Victimhood in a kilt

**Scottish Cringe

Historian Tom Devine talks of ‘Victimhood in a kilt” – particularly the popular John Prebble books - 

Glencoe, Highland Clearances. 

Not so long ago, and even now, we are told Scotland needs hand outs and is too wee and too poor! It’s a total lie.

But Scots must stop apologising! The Gulf stream makes our weather temperate and our weather (while it may be changeable) is actually better than many places! I lived in Chicago which in winter has15 feet snow drifts and minus 15 degrees wind chill. Some places suffer tornadoes or Tsunamis.

I grew up with the Scottish cringe. ‘Donald where’s your troosers and naff white heather club sashes. Now at Celtic Connections I see respect for our old bothy traditions and Gaelic songs – for our Scottish enlightenment and our innovations.  

We should in fact be proud!  The trouble is our history has been neglected and suppressed , especially over the past decades. In fact we’ve been told lies and disinformation. 

People in Northern Ireland know about England’s rivers but not about the rivers in Ireland. The Irish were told it was the Scots who murdered when an independence and reform uprising in Wexford in 1798. So then fifty years later Irish troops were used for the Highland Clearances when the people were chased off their lands and put on ships to Canada. 

The Lies History Tells Us: the Wars of the Three Kingdoms

Divided Europe in 1648

**History is written by the victors who often tell lies and there are many mistruths or lies told in our British histories. The English civil wars – were really the 10 years “Wars of the Three Kingdoms!” So what is the real story of the Union of the Crowns and Union of the Parliament?  I’ve been reading of the histories we are not taught – the important Westminster Confessions (1646), the War of the Three Kingdoms (1638 – 1651) and the Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648) and of Elizabeth Stuart. Our history has been deliberately skewed to ignore Scotland’s part. 

What’s the strange and turbulent story of these islands of Britain  - a story of turbulence, interconneedness, drama, misunderstandings, aggression, suppression, co-operation – hope. And royal inter marriage. I was surprised to read of the importance of Elizabeth Stuart, I'd never heard of her.  Henry Tudor had his daughter  Margaret Tudor married to James IV.  His granddaughter Mary Queen of Scots son James VI became James I of England, Ireland and Scotland. Followed by Charles I, Cromwell (who suppressed Ireland), Charles II,  William of Orange and Mary I, Mary II, Ann.

 Importantly at the time of the Westminster Confessions, Scotland and England were equal partners. During Charles I reign a terrible religious strife tore Europe apart – the Thirty Years war. James I and VI had his popular charismatic daughter Elizabeth married to Frederick of Palatine, an important Calvinist. She is well known as the Winter Queen, who held court in the Hague and Prague. Her grandson was George of Hanover. Ah now I understand the connections. 

We’ve been fed disinformation and not told the truth. Does this matter? Well in our perception of the union today it matters greatly. In 1603 Scotland’s population was 1m and England’s was 5m.

The Westminster Confessions was massively significant. It took 3 years to draw up, 1643 – 1646, with standards of doctrine, confessions and catechisms which were adopted by both the Church of Scotland and Church of England. This was a joint declaration – drawn up to secure the help of the Scots against the King Charles I.

Elizabeth Stuart

Charles had attempted to impose the Anglican bible on the Scots years earlier in 1636 and the Scots would have none of it and war broke out in 1638. This was the start of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms – and NOT the English Civil wars as we have been told – not at all! The English parliament raised armies in alliance with the Scottish Covenanters.

At this time the Thirty Years War was raging over Europe. James VI had Elizabeth Stuart (his popular, charismatic daughter) married Frederick of Palatine in 1613 – an important Calvinist in the wars. And her grandson was George of Hanover. Charles I was executed in 1649 after the war fo the Three Kingdoms. 

In 1652 Charles II came back from France, he fought and lost – down near Worcester, where he hid in an oak tree. I visited the pub he was at last year! And was forced to flee again. After 10 years of Cromwell’s rule (he also invaded Ireland, which led to great disruption there) after he died his son was deposed and Charles II was brought back.

Henry Stuart

James I and VI (1567 - 1625)

II   When the union of Parliaments happened in 1707 – Scotland was to keep its ‘sovereignty’ of the people - to keep its Kirk, legal system and education. Scotland’s Protestant kirk was about people interpreting the bible for themselves which meant that every parish was to have a school to teach reading. The great teacher George Buchanan wrote about democracy for the people. 

This meant that sovereignty lay with the people – and not with any Westminster parliament and quite different to the English Anglican church. In 1696 the Scottish parliament act for setting of schools locally funded, church supervised schools for every parish. Discussion of interpretations and understanding of the bible became a way of life. 

George Buchanan

**A HUNDRED YEARS LATER - So what were the Jacobite challenges really about? When both Scotland and Ireland supported Charles II, because they did not want the imposition of Cromwell’s English parliament to have sovereignty over their nations. The Anglican Orange Lodge was set up to sow division against the United Irishmen in 1797 - there was also a Scottish Rebellion in 1797, the year Burns died. Charles II had no successors.There were primarily religious wars.

James VI and I -  Elizabeth of England has no successors, in 1603 James VI became James I of England, Ireland and Scotland. After his death Charles I ruled less successfully.  His older brother Henry died and his older sister Elisabeth Stuart became the Queen of Bohemia – the Winter Queen. She held court over in Prague and in the Hague Europe.

2017, Year of the Looking Glass

Many in Scotland are angry and frustrated with the incompetence of a Tory elite who believe in out-dated privilege, In today’s modern world, why do we meekly have to accept an enforcement of major changes such as an ill-advise Brexit? 

….and we in Scotia long for self-determination…

The Press and Media has become manipulated and controlled by algorithms.

“Thirty years of liberal twiddling with the lies of communication have made it almost impossible to broadcast anything but received propaganda.”  American critic Guy Davenport.

The purpose of journalism is to inform and disseminate, and if it isn’t, it isn’t doing its job.

Brexit is being run by incompetents with no idea of their end goal.

We had the horror of the Grenfell tower fire tragedy – Channel Four news and award winning journalist Jon Snow, exposed that the tower was run by a large incompetent and criminally out-of-touch management company. It is clear that there needs to be urgent changes made so that people can have a say in how their homes are managed.

In 2017 women roared and spoke out against the bullish bully Harvey Weinstein. A similar bully, Trump, sits on the seat of power in the American Whitehouse. This misuse of power towards women, with women as second class citizens defined the year. 

The major serious issue is that women are the main care givers of the old and of children, and nothing in our world is more important than the care of children.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! and that wiser heads may rule in 2018!

Myths and Lies of Unionism

James IV of Scotland and Margaret Tudor

It is not only that Scottish culture has been suppressed, it has also been distorted by those career unionists, those Anglized Scots who view themselves as English first, Scots second and see their careers as a seat in the House of Lords. 

I attended a Lecture by the respected Scottish historian Tom Devine.

Where he spoke of a mass deluded country, and of (Caledonia’ by Breton) – he said that there were moves to put out the delusion that Scotland is a ‘small, poor, inadequate country’.

When in fact, before union, Scotland was a flourishing and trading nation, with a population a third of the UKs! After the Jacobites '45 challenge – the Highland dress was forbidden (the punished was imprisonment or deportation). Then in 1822 George IV visited Edinburgh in a short kilt and pink stockings! – and the Scots were ‘allowed’ to wear kilts.

He spoke of ‘The Unionist Myth” that was put about –

that says “Scotland is a land of darkness, faction, poverty and religious rigidity.”

The writer Prebble, put forward our ‘victimhood’ – with stories of Glencoe, Clearances, Darien Project and more.

After the failed Darien project, early 17^th century, there was distortion of the facts and Myths were put forward by Unionists. The Darien financial disaster was over stated – it was common at that time for ventures such as these not to succeed. England refused to do trade with the Scots.

Our history becomes myths – what we want to believe – and the stories we pass on.

One interesting fact here is that the city of Glasgow voted against the Treaty of Union - that is those who were allowed to vote then.

 

Bonnie Dundee 

Prince James Francis Edward

The Scottish enlightenment

It also comes to light that Bonnie Prince Charlie was a reformer, that he wanted to bring more parliamentary scrutiny and that he was no fool either. The Hanoverian regime was corrupt. The Jacobites were defeated though by George I’s son, Duke of Cumberland who had been fighting in France.

 In our recent times we had a mountain of unionist lies - we were told in 2014 that voting for the union would mean "Devolution Max" (not happened), "Staying in Europe" (Brexit vote means leaving), "Better pensions" (??), improved funding (??)

We must now excavate below the Myths and falsehoods

In June 1385, the Parliament of Scotland decreed that Scottish soldiers serving in France

would wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross, both in front and behind, for identification.