The History of Scotland

by Plantagenet Somerset Fry, Fiona Somerset Fry

Scotland is not England. Its prehistory is older, it remained largely unconquered in Roman times, and its development--certainly up to the arrival of the Normans in the eleventh century--was quite separate from that of England.

The story of Scotland deserves to be re-told, and in this book Plantagenet and Fiona Somerset Fry tell it from prehistoric times to the present in a clear and straightforward manner, and from the Scottish point of view. Too many histories of Scotland, they feel, compress the first four or five thousand years--from the Maes Howe and Skara Brae settlements down to Malcolm III (1057-93)--into a single chapter, thus doing less than justice to an important history of a great fusion of peoples. This book gives considerable attention to Scotland in early times. The authors discuss Scotland's right to independence down the centuries, and describe her struggle to maintain it, a struggle hardly helped by many leading Scottish lords and commoners who often thought more of their own wealth, standing and opportunities than of their nation. The many continuities in Scottish history are emphasized and the contributions made by Scots to world civilization and advancement are shown.

As well as digging into the past to tell the story of Scotland's splendid history and unique heritage, the authors also look to Scotland's future, and they conclude in great optimism and hope for a sustained period of greatness, in which the Scottish national attributes of hard work, rugged morality, academic enthusiasm, proverbial courage and artistic flair will continue to flourish.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 1985

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a concise and straightforward history of an amazing country called Scotland. In only a little more than 200 pages, the authors present us with 5000 years of history, taking us from prehistory to 1980. Interestingly, I'm reading this at a time (2020) when many Scottish people are disgruntled concerning Brexit and, in the future, the majority of Scots may very well vote for independence--in order to return to the European Union.
The Scots are a Celtic people (with a strong Scandinavian influence due to the Vikings!). They have been very proud of their culture and have struggled mightily over the centuries to maintain their distinctive identity. Throughout the past millennium, they have been overshadowed by their much larger and richer neighbor, England. It was interesting to read that the Anglo-Saxons were pressing into southern Scotland from England beginning in the 7th Century. After 1066, William the Conqueror's Normans became an even greater threat as the Normans had a more centralized government in England than the Anglo-Saxons had had.
By the 14th C., the English warrior King Edward I had defeated William Wallace ("Braveheart") and had him executed in 1305. Edward was the conqueror of Scotland--at least the Lowlands of the south. Then in 1306, Robert Bruce was crowned king of Scotland. Edward organized a powerful invasion of Scotland to crush Bruce--and died. His son, Edward II, called off the invasion. It was in 1314 that the English invaded Scotland-- and King Robert defeated them at the Battle of Bannock Burn, the most important victory in Scottish history. It established an independent Scotland which would last until 1707, when the Act of Union was ratified by the Scottish parliament, which then dissolved itself. The authors argue that the Scots were tricked into the Union and did not derive the benefits that they expected from union with England (and Wales).
The Highlanders rebelled in support of "Bonnie Prince Charlie" Stuart and independence for all Scotland but they were crushed at the terrible Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Highlands were devastated and the Highland clans' power destroyed. Speaking Gaelic, wearing kilts and playing bagpipes were forbidden. It was the great poet Robert Burns who would revive Scottish culture.
For me, a most remarkable chapter of history began in the same period-the 18th C- which saw Scots leading the way in the Age of Reason and the Industrial Revolution. Edinburgh was an intellectual center to rival Paris. David Hume became the leading British philosopher and Adam Smith laid the foundations for the science of economics. James Watt patented his steam engine in 1769. In 1802, a steam engine was used to power the first steamboat--in Scotland. John Macadam invented the road surface named for him. Scots were among the leaders in science and invention in the 19th C. James Simpson first used chloroform as an anesthetic in 1847. James Clerk Maxwell discovered electromagnetic radiation and Charles Lyell was the father of modern geology. Going into the 20th Century, Robert Watson-Watt invented radar and Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin. The Scots have indeed made great contributions to the wider world. And never forget that they produce the best whisky in the world. Can they again become an independent nation, reviving the spirit of past heroes like Wallace, Bruce and Bonnie Prince Charlie?

[Melanie]

I'm not going to rate this book because I only got to page 6. The reason I gave up on page 6 is this sentence here: "If you study Map 1 you will see how difficult it must have been for these early peoples to move about, once they had got to Scotland, to communicate with each other."

I'm sorry, how am I supposed to see that on a map that's so simplistic it could be replicated by a 5 year-old in dried macaroni. There's no topography, there's not even any orienting markers such as large cities or rivers. The major bodies of water are marked and the country is broken up into the categories Southern Uplands, Midland Valley, NW Highlands and Grampian Highlands.

That's it. That's the entirety of the map. Yet we're told that "Elsewhere in Highland Territory, the great mountainous massif from Loch Lomond up towards the northern mainland of Caithness, the land has always been rugged and bare..." Where is Loch Lomond and were is Caithness? Are we talking about the NW Highlands or the Grampian Highlands? Or both? No idea. I've seen more detailed fantasy maps.

I realize this may seem like a petty reason to put down a book, particularly before I've given it much of a chance. But I think this just underlines the problem with these types of history overview books which is supposed to cover 5000 years of history in large-printed 225 pages.

At best the look at Scottish history was going to be as simplistic at that map. At worst the authors were going to treat the rest of the history the way they did that map, and expect us to use our imaginations to fill in the gaps, and that is not what non-fiction is supposed to be about. That's what fiction is for.