A short overview over Scottish history.
Timeline |
What happened there |
500,000 BC |
People migrate to Britain from Europe |
6500 BC |
The land bridge joining Britian to Europe is flooded as the sea level rises. Britain becomes an Island |
5000 BC |
Beginning of Neolithic period: emergence of farming, stone axes, pottery |
3200 BC |
Skara Brae, perhaps the finest and best preserved Neolithic village in Europe, was settled as a farming community between 3200-2200 BC |
2500 BC |
Beginning of Bronze Age: great stone circles begin to emerge |
1500 BC |
Farm houses are constructed and stone circles fall into disrepair |
1000 BC |
Earliest hill forts are constructed; fortification of farms increases; elaborate artwork appears in the form of decorations |
600 BC |
Beginning of Iron Age |
500 BC |
Celtic customs and crafts spread across Scotland |
150 BC |
The use of metal coinage begins |
84 AD |
Romans defeat Caledonians at the Battle of Mons Graupius |
122 |
Construction begins on Hadrian's Wall |
140 |
Romans conquer Scotland |
142 |
Construction begins on Antonine's Wall |
163 |
Romans withdraw south to Trimontium and Hadrian's Wall |
300 |
The term Pict is first recorded in describing the federated tribes invaded by Constantius Chlorus |
350 |
Picts [1] [2] and Scots attack the border areas |
397 |
Saint Ninian establishes a Christian mission at Whithorn |
470 |
Votadini peoples form the kingdom of Gododdin in the region north of the River Tweed |
547 |
Angles capture the British fortress at Bamburgh and found the kingdom of Bernicia |
563 |
St. Columba founds a monastery at Iona and begins his mission to the northern Picts |
574 |
Áedán mac Gabráin begins reign over the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata |
580 |
Riderch I. of Alt Clut rules region later known as the kingdom of Strathclyde |
584 |
Bruide son of Maelchon dies |
604 |
Æthelfrith unites Bernicia and Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria |
638 |
Northumbrians capture Edinburgh from Gododdin |
680s |
Trumwine Bishop of Abercorn |
685 |
Pictish King Bruide mac Bili defeats Ecgfrith of Northumbria at the Battle of Dunnichen, halting the northern expansion of Northumbria |
697 |
Bruide mac Der-Ilei among the signatories of the Cáin Adomnáin |
717 |
Nechtan mac Der-Ilei expels Ionan clergy from Pictland and adopts Roman usages with the aid of Bishop Curetán; masons sent by Abbot Ceolfrid of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow Priory help build stone churches at Restenneth, Rosemarkie and elsewhere in eastern Scotland |
732 |
Death of Nechtan mac Der-Ilei; Óengus mac Fergusa becomes King of the Picts |
747 |
St. Andrews founded by this time, death of Abbot Tuathalán |
761 |
Death of Óengus mac Fergusa |
820 |
Death of Caustantín mac Fergusa |
839 |
Eóganan mac Óengusa and his brother Bran killed in battle with Vikings, end of dominance of Fortriu |
858 |
Death of Kenneth mac Alpin, King of the Picts; "union of Picts and Scots" traditionally dated from his reign |
870 |
Alt Clut -Dumbarton Rock- captured by the Norse-Gael or Viking leaders Amlaíb Conung and Ímar after six month's of siege |
878 |
Kenneth mac Alpin's son Áed killed; Giric becomes king |
889 |
Death of Giric; Domnall mac Causantín, grandson of Kenneth, becomes king |
890 |
Exodus of the Strathclyde Britons to Gwynedd (in Wales) |
900 |
Causantín mac Áeda succeeds Domnall mac Causantín |
943 |
Causantín mac Áeda abdicates to become a culdee at St. Andrews |
940 |
St. Catroe of Metz leaves Scotland |
952 |
Death of Causantín mac Áeda |
954 |
Indulf captures Edinburgh from Northumbria |
1058 |
After defeating Mac Bethad (also known as MacBeth) and Lulach, Máel Coluim III. is proclaimed king |
1124 |
David I. becomes king and introduces the feudal system of landholding to much of Scotland |
1156 |
Lord Somerled defeats the Norse King of Man, establishing his own semi-independent rule as ri Innse Gall-King of the Hebrides |
1164 |
Lord Somerled is defeated by the Scottish crown in the Battle of Renfrew |
1234 |
Galloway's independent existence ends with the death of Alan, Lord of Galloway |
1237 |
Southern border of Scotland established in the Treaty of York |
1263 |
Scots defeat Norwegians at Largs (2.10.1263) |
1266 |
Norway cedes the Western Isles to Scotland |
1292 |
Edward I. of England intervenes in Scottish affairs and grants the Scottish throne to John Balliol |
1297 |
Andrew de Moravia and William Wallace lead the Scots to victory over England at Stirling Bridge (11.9.1297) |
1314 |
Robert the Bruce defeats the English at Bannockburn (23.6.1314) |
1328 |
Treaty of Edinburgh. England recognises Scottish independence |
1371 |
Robert II. becomes first Stewart king |
1402 |
English defeat Scots in the Battle of Nesbit Moor (22.6.1402) and the Battle of Humbleton Hill (14.9.1402) |
1413 |
Foundation of the University of St. Andrews |
1451 |
Establishment of the University of Glasgow |
1468 |
Denmark cedes Orkney and Shetland to Scotland |
1493 |
Lordship of the Isles abolished. In 1540 the title was reserved to the crown |
1495 |
Creation of the University of Aberdeen (King's College) |
1513 |
James IV. and thousands of Scots are killed at Flodden Field (9.9.1513) |
1532 |
Creation of the College of Justice and the Court of Session |
1559 |
John Knox returns to Scotland from Geneva to promote Calvinism |
1560 |
Parliament legislates protestant reformation of the Church of Scotland |
1568 |
Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots flees to England following the defeat of her army at the Battle of Langside (13.5.1568) |
1578 |
James VI. takes over government from his regent, James Douglas |
1582 |
Establishment of the University of Edinburgh by Royal Charter |
1587 |
Mary Stuart is beheaded by the order of Queen Elizabeth I. of England (8.2.1587) |
1592 |
Presbyterianism becomes the established form of church government in Scotland by Act of Parliament. A few years later King James successfully reintroduced Episcopacy |
1603 |
The Union of the Crowns James VI. of Scotland becomes James I. of England |
1638 |
Scottish Covenanters rebel against Charles I. |
1643 |
The Solemn League and Covenant promises Scots army to aid English parliamentarians against the king |
1651-1660 |
Scotland incorporated into the English Commonwealth and Protectorate |
1660 |
The monarchy is restored and Scotland resumes its status as a separate kingdom |
1679 |
Duke of Monmouth defeats Covenanters at the Battle of Bothwell Brig (22.6.1679) |
1689 |
Jacobite highlanders defeats army of William III. at Killiecrankie (27.7.1689), but are halted at Dunkeld |
1689 |
The Claim of Right and the re-establishment of Presbyterianism |
1692 |
Massacre of Glencoe (16.2.1692) |
1695 |
The Bank of Scotland is created by Act of Parliament |
1707 |
The Union of the Parliaments the Act of Union between England and Scotland is passed |
1715 |
First Jacobite rising |
1745 |
Second Jacobite rising |
1746 |
The Battle of Culloden [1] [2] (16.4.1746) ends the second Jacobite rising |
1748 |
David Hume publishes An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding |
1762 |
Land tenure reform leads to the Highland Clearances and massive emigration for several decades |
1769 |
James Watt patents idea for separate condensing chamber in the Steam engine |
1776 |
Adam Smith publishes The Wealth of Nations |
1802 |
John Playfair publishes summary of James Hutton's theories of Geology |
1805 |
The Glasgow Herald newspaper first published |
1817 |
The Scotsman newspaper first published |
1820 |
The "Radical War" |
1822 |
Visit of King George IV. to Scotland organized by Sir Walter Scott |
1832 |
The Reform Act enlarges the franchise |
1843 |
The Disruption in the Church of Scotland (over the issue of patronage) |
1846 |
Beginning of the ten-year Highland Potato Famine |
1847 |
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland is established |
1864 |
James Clerk Maxwell presents equations describing electromagnetic fields |
1874 |
Patronage abolished in the Church of Scotland |
1878 |
Collapse of the City of Glasgow Bank |
1879 |
Gladstone's Midlothian campaign.
The Tay Bridge Disaster during a violent storm (28.12.1879) |
1885 |
Creation of the Scottish Office and the post of Secretary for Scotland, later Secretary of State for Scotland |
1890 |
Opening of the Forth Railway Bridge |
1896 |
Opening of the Glasgow Subway |
1908 |
Introduction of the Old Age Pension |
1918 |
Votes in Parliamentary elections for women over 30 introduced |
1926 |
General Strike |
1928 |
Equal franchise for all men and women over 21 introduced |
1929 |
The Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland unite |
1934 |
Scottish National Party (SNP) founded |
1938 |
The Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938 is held at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow |
1941 |
The Clydebank Blitz; bombing by German "Luftwaffe" (13.5.1941 to 15.5.1941) |
1943 |
Creation of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board to bring electricity to all parts of the Highlands and Islands |
1945 |
First Scottish Nationalist MP is elected |
1947 |
Nationalisation of the railways - the Scottish Region of British Railways is created.
The first Edinburgh International Festival is held |
1950 |
The Stone of Destiny is removed from Westminster Abbey |
1957 |
Scottish Television starts broadcasting |
1968 |
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland permits the ordination of women as ministers |
1975 |
Local government reorganisation (replacing Counties and Burghs for administrative purposes with Regions and Districts) |
1978 |
Launch of BBC Radio Scotland |
1979 |
Referendum to create a Scottish Assembly fails to meet the required majority |
1988 |
Terrorists blow up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie (21.12.1988) with the loss of 270 lives, including 11 residents of the town |
1994 |
Local government reorganisation (replacing the Regions and Districts with single-tier councils) |
1996 |
The Stone of Destiny is permanently returned to Scotland, to be housed in Edinburgh Castle |
1997 |
A referendum on a devolved Scottish Parliament is passed by a massive majority |
1999 |
The Scottish parliament sits for the first time under the new constitutional arrangements |
2004 |
Opening of the new Scottish Parliament Building |
2007 |
The Scottish National Party become the largest party in the Scottish Parliament |
