Independence or Union: Scotland’s Past and Scotland’s Present

"Yes. This is a history book. Devine has been described as ‘Scotland’s preeminent historian’, which has probably made a number of other historians upset! Scotland is a country blessed with a number of fantastic historians, and Devine is certainly one of them. What this work does is provide you with an understanding of Scotland all the way back from the Act of Union. When Scotland became part of the United Kingdom, it maintained its own legal system, its own educational system, and its own church. Those three elements have sometimes been called the ‘milking stool’ of Scottish nationalism, the three legs that maintain the sense of national identity whilst what we think of as the modern state began to emerge. Devine does an excellent job of asking why the union came about in the first place, because it wasn’t that popular in certain parts of Scotland back in the early 1700s, I can tell you. So how did it manage to survive, and why was the union so popular later on? He also talks about how Scottish identity seemed to flourish within the union, which is surprising to some, because when a small country gets into bed politically, socially and culturally with a bigger country, it often gets absorbed. He addresses all these questions and does an excellent job of talking us through the various periods of history and illustrating how the union was, at various times, more strong and less strong. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Throughout it all, he considers Scottish national identity and Scottish nationalism—which wasn’t necessarily political, but it was a cultural and social force. One of the great icons of Scotland is the Wallace Monument in Stirling, a monument to William Wallace that was built during one of the heydays of unionism. So, hold on: we’ve all seen Braveheart . He was fighting the English, fighting for Scottish independence. How could it be that they erected a tower in his honour as a symbol of unionism? But that’s exactly what they did. It was a symbol of the Scottish identity, firmly within the Union. That only illustrates the changing nature of nationalism. Because this book was written after the 2014 independence referendum, that’s where Scotland’s present comes into it. As a historian, he points out some of the issues that continue to exist. And that’s a good segue to my next book."