After Falkirk, Wallace went on the run. He evaded the English for years but was captured and executed in August When Elizabeth I died childless in , an opportunity arose for unification between the neighboring nations.
Though James hoped to unite England, Ireland and Scotland in one kingdom, his vision proved unpopular, and over the coming century, civil war and rebellion ran rampant in all three kingdoms.
Charles was succeeded by his brother James II , who in turn lost the throne to Protestant William and Mary during the bloodless Glorious Revolution of With the passage of the Acts of Union , coinage, taxes and trade were standardized across Great Britain. Scotland retained its legal, religious and educational systems but joined the main British Parliament, albeit with a disproportionately low number of representatives.
The union of these two oft-warring countries proved predictably unpopular. According to the U. Trade unions, business groups and other civic groups will also be able to register. Someone born in Scotland: it should mean a greater direct say over one's government and more political freedom, but also greater economic risks, less security and more differences with England. Someone living in Scotland but not born there: the same as before: every voter in Scotland should be treated equally.
Non-Scottish UK citizen: not a great deal, but the UK economy will be smaller, oil and whisky might be more expensive, British identity would be diluted and Britain's status overseas could be weaker. Someone outside UK: Scotland is expected to remain in the EU, so there will be few major changes for tourists or investors. Alex Salmond: Scotland's first minister since and leader of the Scottish National party.
Widely regarded as one of the UK's sharpest politicians, he has led his party from being a minor force to dominating Scottish politics and the closest yet to independence. Nicola Sturgeon: Salmond's deputy has been appointed to oversee the Scottish government's referendum strategy and is now her government's lead speaker on the referendum. She is seen as Salmond lead successor as party leader. David Cameron: the Tory prime minister wants to avoid being the British leader who presided over the break up of the UK.
While his party is third largest at Holyrood, it is unpopular in Scotland and suffers from having only one Scottish MP. Alistair Darling: the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer and an Edinburgh lawyer, he saved the UK's banking system from collapse, including two major Scottish banks.
Darling is emerging as a trusted, key figure for the pro-union campaign and is now chair of the official pro-UK Better Together campaign. Johann Lamont: the ability of the Scottish Labour party leader to rally and direct her party could prove crucial for the UK. She has proven to be tougher and more forceful than her predecessor. Her Lib Dem and Tory counterparts say it is essential her party regains its authority if Salmond is to be defeated.
Blair Jenkins: a former head of news and current affairs at BBC Scotland, Jenkins has been appointed chief executive of the official, non-party Yes Scotland campaign which will lead the fight for independence. It says , Scots have signed its "yes declaration".
Holyrood: home of the Scottish parliament, sited next to the Queen's Scottish residence in Edinburgh. Devo-max: this is the catch-all nickname for the proposal known as devolution max where Scotland would have complete control over taxation and political decisions, also known as full fiscal freedom, but remain within the UK, sharing services like defence and foreign affairs. It can also be known as "indy lite". Devo-plus: used for the less radical proposal to greatly increase Holyrood's powers.
Under devolution plus, Scotland could control two thirds of taxation and the welfare system in Scotland, but share pensions, foreign affairs, defence and monetary policy with the rest of the UK. Indy lite: less far-reaching than full sovereignty where Scotland would have total independence from England and its institutions, this "light" version of independence is closest to the model being developed by Alex Salmond.
It could have a currency union with the rest of the UK and cooperate on defence. The UK government has set up a commission to study new voting rules for Westminster. Bannockburn The SNP has chosen to hold the referendum in the autumn of because it is both the th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, an iconic event for nationalists, and a year of significant cultural and sporting events in Scotland, including the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Ryder cup golf tournament at Gleneagles and the Year of Homecoming, a celebration of Scottish culture and the Scots diaspora.
SNP ministers also believe the Tories and Lib Dems in the UK coalition government will be in conflict in the run-up to the general election. David Cameron has since announced the UK government will be staging a series of events to commemorate the th anniversary of the start of the First World War during , believing that will help shore up support for the UK and counter Salmond's pro-Scotland initiatives. There will be events too to mark the 75th anniversary of Britain declaring war on Nazi Germany at the start of September.
What would Scottish independence mean for the monarchy? Would an independent Scotland keep the pound? Under Salmond's proposals, Scotland would seek a currency union with the rest of the UK and ask the Bank of England to be Scotland's central bank. But that would mean the Bank would set Scotland's interest rates, have influence over its borrowing and overall spending and be dominated by the UK's interests. Some academics and critics believe Scotland would be forced to either join the Euro or agree to do so in the future as a condition of EU membership.
Who would get North Sea oil revenues if Scotland declared independence? This has not been tested and the UK government refuses to confirm this. Not without great difficulty. The loss of part of its territory, albeit through a democratic process, would be noted around the world and most people would conclude, understandably, it would be a diminution of the capacity of the remainder UK to project its interests. Scotland has always had a bigger part in the projection of the image of the UK internationally than its population size would suggest.
Scotland plays a big role in the cultural influence of the UK and Scottish products are a big part of the British brand — losing those would diminish that brand.
That identity has been subsumed into British identity for years and the departure of Scotland would set in train a process of reflection the outcome of which is very difficult to predict, but, I think, would have a huge psychological impact. Kirsty Hughes: It would be a huge shock to the rest of the UK, but, with or without Wales and Northern Ireland, England is a big country and its soft power is still going to be there.
It will need to rethink its own identity and what that means to projecting its soft power to the rest of the world. The remainder UK would be looked at very differently from the outside. Talking to diplomats and others in the European Union EU , they say the break-up of the UK would be a national humiliation and some have told me it would be pay back for Brexit.
They say the referendum was supposed to be "once in a generation" and that everyone should be focussed on other issue just now. Some in the government have talked about waiting another 20 years before changing their mind - although privately others fear that position isn't sustainable. If the SNP win the election next May, they plan to put pressure on the prime minister by arguing the Scottish electorate has elected a party committed to holding another referendum.
It would anti-democratic, the argument goes, for a government in London to ignore that. Suggestions include a legal challenge to explore whether indyref2 can happen without the PM's approval and just passing legislation to hold one and seeing if Number 10 launches a legal challenge itself. This is important - and something those who oppose independence mention in conversations a lot.
If there were to be another referendum, they would ask big questions about how an independent Scotland would work. Would the economy be sustainable? What would the impact on trade with the rest of the UK be? What currency would an independent Scotland ultimately use?
The campaign would also allow the pro-independence side to talk up all the things it believes are positives. It's also worth remembering that support for independence rose in the run up to the vote - in very few polls showed support of a third.
The pro-independence side will be hoping that can persuade more people during any campaign. There's no guarantee there will be another referendum.
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