Scotland
CultureScotland has a civic culture distinct from that of the rest of the British Isles. It originates from various differences, some entrenched as part of the Act of Union, others facets of nationhood not readily defined but readily identifiable.Scots LawScotland retains its own unique legal system, based on Roman law, which combines features of both civil law and common law. The terms of union with England specified the retention of separate systems. Scots Law differs from England's common law system.Scottish EducationScotland also has a separate Scottish education system. The Act of Union guaranteed the rights of the Scottish universities, but more importantly, Scotland became the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education. This began with the Education Act of 1696 and became compulsory for children from the implementation of the Education Act of 1872 onwards. As a result, for over two hundred years Scotland had a higher percentage of its population educated at primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe. The differences in education have manifested themselves in different ways, but most noticeably in the number of Scots who went on to become leaderss in their fields during the 18th and 19th centuries. School students in Scotland sit Higher exams rather than the English A-Level system. Also, a Scottish university's honours degree takes four years of study as opposed to three in the rest of the UK. The university systems in several Commonwealth countries show marked affinities with the Scottish rather than the English system.BankingBanking in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England remains the central bank for the UK Government, three Scottish corporate banks still issue their own banknotes: (the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In Scotland, neither they nor the Bank of England's notes rank as legal tender (as Scots law lacks the concept), however banknotes issued by any of the four banks meet with common acceptance. See British banknotes. For a further discussion read Legal Tender The modern system of branch banking (in which banks maintain a nationwide system of offices rather than one or two central offices) originated in Scotland. Only strong political pressure during the 19th century prevented the resultant strong banking system from taking over banking in England. However, although Scottish banks proved unwelcome in England at the time, their business model became widely copied, firstly in England and later in the rest of the world.SportsScotland has many national sporting associations, such as the Scottish Football Association or the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU). This gives the country independent representation at many international sporting events such as the football World Cup. Scotland cannot compete in the Olympic Games independently however, and Scottish athletes must compete as part of the Great Britain team if they wish to take part. Scotland does however send its own team to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Scotland also has its own sporting competitions distinct from the rest of the UK, such as the Scottish Football League and the SRU.MediaScotland has distinct media from the rest of the UK. For example, it produces many national newspapers such as The Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid) and the two major broadsheets, The Herald based in Glasgow, and The Scotsman in Edinburgh. The Herald, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald, changed its name to promote a national rather than a regional identity. Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail (published by the Daily Record) and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively. Regional dailies include The Courier and Advertiser in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north. Scotland has its own BBC services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and Gaelic language service, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, whilst others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK and further afield. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football leagues, separate from those of England. Three Independent Television stations (Scottish TV, Grampian TV and Border) also broadcast in Scotland. Although they previously had independent existences, Scottish TV (serving the Central Lowlands) and Grampian (serving the Highlands and Islands) now belong to the same company (The Scottish Media Group) and resemble each other closely, apart from local news coverage. "Border" has had a more complex position, as it also has to serve neighbouring areas across the border in England, as well as the Isle of Man, and it now has separate news programs for each side of the border. Most of the independent television output equates to that transmitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of news and current affairs, sport, cultural and Gaelic language programming.Other facets of Scottish CultureScotland retains its own distinct sense of nationhood. Academic research consistently shows that people in Scotland feel Scottish, whilst not necessarily feeling the need to see that translated into the establishment of a fully-independent Scottish nation-state. Scotland also has its own unique family of languages and dialects, helping to foster a strong sense of "Scottish-ness". See Scots Language. Scotland retains its own national church, separate from that of England. See Church of Scotland and the section on "Religion" elsewhere in this article. These factors combine together to form a strong, readily identifiable Scottish civic culture.MiscellaneousScotland's iconic claims to fame include:\n*Bagpipes\n*Robert Burns, Burns night, Burns supper\n*Haggis\n*Irn Bru\n*Kilts and Tartan\n*Loch Ness, said to contain the Loch Ness monster "Nessie".\n*Scotch whisky and its distilleries\n*Scottish Highlands (Cairngorms, Aviemore, Munros) and islands (Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland)\n*Hogmanay (New Year's Eve)\n*Scottish country dancing\n*Shortbread\n*Tweed, especially Harris Tweed \nReligionThe Church of Scotland (often referred to as The Kirk) functions as the national church. It differs from the Church of England in that it has a Presbyterian form of church governance, not subject to state control. This goes back to the Scottish experience of reformation, initiated in 1560 by John Knox. The Scottish Reformation in essence took place at a grassroots level, and the Scots chose Presbyterianism as their method of church government. This differs from the situation in England, where Henry the Eighth personally unleashed the English Reformation and chose the Episcopal system that survives to this day in the Church of England. A number of other Christian denominationss exist in Scotland, amongst them Roman Catholicism, which made a comeback through immigration after Protestants brutally repressed it during the 16th to late 18th centuries. It has now become the largest faith outwith The Kirk. As well as The Kirk we find various other Protestant churches, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms a full part of the Anglican Communion, and the Free Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian off-shoot from the established Church of Scotland. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland, although its numbers remain very small. Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems owing to the religious divide between Presbyterians and Catholics. This problem has historically manifested itself in a number of ways, particularly in employment and in football fanaticism. The problems associated with sectarianism in Scotland have diminished markedly compared with the past, although issues do remain to a certain degree. Figures from the 2001 Census on Religion in Scotland: {|\n|Religion||Population\n|---\n|Church of Scotland||42%\n|---\n|Roman Catholic||16%\n|---\n|Other Christian||7%\n|---\n|Islamic||0.8%\n|---\n|Buddhist||0.1%\n|---\n|Sikh||0.1%\n|---\n|Judaism||0.1%\n|---\n|Hindu||0.1%\n|---\n|Other Religion||0.5%\n|---\n|No Religion||28%\n|---\n|No Answer||5%\n|}Politics\nSee main article: Politics of Scotland Historically the politics of Scotland have reflected those of the UK as a whole, although with some differences. For example, besides the main UK-wide political parties (Labour, Conservatives and the Lib-Dems) a number of Scottish-specific parties operate. These include the Scottish Independence Party (SIP), the Scottish National Party (SNP), the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Scottish Green Party. These parties became more of a force in Scottish politics after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1998. The traditional political divides of left and right have also intersected with arguments over devolution, which all the UK-wide parties have supported to some degree throughout their history (although both Labour and the Conservatives have swithered a number of times between supporting and opposing it). However, now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Scotland's constitutional status remains between those who support Scottish independence and those who oppose it. Recent trends indicate, according to the State of the Nation Poll 2004, that 66% of Scots would like the Scottish Parliament to have more powers, while only 2% would like to see the powers returned to Westminster.The Scottish EconomyThe Scottish economy comprises many different sectors. Oil remains important, although light engineering and shipbuilding have seen a decline in recent years, and the service sector (especially finance and call centres) has increased in importance. Rural activities like fishing and agriculture remain important, although the country's 'Silicon Glen' has also seen growth in the manufacture of computers and mobile phones. Scotch whisky production continues to have significance, as does the country's tourism industry.See also
External links\n*Scotland Royalty - Kings & Queens of Scotland!\n*Scottish Executive\n*Scottish Parliament\n*General Register Office for Scotland, where you may view census data\n* H.L. MacQueen, Scots Law and the Road to the New Ius Commune vol. 4.4 Electronic Journal of Comparative Law (December 2000)\n*Radio Scotland\n*Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics Category:Scotland\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nsimple:Scotland\n\n |
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"Give me chastity and continence, but not yet." - Saint Augustine (354-430) |
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