Scotland’s Modern History

 

The Persecution after the ’45 had ended but Scotland once again suffered – this time at the hands of its greedy landowners during the clearances. However a new Scotland began to emerge – romanticised by the royal visits of 1822 and 1842. The great age of Scottish enterprise and invention was crowned by the Magnificent Forth Bridge (above) and by advancements in communications. Finally, nearly 200 years after it was lost by the ‘parcel of rogues’ the Scottish parliament returned.

	1785 Beginning of the Highland Clearances The clan system regarded the land as belonging to their community, worked areas being passed down through the family while additional lands could be rented. As the generations passed, the clan chiefs became more wealthy and detached from their kinsmen, regarding them as their effects rather than their family. READ MORE
	1822 – George IV Visits Scotland King George IV made a royal visit to Edinburgh in 1822. It was the first time a monarch had come to Scotland since 1641 and his tour was stage-managed by Sir Walter Scott. Scott engineered an image of Scotland similar to the country in his romantic novels for the visit. READ MORE
	1842 – Queen Victoria Visits Scotland The second visit of a United Kingdom monarch to Scotland was in 1842 when Queen Victoria and Prince Albert disembarked at Leith. READ MORE
	‎1847 – Alexander Graham Bell Born Born on March 3, 1847 in Edinburgh, Bell is best known for his invention of the telephone however he was a remarkable character and brilliant inventor who came up with many inventions such as an air-cooling system. READ MORE
	‎1879 – The Tay Bridge Disaster During a stormy night of 28 December 1879 while a train was crossing The Tay Bridge when it collapsed. The train, with seventy five passengers and crew, poured off the collapsing bridge into the icy river with all lives lost. READ MORE
	‎1886 – The Crofters Act After a century of being treated worse than the cattle they lost their lands to, the government finally acknowledged that the victims of the Clearances were still being victimised and needed protective legislation. READ MORE
	‎1890 – Forth Bridge Completed Descibed as Scotland’s Eiffel Tower, the breathtaking Forth Railway Bridge stands at Queensferry Narrows, nine miles west of Edinburgh, where it carries trains for a mile and a half over the Firth of Forth. READ MORE
	‎1911 – Sorley MacLean Born Sorley MacLean (Scottish Gaelic: Somhairle MacGill-Eain, sometimes “MacGilleathain” in earlier publications) was born at Osgaig on the island of Raasay on 26 October 1911. At that time on Raasay, which lies between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish Mainland, Gaelic was the first language. READ MORE
	‎1915 Gretna Rail Disaster On the 22nd May 1915 Three trains; a special troop train, a local train and the night express coming north from Euston Station, London crashed at Quintinshill Junction near Gretna on the Scottish border causing one of Britain’s worst rail disasters. READ MORE
	‎1926 – First Television Broadcast It is regarded by some as Man’s greatest invention, possibly more life-sustaining than fire and certainly more entertaining than the wheel; it is regarded by others as the Anti-Christ; and it began with Helensburgh-born John Logie Baird. READ MORE
	‎1967 - Celtic Football Club Win the European Cup On Thursday 25 May 1967 Celtic Football Club became the first ever british side to lift the coveted European Cup after beating Internacionale of Milan 2-1 at the Estadio Nacionale in Lisbon. READ MORE
	‎1979 – First Referendum From the Mid 1970’s onwards there had been building political pressure towards separate parliaments in both Scotland and Wales. Labour’s majority had been whittled down in 1974 and after a series of disastrous by-elections had virtually no majority at all. READ MORE
	‎1995 – Skye Bridge Completed The car ferry making the five minute journey between Kyleakin and Kyle of Lochalsh was finally made redundant in 1995 with the opening of the Skye Bridge. READ MORE
	‎1996 - Dunblane Massacre Wednesday 13th March 1996 should have been a normal school day for the children of Dunblane Primary School. Tragically it was not. READ MORE
	‎1997 - Second Referendum In 1997 after nearly 20 years of Conservative rule a labour government swept to power with a landslide victory over largely disorganised opposition. The party had campaigned successfully on the issue of major constitutional reform and among these reforms was devolution for Scotland. READ MORE
	‎2004 - New Scottish Parliament Building Opened After the success of the Referendum in 1997 the First Minister Donald Dewar announced a competition for the design of Scotland’s new parliament building. The winner was the design of Catalan architect, Enric Miralles. READ MORE
	‎2014 - Scottish Independence Referendum The Scottish National Party, whose central aim is independence, won the 2011 Scottish Parliament election by a landslide, giving them a mandate to stage the vote.  The date for the vote for the referendum was set to September 18th 2014. READ MORE