A Brief History of Scotland and the U.K.
Well, the Scots have spoken. While the campaign for Scottish independence received 1,617,989 votes in yesterday’s referendum, those wishing to stay part of the United Kingdom accounted for 2,001,926 votes, a 55%-45% victory.
If you’re like me, in recent weeks you’ve likely learned a lot about Scotland, the UK, Great Britain, and much more that we never got to in our social studies classes. But if you haven’t had a chance to keep abreast, it’s not to late. I’ve put below two videos by CGP Grey, a wonderful animator and teacher (I don’t know if he’s actually a teacher by profession, but his videos are reliably educational and informative). The first is on how Scotland joined the United Kingdom in the first place; the second is about Great Britain and the United Kingdom more generally. You’ll be surprised by what you’ll learn – at least I was!
And below that two more, just for good measure: a 2 minute history of Scotland produced by CNN, and then the answer – at least from the point of view of Willie the Grounds Keeper of The Simpsons – on who would have led an independent Scotland (and, yes, it’s quite funny).
Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click the title of the post at the top the page to watch these videos.
Learned a few things myself about sovereign states and such.In America,many citizens refer to the U.K as ”England’…..annoying (to a proud Scot who voted to remain part of the U.K)