苏格兰(Scotland)

英国最北的组成部分。面积：78,789平方公里。人口约5,120,300（1998）。首都：爱丁堡。人民是塞尔特、盎格鲁和诺曼人的混合後裔。语言：英语（官方语）、苏格兰盖尔语和苏格兰语。宗教：苏格兰长老会（国教）。货币：英镑。苏格兰主要有三种地形：北方高地主要是一系列湖泊和格兰扁山脉；低地包括苏格兰一些最好的农田；南部高地以分隔桌面山的狭窄平坦山谷为特点。气候为温和的海洋气候。主要工业有煤、石油、电子、林产和海洋渔业。约西元80年罗马入侵时此地为匹克特人居住。5世纪时分裂成四个王国：匹克特、苏格兰、不列颠及盎格鲁。9世纪苏格兰开始统一。从11世纪开始苏格兰深受英格兰的影响，1174年其统治者被迫向英格兰王室效忠，导致以後的许多纷争。1603年苏格兰女王玛丽之子詹姆斯六世登上英国王位（称詹姆斯一世）时，苏格兰和英格兰王国统一。1707年苏格兰和英格兰政府通过「联合条约」时，苏格兰成为大不列颠联合王国的一部分。18世纪英国平息了苏格兰的两次叛乱。1745年以後，苏格兰历史成为大不列颠历史的一部分。苏格兰没有行政主权，但是在立法和教育体制上保留古代主权的遗迹。1997年苏格兰透过公民投票允许在爱丁堡建立自己的议会，仍是英国的一部分，但同时拥有广泛的政治表决权。1999年苏格兰议会第一次召开。

English version：

Scotland

Northernmost country of the United Kingdom. Area: 30,421 sq mi (78,789 sq km). Population (1998 est.): 5,120,300. Capital: Edinburgh. The population is a blend of Celtic, Angle, and Norman ancestry. Languages: English (official), Scottish Gaelic, and Scots. Religion: Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) (official). Currency: pound sterling. Scotland has three major geographic regions. The Highlands, in the north, are occupied by a series of lakes and the Grampian Mountains; the Lowlands include some of Scotland's best farmland; and the Southern Uplands feature narrow, flat valleys separating table mountains. It has a temperate oceanic climate. Important industries are coal and oil production, electronics, forestry, and marine fishing. Picts inhabited the region when it was invaded by the Romans c. AD 80. In the 5th century it split into four kingdoms under the Picts, Scots, Britons, and Angles. Scottish unification began in the 9th century. It came under a heavy anglicizing influence from the 11th century, and its ruler was forced to pay homage to the English crown in 1174, leading to numerous future disputes. The Scottish and English kingdoms were united in 1603 when James VI, son of Mary, Queen of Scots, ascended the English throne as James I. Scotland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, when the parliaments of both governments passed the Act of Union. The English prevailed in two Scottish rebellions in the 18th century, and after 1745, the history of Scotland became part of the history of Great Britain. It has no sovereign executive but retains vestiges of ancient sovereignty in its own legal and educational systems. In 1997, the Scots passed a referendum that allowed them to establish their own parliament in Edinburgh to vote on wide-ranging political issues while remaining part of the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament first convened in 1999.

参考文章

• 探秘苏格兰的神话禁地保健养生
• 苏格兰男裙的由来生活知识