Scottish nationalism

Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity.

Scottish nationalism began to shape from the 1920s to the 1970s and achieved present ideological maturity in the 1980s and 1990s. The nation's origin, political context and unique characteristics including the Gaelic language,[1][2] poetry and film maintains an individual's distinct identification and support of Scotland.

Origins

The Acts of Union merged both the Parliaments and Kingdoms of Scotland and England in 1707 to be "united into one Kingdom of Great Britain", but a separate legal system and distinct Scottish institutions continue to exist.[3]

Language

Under to the 1872 Education Act, school attendance was compulsory and only English was taught or tolerated in the schools of both the Lowlands and the Highlands and Islands. As a result, any student who spoke Scots or Scottish Gaelic in the school or on its grounds could expect what Ronald Black calls the, "familiar Scottish experience of being thrashed for speaking [their] native language."[4]

For this reason, the protection and revival of both Gaelic[5] and Lowland Scots play a key role in nationalist ideology.

Linguistic independence is primarily associated with the poetry of Robert Burns about the events of the Scottish Wars of Independence, before it experienced a resurgence during the Scottish Renaissance, as led by Hugh MacDiarmid.[6]

Since devolution and the passing of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, and Scottish nationalists have spearheaded an effort to bring Scottish Gaelic back from the brink of extinction through the spread of immersion schools funded by the Scottish Parliament.

Politics

Within politics, Scottish nationalism was held as a key ideology by the National Party of Scotland which later became the Scottish National Party. Their rise in popularity since being elected to government at Holyrood in 2007 led to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. The referendum was held on 18 September 2014, and was a victory for the "Better Together" campaign; who advocated keeping Scotland part of the United Kingdom, with 55% of the Scottish electorate across all 32 council areas voting "No" to independence. However, four of the thirty-two local authority council areas in Scotland did have a majority "Yes" vote in support of independence: Dundee, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire, which accounted for the wishes of 1,617,989 people.

Despite the nationalist side losing the referendum, the SNP experienced a surge in support in the following months, and won a landslide majority in Scotland at the UK general election the following year; ending 51 years of dominance by Scottish Labour. Many long-serving Labour politicians lost their seats in the biggest political upset in decades, with the SNP winning all but three Scottish House of Commons seats and displacing the Liberal Democrats to become the third party of the United Kingdom; despite only standing for election in Scotland. On Thursday, 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on continuing membership of the European Union, which resulted in 52% of the British electorate voting for the United Kingdom to Leave the European Union. A second Scottish independence referendum has been proposed, as 62% of the Scottish electorate voted for the UK to Remain in the European Union, and guaranteed prosperity through Single Market access was part of the Better Together campaign's argument convince Scottish people to vote to stay part of the UK.[7]

In 2021, former SNP Leader and First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond launched the Alba Party and announced it would run in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, to try and a achieve a "supermajority" for Scottish independence.[8]

Popular Culture

Hugh MacDiarmid was an influential figure and staunch believer in Scottish nationalism.

Poetry

In 1375, Scottish Makar, or court poet, John Barbour completed the epic poem The Brus, which retells and celebrates the deeds of Robert the Bruce, who led the Scottish people in their Wars of Independence against Kings Edward I and Edward II of England and who ultimately became King of Scotland.
Around 1488, fellow Scottish Makar Blind Harry wrote the epic poem The Wallace, about the life and death of iconic Scottish nationalist leader Sir William Wallace.
Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair (c.1698-1770), a Jacobite war poet and major figure in Scottish Gaelic literature, has also been having a growing influence upon both Scottish nationalism and even republicanism. Despite his own personal Monarchism and passionate loyalty to the House of Stuart, Alasdair's many poetic denunciations and satires against the House of Hanover, the ancestors of the modern British royal family, have been admired, praised, and translated by poets and writers who favour Scottish independence.[9][10]
The events of the Scottish Wars of Independence are also a regular theme in the verse of Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns.
Hugh MacDiarmid (1892 - 1978) was a Scottish poet, considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Renaissance, he had a great influence on Scottish culture and politics.

Film

Braveheart is a historical war film that portrays the life of William Wallace during the First War of Scottish Independence, Mel Gibson portrayed Wallace onscreen as well as directing the film. Screenwriter Randall Wallace had largely based the screenplay upon the poem The Wallace by Blind Harry. Although the film caused a rise in Scottish nationalism, with Lin Anderson, author of Braveheart: From Hollywood To Holyrood, claiming the film helped Scotland get its own devolved parliament,[11] the film has been criticized for its historical inaccuracy, but its alleged inaccuracies have entered into popular culture itself.[12]
What was intended to be a more accurate film about the Wars of Scottish Independence was written and directed by David Mackenzie and titled, Outlaw King. This being said, Outlaw King has faced its own critics for inaccuracy. A notable example is how Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) is portrayed as enigmatic and well-behaved man of the people who desires to restore Scotland to the Scottish people. However, historian Fiona Watson notes the real King Robert I was most likely cold, canny, and driven by his personal ambition, and Edward, Prince of Wales (Billy Howle), Bruce's enemy, was depicted as a cruel, sadistic, and oppressive person who is eager to succeed his father, King Edward Longshanks (Stephen Dillane). In reality, Prince Edward was reluctant to assume the kingship and was known to be generous with his servants.[13]

References

"Scottish Gaelic".
"Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan 2016-2021".
G. M. Trevelyan, Ramilies and the Union with Scotland (Fonatana) p. 285-6
Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, p. 787.
"Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan 2016-2021".
P. S. Fry/R. Mitchison, The History of Scotland (1989) p. 209
"SCOTLANDʼS FUTURE YOUR GUIDE TO AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND" (PDF). gov.scot. gov.scot. 1 November 2013. p. i. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
"Former SNP leader Alex Salmond launches new political party". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
Not Burns – Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair! by Alan Riach, The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland, 11, February 2016.
A great Scot, too aft forgot: Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair by Hamish MacPherson, The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland, 13th January, 2020.
"Wallace movie 'helped Scots get devolution' - [Sunday Herald]". 2013-07-02. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
"The 10 most historically inaccurate movies - Times Online". 2011-06-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
"What 'Outlaw King' gets wrong - according to a historian". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.

External links

Media related to Scottish nationalism at Wikimedia Commons

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[1] "Scottish Gaelic".

[2] "Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan 2016-2021".

[3] G. M. Trevelyan, Ramilies and the Union with Scotland (Fonatana) p. 285-6

[4] Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th Century Scottish Gaelic Verse, p. 787.

[5] "Scottish Government Gaelic Language Plan 2016-2021".

[6] P. S. Fry/R. Mitchison, The History of Scotland (1989) p. 209

[White_Paper-7] "SCOTLANDʼS FUTURE YOUR GUIDE TO AN INDEPENDENT SCOTLAND" (PDF). gov.scot. gov.scot. 1 November 2013. p. i. Retrieved 18 November 2019.

[8] "Former SNP leader Alex Salmond launches new political party". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.

[9] Not Burns – Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair! by Alan Riach, The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland, 11, February 2016.

[10] A great Scot, too aft forgot: Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair by Hamish MacPherson, The National: The Newspaper that Supports an Independent Scotland, 13th January, 2020.

[11] "Wallace movie 'helped Scots get devolution' - [Sunday Herald]". 2013-07-02. Archived from the original on 2013-07-02. Retrieved 2021-03-28.

[12] "The 10 most historically inaccurate movies - Times Online". 2011-06-15. Archived from the original on 2011-06-15. Retrieved 2021-03-28.

[13] "What 'Outlaw King' gets wrong - according to a historian". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.

Ethnic nationalism
Nationalisms	Acholi Afrikaner Ainu Albanian in Albania in Kosovo in North Macedonia American Andalusian Arab Aragonese Argentine Armenian Aromanian Assamese Assyrian Asturian Australian Austrian Azerbaijani Aztec Balkar and Karachay Baloch Bamar Basque Bavarian Belarusian Bengali in Bangladesh Berber Bodo Bosniak Breton Canadian Canarian Cantonese Castilian Catalan Champa Chechen Cherokee Chicano Chinese Circassian Coptic Cornish Corsican Croatian Czech Egyptian English Estonian Filipino Finnish French Frisian Galician German in Austria Georgian Greek in Cyprus Guarani Han Hazara Hungarian Icelandic Igbo Indian Ingush Iranian Iraqi Irish Italian Japanese Jewish Kabyle Kashubian Khmer Korean Kurdish Lebanese Lezgin Lithuanian Lombard Macedonian Malay Manchurian Mapuche Mayan Meitei Moldovan Mongolian South Mongolia Montenegrin Naga Navaho Neftenya Norwegian Occitan Okinawan Ogoni Ossetian Palestinian Pashtun Polish Punjabi Quebec Romani (Gypsy) Romanian Russian Ryukyu Sakha Sahrawi Sardinian Scottish Serbian Sicilian Sindhi Sinhalese Somali Slovak Slovenian Spanish Tamil in Sri Lanka Tatar Tibetan Tigrayan Tripuri Turkish in Cyprus Ukrainian Ulster Uyghur Valencian Venetian Vietnamese Welsh Yoruba Zaza
Pan-nationalisms	African Algerian Arab Asian Bangladeshi Chinese Congolese Celtic European Germanic Hispanic Iberian Indian Iranian Iraqi Israeli Korean Latin Libyan Mongolian Native American Nigerian Nordic Oceanian Pakistani Russian Scandinavian Slavic Tunisian Turanian Turkic Ugandan
Movements	Alsace independence movement Assam separatist movements Assyrian independence movement Catalan independence movement Champa independence movement East Turkestan independence movement Faroese independence movement Flemish Movement Free Aceh Movement Free Papua Movement Future of Åland Galician independence movement (Spain) Greenlandic independence Guangdong Independence Movement Hawaiian sovereignty movement Inner Mongolian independence movement Kaszëbskô Jednota Māori protest movement Mapuche separatist movement Muslim Independence Movement (Philippines) National Liberation Front of Corsica Patani United Liberation Organisation Ryukyu independence movement Scottish independence Siberian regionalism Silesian Autonomy Movement Székely autonomy movement Taiwan independence movement Tibetan independence movement Vojvodina Autonomist Movement Wallmapuwen Walloon Movement Welsh independence
Projects	Arakan Artsakh Assyria Azawad Balawaristan Balochistan Bangsamoro Basque Country (greater region) Catalan Countries Chameria Champa Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Circassia Crimea Hatay State Hazarajat Danzig Donetsk East Turkestan Herzeg-Bosnia Hutu Power Ilirida Karakalpakstan Karelia Katarismo Ketuanan Melayu Kurdistan Lezgistan Luhansk Manchukuo Marathi Abhimaangeet Northern Epirus Ossetia Pashtunistan Republika Srpska Santa Cruz Sápmi Saraikistan Silesia Sindhudesh Székely Land Tamil Eelam Tibet
Other	Racial American Indigenous Black Indigenous Korean White Zionism
Note: Forms of nationalism based primarily on ethnic groups are listed above. This does not imply that all nationalists with a given ethnicity subscribe to that form of ethnic nationalism.