From the earliest times to the present day, this work traces the origin of Scottish national identity and people's perceptions of it. It covers the Scottish Origin Legend, expressed in the works of medieval chroniclers, to the ideas of contemporary historians. The author also examines such topics as: Gaelic kingship, George Buchanan, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, James Macpherson, Goths versus Gaels, and George Chalmers.

The traditional view of the Scottish nation holds that it first arose during the Wars of Independence from England in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Although Scotland was absorbed into Britain in 1707 with the Treaty of Union, Scottish identity is supposed to have remained alive in the new state through separate institutions of religion (the Church of Scotland), education, and the legal system. Neil Davidson argues otherwise. The Scottish nation did not exist before 1707. The Scottish national consciousness we know today was not preserved by institutions carried over from the pre-Union period, but arose after and as a result of the Union, for only then were the material obstacles to nationhood – most importantly the Highland/Lowland divide – overcome. This Scottish nation was constructed simultaneously with and as part of the British nation, and the eighteenth century Scottish bourgeoisie were at the forefront of constructing both. The majority of Scots entered the Industrial Revolution with a dual national consciousness, but only one nationalism, which was British. The Scottish nationalism which arose in Scotland during the twentieth century is therefore not a revival of a pre-Union nationalism after 300 years, but an entirely new formation. Davidson provides a revisionist history of the origins of Scottish and British national consciousness that sheds light on many of the contemporary debates about nationalism.

Written by his former colleagues and students--who are now leading historians--the essays in this resource are a tribute to William Ferguson, a pioneering scholar who has published major work on modern Scottish history and its importance to the Scottish identity. These accounts reflect the impressive range of Ferguson's interests, from medieval history to present day, and pay homage to both his controversial subjects as well as his contribution to the revival of Scottish history as part of Scottish culture and politics.

This volume examines the impact of military activity upon Scotland's national identity as the country underwent a fundamental transition through domestic centralisation at the turn of the seventeenth century, integration into the United Kingdom in 1707, and as a partner in Britain's global empire during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is divided into three thematic sections that examine the evolution of Scottish military identity over the early modern period, how the Highland region moved from a relationship of hostility to the Lowland political authorities to the central element in eighteenth and ninteenth century Scottish soldiering, and, finally, how aspects of Scotland's civilian society interrelated with her soldiers.

T. M. Devine uses extensive original research to examine Scotland's urban vigor as well as describing the traditional aspects of Scottish history, covering key topics such as the Union, the Enlightenment, Industrialization, the Clearances, Religion, and the Road to Devolution. He also explores the global Diaspora of the Scots, the impact of migrants, and the effect of the World Wars. Throughout, Scotland's story is set against the background of British, European, and world history.

'The Scottish Nation, 1700-2007' examines the social, political, religious and economic factors that have shaped modern Scotland. Devine places Scotland firmly within an international context and provides a key focus for the ongoing debate regarding Scotland's future.

Understanding Scotland has been recognised since publication as the key text on the sociology of Scotland. This wholly revised edition provides the first sustained study of post-devolution Scottish society. It contains new material on: * the establishment of the Scottish parliament in 1999 * social and political data from the 1997 general elections * the new cultural iconography of Scotland * Scotland as a European society. For anyone wishing to understand Scottish society in particular or the general issues involved in nation building, McCrone's clear-headed coherently argued account of the main issues will be essential reading.