The People and Culture of Scotland

The inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands were originally of Celtic descent, and
a small number of them still speak Gaelic, an ancient Celtic language which is
now being encouraged once again in schools. In the southern part of the nation,
the people are descended from ancient Scots with liberal inputs by Nordic influe
nces and a bit of Anglo-Saxon.
The Scots have been stereotyped as being thrifty, cautious, and careful of detai
l. They are far from being all alike, however. Scotland is a country in which in
dividualism flourishes. This rich mix explains, in part, why Scots have been res
ponsible for more of the significant discoveries and inventions we take for gran
ted in today's world than any other nationality.
Most church-going Scots belong to the national Church of Scotland, which is Pres
byterian. The congregation of each kirk (church) chooses its own minister after
a trial sermon, and every member of the church has some share in governing it. I
n general, sermon and prayer occupy a larger place in the church service than ri
tual and music. The Roman Catholic church has many members, especially in the Gr
eater Glasgow area where there are many people descended from Irish immigrants.
The Episcopal church of Scotland resembles the Church of England but is an indep
endent body.
The Scots have a great respect for learning, and their history is full of people
of humble birth who acquired university educations. In the early 20th century e
ducation was made easier for poor students by the Scottish-born American industr
ialist, Andrew Carnegie. He set up the Carnegie Trust Fund in 1901 to help needy
students and to foster research.
Education in Scotland is free in publicly maintained local authority schools fro
m nursery school (3 to 5 years) through secondary school. At about 11 years of a
ge primary school students enter secondary schools. Students may legally leave s
chool at 16 but very few now do. Students who earn a certificate can continue to
the colleges and the universities. Scotland has many universities, the oldest b
eing St. Andrews, founded in 1410. Edinburgh is known for its school of medicine
. The University of Glasgow emphasizes science and engineering.
On the northwest coast and on the islands there are tenant farmers called crofte
rs. The crofts (small farms) are usually on or near the coast. Houses are built
of stone gathered from the hillsides. They are roofed with corrugated iron or a
thatch of reeds and heather. Peat cut from the moors furnishes fuel for cooking
and heating. Rugged ground, poor soil, and excessive rain restrict crops to oats
, potatoes, and barley. Crofters add to the family food supply by fishing--in la
kes and streams if inland or in the sea if near the coast. They raise sheep on t
he hills and pasture a few cattle in the glens. In parts of the Highlands, large
sheep or beef cattle farms predominate. Although there are thousands of crofts
in the northern area, many are no longer cultivated. Crofting must be supplement
ed by other work, such as forestry, road work, cottage industries, or providing
services to tourists.
In early days the ruggedness of the land led to the separation of the Highlander
s into small groups called clans. Each clan was ruled by a chief, and the member
s of a clan claimed descent from a common ancestor. The traditional garment of t
he Highland clansmen is the kilt (short, pleated skirt), which is suitable for c
limbing the rough hills. Each clan had its own colourful pattern--called a tarta
n--for weaving cloth. Today the kilt is not a crofter's dress but a national cos
tume, proudly worn for special occasions.
There are more than 100 gatherings of the clans, which draw many visitors to the
Highlands. At these gatherings athletes wearing kilts compete in such ancient H
ighland sports as throwing the hammer and tossing the caber, a long, heavy pole.
Bagpipers and Highland dancers add color and interest to the gatherings.
The Scottish culture is a vigorous one in its own right. Edinburgh's Internation
al Festival of Music and Drama, which began in 1947, draws more than 300,000 vis
itors every year, making it one of the world's largest cultural events. The Scot
tish National Orchestra and the country's opera and ballet companies, which are
supported by the Scottish Arts Council, have been widely acclaimed. The Glasgow
School of Art is world famous. The architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackint
osh (1868-1928) studied there and later designed its buildings (1896-1909).
Scottish writers have had the choice of three languages: Scottish Gaelic; Lallan
s, or Lowland Scots; and English. The 20th-century poets Sorley Maclean and Geor
ge Campbell Hay led a Gaelic revival, but a Lallans revival that developed after
World War I faded. After World War II a new generation of Scottish poets was ca
lled the Lallans MaKars (makers). The most notable Scottish poets who wrote in L
allans and English were Robert Fergusson (1750-74) and Robert Burns (1759-96).
The bulk of the population lives in the belt that runs across the waist from Gla
sgow to Edinburgh, Scotland's two largest cities. During the years following the
Highland clearances, when landowners forcibly removed crofters from the land, t
he potato famines, and the Industrial Revolution, the population of the cities e
xploded. Before the traditional heavy industries began a decline in the latter p
art of the 20th century, the region was the heart of a great industrial area. Th
e service industries, however, boomed and today form the core of the economy.
On the banks of the River Clyde below Glasgow, shipyards once produced every kin
d of ship, and goods flowed to all parts of the world from its docks. Iron and s
teel mills and other metal plants, engineering works, machinery factories, chemi
cal works, and textile mills predominated. Shrinking world markets and foreign c
ompetition, however, undercut the city's fortunes in the era after World War II.
Pollution, poor housing, urban blight, unemployment, violent crime, and other s
ocial problems plagued the city. In the last quarter of the 20th century, howeve
r, Glasgow began to revive. With ambitious rebuilding and marketing plans, the c
ity promoted itself as a tourist centre and attracted investors. Glasgow was des
ignated a European City of Culture in 1990 and is viewed as a dynamic and cultur
ed city.
Edinburgh is the seat of government in Scotland, the centre of the Scottish lega
l system, the home of the Church of Scotland, the site of four universities, and
Europe's largest financial centre after London. Banking, insurance, finance, to
urism, medicine, and other service industries have supplanted the engineering in
dustries and traditional light manufactures of printing and brewing.