part of Scotland from the unadministered part of the island, north of a line between the Firth of Clyde and the Firth of Forth . The Roman invasion of Caledonia 208–210 was undertaken by emperors of the imperial Severan dynasty in response to the breaking of a treaty by the Caledonians in 197, but permanent conquest of
25584-478: Was called the covenant of grace. This covenant allowed man to enjoy eternal life despite his inability to obey God's law perfectly. The idea of the covenant of grace was a much more common feature of orthodox Reformed theology. The Westminster divines set these two covenants against each other as the two major ways in which God deals with people. The divines associated William Laud and his followers with Catholicism, which they were even more strongly opposed to. Before
25748-490: Was complex during this period: Scottish kings tried several times, sometimes with success, to exploit English political turmoil, followed by the longest period of peace between Scotland and England in the mediaeval period: from 1217–1296. The death of Alexander III in March 1286 broke the succession line of Scotland's kings. Edward I of England arbitrated between various claimants for the Scottish crown. In return for surrendering Scotland's nominal independence, John Balliol
25912-429: Was covered in forests, had more bog-land, and the main form of transport was by water. These settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Neolithic habitation, burial, and ritual sites are particularly common and well preserved in
26076-399: Was one of the earliest and best-known missionaries. The Vikings began to raid Scotland in the eighth century. Although the raiders sought slaves and luxury items, their main motivation was to acquire land. The oldest Norse settlements were in northwest Scotland, but they eventually conquered many areas along the coast. Old Norse entirely displaced Pictish in the Northern Isles . In
26240-545: Was only willing to consider such an assembly if the members were chosen by the clergy. This was the practice for selection of members of Convocation , the assembly of clergy of the Church of England. Defying the king, between 12 February and 20 April 1642, each county delegation of England in the Commons chose two divines, in addition to two for each county of Wales , four for London , and two for each University ( Oxford and Cambridge ). County delegations often chose divines from their own county, but not always. Commons chose
26404-408: Was open to any member of the Assembly. The committees would be assigned topics and prepare propositions for debate in the full Assembly following each morning of committee meetings. In addition, over 200 ad hoc committees were appointed for tasks such as examination of candidate preachers, college fellows , and suspected heretics. The Assembly resolved, after some debate, that all the doctrines of
26568-424: Was pronounced king in 1292. In 1294, Balliol and other Scottish lords refused Edward's demands to serve in his army against the French. Scotland and France sealed a treaty on 23 October 1295, known as the Auld Alliance . War ensued, and John was deposed by Edward who took personal control of Scotland. Andrew Moray and William Wallace initially emerged as the principal leaders of the resistance to English rule in
26732-461: Was to replace the Book of Common Prayer , was swiftly written in 1644 and passed by Parliament on 3 January 1645. The Directory , accepted by the Scots as well, took a middle course between the presbyterians and congregationalists. The presbyterians for the most part preferred a fixed liturgy while congregationalists favoured extemporaneous prayer. The Directory consisted of an order for services with sample prayers. The Assembly also recommended
26896-399: Was used for Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the River Forth , alongside Albania or Albany , both derived from the Gaelic Alba . The use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages . Prehistoric Scotland , before the arrival of
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