©"The Story of Scotland's History"

A Concise Online History
By ©Robert M. Gunn, MA

Introduction:

This series of articles on the history of Scotland are intended as both a general and advanced history of the Scottish Nation. Accurate, concise and when needed, in-depth or expanded with links to larger articles, where possible. The intent of this "online book" is to cover Scottish history from the Mesolithic Era to the 19th century. Originally, "Scottish Origins", covered the early history of Scotland on this site. But that history was written long ago and is in places too general for the advanced reader of Scottish history. These chapters will cover all the major (and some minor) events in Scottish history from the beginning to the mid-18th century. It will probably take me 18 months to complete this ambitious project. However, the first three chapters are already drafted and will be placed on line now. My intent is to include a new chapter every 25 days (about 1 per month).

For the sake of brevity, this history will start from the very beginning of early Scotland (before the arrival of the Scots), which will be a general look, and on occasion, will lead to more extensive essays that will be titled "Expanded histories". An example of this is "prehistoric Scotland" which is an expanded look at the Mesolithic & Neolithic periods which are mentioned but not in-depth in "Story of Scotland". The purpose and intent is therefore to create a chronological general history of Scotland, which will feature the most up-to-date information, covering the important events up to the Highland Clearances. I will be incorporating Scottish History (which tends to be Lowland history) with Highland history. There may be events in Highland history that are not completely covered (such as clan feuds) due to time constraints. Nevertheless, be assured I will not neglect Highland history and will attempt to weave it into the general events of Scottish history as a whole.

This ambitious Internet project will hopefully make the often-complex history of Scotland more accessible to the average reader. Moreover, if interesting discussions of the events in this history lead to more group participation in our "Scottish, Celtic History discussion forums" -- even better.

One final note: this will not be a "romanticized" version of Scottish history and will be, at times, brutally honest about some topics. I do this intentionally to keep the integrity of Scottish history alive, accurate, and as honest as possible in such a limited space.

If one's favorite topic is not covered in detail as much as one wishes, it isn't due to lack of importance or interest, but rather to keep the articles as concise as possible. Whenever possible, with time and space available, "expanded histories" of the important events will be posted for more detailed reading.

Feedback is more than welcome. Join our Messageboards discussion forums, but first, on to chapter 1.