Portal:Scotland
Main Page | Selected articles 1 | Selected articles 2 | Selected biographies | Selected quotes | Selected pictures | Featured Content | Categories & Topics |
Introduction
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
Scotland (Scots: Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjacent islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. To the south-east, Scotland has its only land border, which is 96 miles (154 km) long and shared with England; the country is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the north-east and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. The population in 2022 was 5,439,842 and accounts for 8% of the population of the UK. Edinburgh is the capital and Glasgow is the largest of the cities of Scotland.
The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the 9th century. In 1603, James VI inherited the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Ireland, forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. On 1 May 1707 Scotland and England combined to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain, with the Parliament of Scotland subsumed into the Parliament of Great Britain. In 1999 a Scottish Parliament was re-established, and has devolved authority over many areas of domestic policy. The country has a distinct legal system, educational system, and religious history from the rest of the UK, which have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity. Scottish English and Scots are the most widely spoken languages in the country, existing on a dialect continuum with each other. Scottish Gaelic speakers can be found all over Scotland, however the language is largely spoken natively by communities within the Hebrides. The number of Gaelic speakers numbers less than 2% of the total population, though state-sponsored revitalisation attempts have led to a growing community of second language speakers.
The mainland of Scotland is broadly divided into three regions: the Highlands, a mountainous region in the north and north-west; the Lowlands, a flatter plain across the centre of the country; and the Southern Uplands, a hilly region along the southern border. The Highlands are the most mountainous region of the British Isles and contain its highest peak, Ben Nevis, at 4,413 feet (1,345 m). The region also contains many lakes, called lochs; the term is also applied to the many saltwater inlets along the country's deeply indented western coastline. The geography of the many islands is varied. Some, such as Mull and Skye, are noted for their mountainous terrain, while the likes of Tiree and Coll are much flatter. (Full article...)
Selected article
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/The_Darien_Chest%2C_Royal_Museum%2C_Edinburgh.jpg/300px-The_Darien_Chest%2C_Royal_Museum%2C_Edinburgh.jpg)
The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt, backed largely by investors of the Kingdom of Scotland, to gain wealth and influence by establishing New Caledonia, a colony in the Darién Gap on the Isthmus of Panama, in the late 1690s. The plan was for the colony, located on the Gulf of Darién, to establish and manage an overland route to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The backers knew that the first sighting of the Pacific Ocean by Balboa was after crossing the isthmus through Darién. The expedition also claimed sovereignty over 'Crab Isle' (modern day Vieques, Puerto Rico) in 1698, yet sovereignty was short-lived. The attempt at settling the area did not go well; more than 80 per cent of participants died within a year, and the settlement was abandoned twice.
There are many explanations for the disaster. Rival claims have been made suggesting that the undertaking was beset by poor planning and provisioning; divided leadership; a lack of trade with local indigenous tribes or neighbouring Dutch and English colonies; epidemics of tropical disease; widespread opposition to the scheme from commercial interests in England; and a failure to anticipate a military response from the Spanish Empire. It was finally abandoned in March 1700 after a siege by Spanish forces, which also blockaded the harbour.
Selected quotes
" ... Avarice, the spur of industry ... "
" ... No enemy is half so fatal as a friend estranged ... "
In the news
![In the news](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Nuvola_apps_knewsticker.png/65px-Nuvola_apps_knewsticker.png)
- 7 May 2024 – Premiership of John Swinney
- The Scottish Parliament votes to elect John Swinney as First Minister of Scotland with 64 votes in favour and seven abstentions from the Scottish Greens. (BBC News)
- 6 May 2024 – 2024 Scottish National Party leadership election
- John Swinney is elected leader of the Scottish National Party following the resignation of First Minister Humza Yousaf. (The Guardian)
- 4 May 2024 – International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
- Palestinian doctor and rector at the University of Glasgow Ghassan Abu-Sittah is denied entry into France after landing at Charles de Gaulle airport on his way to speak at the French Senate. Last month, he was denied entry into Germany. (Al Jazeera)
- 1 May 2024 – 2024 Scottish government crisis
- The Scottish National Party administration survives the vote of no confidence earlier this week, prompting the party to seek a replacement for outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf. (Al Jazeera)
- 29 April 2024 – 2024 Scottish government crisis
- Ahead of a planned vote of no confidence, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf announces that he will resign from office. (CNBC) (The New York Times)
- 25 April 2024 – 2024 Scottish government crisis
- Premiership of Humza Yousaf
Selected biography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/James_Clerk_Maxwell.png/225px-James_Clerk_Maxwell.png)
James Clerk Maxwell FRSE FRS (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist with broad interests who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and light as different manifestations of the same phenomenon. Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism have been called the "second great unification in physics" where the first one had been realised by Isaac Newton.
With the publication of "A Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic Field" in 1865, Maxwell demonstrated that electric and magnetic fields travel through space as waves moving at the speed of light. He proposed that light is an undulation in the same medium that is the cause of electric and magnetic phenomena. The unification of light and electrical phenomena led to his prediction of the existence of radio waves. Maxwell is also regarded as a founder of the modern field of electrical engineering.
Maxwell was the first to derive the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, a statistical means of describing aspects of the kinetic theory of gases, which he worked on sporadically throughout his career. He is also known for presenting the first durable colour photograph in 1861 and for his foundational work on analysing the rigidity of rod-and-joint frameworks (trusses) like those in many bridges. He is responsible for modern dimensional analysis. Maxwell is also recognized for laying the groundwork for chaos theory.
Selected picture
Sunset in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The high peak on left of the image is Ben Lomond.
Photo credit: Michal Klajban
Did You Know...
![Help available](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/93/Torchlight_help_gray.png/50px-Torchlight_help_gray.png)
- ... that the Aesculapian Club, founded in Edinburgh in 1773, still meets twice a year?
- ... that the 2024 Hillhead by-election was the first by-election won by the Scottish Green Party?
- ... that contrary to Shakespeare's play, Macbeth was not killed during the Battle of Dunsinane?
- ... that the New York Yankees were first named after a Scottish regiment?
- ... that Helen Steven shared the Gandhi International Peace Award for her opposition to the nuclear submarine base in Scotland?
- ... that Julia Dawson's first Clarion Van was named for Scottish socialist Caroline Martyn?
- ... that Scottish glass artist Denis Mann has made the winner's trophy for every series of the British game show Mastermind, which started in 1972?
- ... that within the graveyard of the Category A–listed Crossmichael Parish Church, there is a memorial to William Gordon of Greenlaw that is itself designated Category A in its own right?
Get involved
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Scotland-related articles, see WikiProject Scotland.
To get involved in helping to improve Wikipedia's Scotland related content, please consider doing some of the following tasks or joining one or more of the associated Wikiprojects:
- Visit the Scottish Wikipedians' notice board and help to write new Scotland-related articles, and expand and improve existing ones.
- Visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Scotland/Assessment, and help out by assessing unrated Scottish articles.
- Add the Project Banner to Scottish articles around Wikipedia.
- Participate in WikiProject Scotland's Peer Review, including responding to PR requests and nominating Scottish articles.
- Help nominate and select new content for the Scotland portal.
Do you have a question about The Scotland Portal that you can't find the answer to?
Post a question on the Talk Page or consider asking it at the Wikipedia reference desk.
Related portals
Other language versions
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
- Manually maintained portal pages from July 2018
- All manually maintained portal pages
- Portals with untriaged subpages from July 2018
- All portals with untriaged subpages
- All portals
- Portals with named maintainer
- Random portal component with over 50 available subpages
- Pages using Template:Post-nominals with missing parameters
- Random portal component with over 50 available image subpages
- Scotland
- United Kingdom portals
- Great Britain
- WikiProject Scotland