General Scottish History
The Scottish Declaration of Independence
While Scotland is the oldest existing nation in Europe, on April 6, 1320 the leaders of Scotland (Scottish clergy, nobility, and King Robert the Bruce) signed the Declaration of Arbroath, reaffirming Scottish sovereignty as an independent nation. This was done after Scotland won what is considered the "First War of Scottish Independence" against England. It is remembered each year in the United States, every April 6th as "National Tartan Day." In 1997, the U.S. Senate formally recognized the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath as the model for the American Declaration of Independence. One third of the American Founding Fathers were from Scottish ancestry, including Thomas Jefferson who authored the Declaration of Independence.
- April 6, 2020 is the 700th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath.
- About the Declaration on Wikipedia
- View Original - National Archives of Scotland
History of the Modern Scottish Independence Movement
Go to the IndyRef2020.com website.
Scottish Migrations to the Americas
In the 1700s the great migration of Scots to America and Canada began. There were 3 groups of Scots who migrated: Lowlanders, Highlanders, and Scots-Irish/Ulster-Scots from Northern Ireland. All 3 groups may have had a different starting point, but when they got to America and Canada, but they all had a common migration story that intertwines together. In Canada, the Scots settled in areas like Nova Scotia (New Scotland). In America, the Scots settled in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, some heading west to Ohio, the Midwest, and Indiana, but a largest group of Scots settled in the southern Appalachia Mountain areas of Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and Georgia.
The main causes of this migration were changes in the agricultural society and management of the land in what was called the Lowland Clearances and Highland Clearances. This agricultural revolution had the effect of driving clans off the lands they had lived and farmed for hundreds of years. In the mid-1700s, the British also began a campaign of eradicating Highland culture and persecuting its people after failure of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and their defeat in the 1746 Battle of Culloden.
Ulster-Scots or Scots-Irish (as they are known in America and Canada) are not those who are of both Irish and Scottish blood, but rather are those Lowland Scots who migrated to Northern Ireland to the Plantation of Ulster in the early 1600s, many later migrating to America and Canada in the 1700s.
Ancient Scottish History
The further back in history one goes, in general it is harder to pinpoint certain truths beyond available historical records. You will find many connecting the dots between these records and this enters into an area of speculation and sometimes wishful thinking. For example, some make the connection of the Celts being a part of the lost tribes of Israel. While Scottish Kings believed this to be true, and while it may be true, I find it interesting but not overwhelming relevant due to the fact that in the Bible it states that if you are a follower of Jesus (Y'shua) you are adopted into the Nation of Israel [Ephesians 2:12-13]. Also note that suggested timelines in the videos that go back beyond the time of Christ (BC/BCE) are speculative and still debated upon in academia, so don't put too much weight in very ancient time dates. I do not necessarily agree with some of the conclusions in the videos below, but I present them here without further comment.