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Scotland, part of the United Kingdom, occupies the northern one-third of the island of Great Britain. England is the only country which shares a border with Scotland, as all other borders are met with the Atlantic Ocean.

Additional to the mainland, the country consists of more than 790 islands, including the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Its capital is Edinburgh and the largest city is Glasgow. White people make up 96% of the residence with the remaining 4% being Asian, Black, Arab, and Other. As for religion, 54% are Christian and 37% claim no religion at all.

Scotland's recorded history dates back to the 1st century started with the Roman Empire's invasion of Britain which resulted in the southern part of the island being annexed by Rome and their name changed to the province of Britannia. The tribes in the north, which would become Scotland, were uncontrollable and the Romans didn't want to deal with them. Emperor Hadrian ordered a wall to be built across the expanse of the island from coast to coast in order to separate those tribes from Britannia and to keep them from invading that province. That wall is called Hadrian's Wall, and much of it still stands today. Constant uprisings and the frequent battles between tribes prevented the Romans from truly conquering Scotland.

Scotland was converted to Christianity over time from the 5th to the 7th century by missionaries.

In the last decade of the 7th century, the Vikings invaded the British Isles repeatedly, and by the end of the 8th century, two notoriously hostile tribes, the Gaels and the Picts, had allied themselves against the Viking, and thus was born the Kingdom of Scotland.

The Normans conquered England in 1066, and many Anglo-Saxons settled in the Scottish Lowlands. Some aspects of the English culture was adopted by the Scots, and Feudalism was one of those aspects. The clan chiefs became the nobles, and the Norman language was introduced.

In 1286, Alexander III, King of Scots died, and the crown went to his 3-year-old granddaughter Margaret, Maid of Norway. In 1290, a treaty was signed by the Guardians of Scotland which stipulated that Margaret would marry Edward of Caernarfon later known as King Edward II) of England, whose father was King Edward I. Edward I was also Margaret's great uncle. The treaty stated explicitly that the marriage would not be a union of Scotland and England but that they would remain separate and divided. On her very first trip to her new kingdom, she became very seriously seasick and died, probably of dehydration in 1290. She was 7 years old and had not had her coronation.

There were 14 different people in rivalry for succession. In order to prevent a civil war King Edward I, the king of England, was asked to arbitrate. In 1292, he chose John Balliol, known far and wide as Toom Tabard (which is Scottish for "empty coat") to be king. After the coronation, Edward I used his influence to subjugate Scotland and degrade King John's authority as well as Scotland's independence.

In 1296, Edward I invaded Scotland and deposed King John. Uprisings and revolts broke out early the next year, led by William Wallace and Andrew Moray, who are among Scotland's most celebrated leaders even today. Wallace began his career with the assassination of the English High Sheriff of Lanark, William de Heselrig in May of 1297, and that career ended in 1305, when he was captured in Robroyston, and caused by Edward I to be stripped naked and dragged through London by a horse and then hanged, drawn, and quartered for high treason and crimes against civilians in war.

In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was sent to the Pope in order to affirm the independence of Scotland from England.In 1327, King Edward II of England was deposed, imprisoned, and then murdered.

On May 1, 1320, Robert the Bruce led the invasion of the North of England and personally forced Edward III of England to sign the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton which acknowledged the independence of Scotland with Robert the Bruce as King. The treaty further secured the alliance of England by settling the marriage between Robert's son and heir to the throne, David, and the sister of Edward III, Joan of the Tower. They were married on July 17, 1328 when David was 4 years old and Joan was 7. Their marriage lasted for 34 years, but they had no children.

By the time David died in 1371, Scotland was an independent nation and so it remained until the Treaty of Union of 1707 was signed, creating a single Kingdom of Great Britain from the unification of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England.

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