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Introduction

Flag of Scotland

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. 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 succeeded to the thrones of England and 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 its own distinct legal system, education system and religious history, 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...)

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Dunnottar Castle (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Fhoithear, "fort on the shelving slope") is a ruined medieval fortress located upon a rocky headland on the north-eastern coast of Scotland, about 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of Stonehaven. The surviving buildings are largely of the 15th and 16th centuries, but the site is believed to have been fortified in the Early Middle Ages. Dunnottar has played a prominent role in the history of Scotland through to the 18th-century Jacobite risings because of its strategic location and defensive strength.

Dunnottar is best known as the place where the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish crown jewels, were hidden from Oliver Cromwell's invading army in the 17th century. The property of the Keiths from the 14th century, and the seat of the Earl Marischal, Dunnottar declined after the last Earl forfeited his titles by taking part in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715. The castle was restored in the 20th century and is now open to the public.

The ruins of the castle are spread over 1.4 hectares (3+1⁄2 acres), surrounded by steep cliffs that drop to the North Sea, 160 feet (50 metres) below. A narrow strip of land joins the headland to the mainland, along which a steep path leads up to the gatehouse. The various buildings within the castle include the 14th-century tower house as well as the 16th-century palace. Dunnottar Castle is a scheduled monument, and twelve structures on the site were listed buildings.

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" ... Teach a parrot the terms "supply and demand" and you've got an economist ... "

— Thomas Carlyle

" ... A man’s real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor ... "

— Alexander McCall Smith

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In the news

17 September 2024 – 2026 Commonwealth Games: Glasgow, Scotland, is formally selected as the host city of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. (BBC News)
19 August 2024 –: A rocket engine for Rocket Factory Augsburg's launch vehicle RFA One explodes during a test launch at the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, United Kingdom. (BBC News)
24 July 2024 –: Researchers from the Scottish Association for Marine Science report evidence of dark oxygen being produced from metals on the seafloor. It was previously assumed that almost all the free oxygen (O
₂) on Earth was created through photosynthesis, which requires sunlight. (NPR)

Selected biography

Portrait of Charlotte Stuart by Hugh Douglas Hamilton, c. 1785-1786, held in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Charlotte Stuart, styled Duchess of Albany (29 October 1753 – 17 November 1789) was the illegitimate daughter of the Jacobite pretender Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie" or the "Young Pretender") and his only child to survive infancy.

Charlotte's mother was Clementina Walkinshaw, who was mistress to Charles Edward from 1752 until 1760. After years of abuse, Clementina left him, taking Charlotte with her. Charlotte spent most of her life in French convents, estranged from a father who refused to make any provision for her. Unable to marry, she herself became a mistress with illegitimate children, taking Ferdinand de Rohan, Archbishop of Bordeaux, as her lover.

She was finally reconciled with her father in 1784, when he legitimised her and created her Duchess of Albany in the Jacobite peerage. She left her children with her mother, and became her father's carer and companion in the last years of his life, before dying less than two years after him. Her offspring was raised in anonymity; however, as Prince Charles Stuart's only grandchildren, they have been the subject of Jacobite interest since their lineage was uncovered in the 20th century.

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New Lanark is a village on the River Clyde, approximately 1.4 miles (2.2 kilometres) from Lanark, in South Lanarkshire. It was founded in 1786 by David Dale, who built cotton mills and housing for the mill workers. Under the ownership of a partnership that included Dale's son-in-law, Robert Owen, a Welsh philanthropist and social reformer, New Lanark became a successful business and an epitome of utopian socialism.

Photo credit: Gordon Brown

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Did You Know...

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... that the New York Yankees were first named after a Scottish regiment?
... that Scottish painter Gordon Coutts left Australia without paying maintenance to his estranged wife, but was arrested in New Zealand?
... that the Scottish judge Lord Duthie served as an officer in the Royal Naval Reserve?
... that Mary Earle was born near Ben Nevis, and although she became a professor of food technology in New Zealand, she never forgot her Scottish roots?
... that historically, lichens like Umbilicaria torrefacta have been used to naturally dye traditional Scottish tartans and textiles?
... that the uncommon Florida lichen species Gyalectidium yahriae was named after Rebecca Yahr of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in Scotland?
... that during the First Bishops' War, the Duke of Hamilton's mother intended to shoot him with silver bullets if he landed in Scotland?
... that Scottish physician George Gray received the thanks of the Chinese government for his work during the Manchurian plague of 1910–11?

Get involved

Scotland Related WikiProjects and Task forces
	WikiProject Clans of Scotland	talk
	WikiProject Medieval Scotland	talk
	WikiProject Scottish Castles	talk
	WikiProject Scottish Islands	talk
	WikiProject Scottish Television	talk
	WikiProject Transport in Scotland	talk
	WikiProject Edinburgh	talk
	Fife task force	talk
	Scottish Gaelic task force	talk

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.