The History of Scotland

These five lectures will offer enticing glimpses of the proud history of Scotland from Skara Brae to Nicola Sturgeon. This is a land of antiquity in the north of Britain. To Gaelic speakers, it is Alba. The Scots came from Ireland and created Dál Riata, but ultimately, like the Angles and Franks they gave their name to the land they had conquered and the Picts disappeared from history. In solidarity against England, for 250 years the Scots joined forces with France, and border warfare was endemic. The Calvinistic reforms of John Knox, transformed Sacotland and in 1603 the crowns of Scotland and England descended to James VI and I, a dynastic union made political in 1707. The Scots have contributed in every field of education and endeavour and the spirit of Scottish national identity has been nurtured throughout the centuries.