By Tim Lambert
C. 6,000 BC Stone age hunters arrive in Scotland
C. 4,500 BC Stone age farmers arrive in Scotland
C 1,800 BC The Beaker People (so-called because they made pottery beakers) introduce bronze into Scotland
C. 1,000 BC The sword and shield are introduced into Scotland
C. 400 BC The Celts introduce iron into Scotland80 AD The Romans under Agricola invade Scotland
84 AD The Romans defeat the native people at Mons Graupius. However, the Roman army withdraws shortly afterward.
122 AD Hadrian begins building a wall
140-142 Antonius Pius builds the Antonine wall
196 The Antonine wall is abandoned
197 A Roman writer mentions a race he called Picti or painted men. We call them the Picts.
C. 500 AD The Scotti or Scots from Northern Ireland land in the west of Scotland. They form a kingdom called Dalriada.
563 St Columba arrives in Iona and begins converting the Picts to Christianity
795 The Vikings raid Iona. It is the beginning of many Viking raids on Scotland.
C. 800 Vikings settle the Orkney Islands, The Shetland Islands and the Western Islands
840 Kenneth MacAlpin becomes king of the Scots
843 Kenneth MacAlpin (or Kenneth I) becomes king of the southern Picts as well as the Scots uniting the two. The new kingdom is called Alba. Later the name changes to Scotia.
858 Kenneth dies. Donald I succeeds him.
863 Constantine I becomes king
872 The king of Norway creates an Earl of the Orkneys (he also rules the Shetlands)
877 Aed becomes king
889 Donald II becomes king
900 Constantine II becomes king
943 Constantine II retires to a monastery. Malcolm I becomes king.
954 Indulf becomes king
962 Duf becomes king
966 Culen becomes king
971 Culen is assassinated. Kenneth II becomes king
995 Constantine III becomes king
997 Kenneth III becomes king
1005 Malcolm II becomes king
1018 Malcolm II conquers Lothian and Strathclyde making them part of the Scottish kingdom.
1040 Macbeth kills Duncan and becomes king of Scotland
1054 Macbeth is defeated a the battle of Dunisdane and is forced to surrender half his kingdom.
1057 Macbeth is killed at the battle of Lumphanan with the English
1058 Malcolm III becomes king
1069 Malcolm marries Margaret, a Norman-English princess and invites Normans to come to Scotland. Influenced by the Normans he also introduces feudalism into Scotland. Margaret reforms the Scottish church.
1071 The Scots are defeated by the English led by William Rufus
1091 The Scots are again defeated by William Rufus
1093 Donald III becomes king
1094 Duncan II rules Scotland for a short time
1094 Donald III becomes king
1107 Alexander I becomes king
1112 Alexander encourages Normans to come and live in Scotland
1121 King Alexander makes Berwick upon Tweed a royal burgh
1124
David I becomes king. David establishes new monasteries in Scotland. He also promotes trade by standardizing weights and measures and by starting royal mints. He also makes some towns royal burghs.
1138 The Scots are defeated by the English at the battle of the Standard in Yorkshire
1153 Malcolm IV becomes king
1165
William the Lion becomes king. During his reign Scotland prospers. Wool, fish and furs are exported. Luxuries like wine and spices are imported.
1174 The Scots invade England but the Scottish king is captured at Alnwick
1214 Alexander II becomes king
1249 Alexander III becomes king
1266
By the treaty of Perth the king of Norway sells the Western Isles to Scotland. Margaret, daughter of the Scottish king, becomes queen of Norway.
1286
Alexander III dies. In 1290 his heir, the Maid of Norway dies on the voyage to Scotland. So Scotland is left without a monarch and nobles argue over the succession.
1291
Edward I of England is asked to arbitrate in the Scottish succession crisis. He selects John Balliol but as the price of his arbitration he demands that Scotland becomes a vassal of England.
1295
John Balliol rebels against Edward. The English capture Berwick (an important Scottish town) and massacre the inhabitants. The English depose John Balliol and capture Scottish castles. William Wallace begins an armed struggle
1297 William Wallace defeats the English at Stirling Bridge
1298 The battle of Falkirk. The Scots under William Wallace are defeated but the struggle continues.
1304 The English capture Stirling Castle
1305 William Wallace is betrayed and executed
1306 Robert the Bruce becomes king of Scotland.
1313 Robert the Bruce recaptures Edinburgh, Perth and Roxburgh
1314 The battle of Bannockburn. The English are routed and Scottish independence is assured.
1318 The Scots recapture Berwick
1320 The Declaration of Arbroath. (A message to the Pope). The Scots declare their determination to fight for freedom.
1328
The treaty of Northampton recognizes Scottish independence. However border warfare goes on for generations.
1329 Robert the Bruce dies. David II becomes king.
1346 The Scots are defeated at the battle of Nevilles Cross. King David II is captured.
1349 The Black Death arrives in Scotland. It kills about 1/3 of the population.
1357 King David is released in return for a ransom.
1371 Robert II becomes king
1390 Robert III becomes king
1406
James I becomes king. However, he is captured by English pirates while at sea. For 18 years he is held captive in England while his uncle the Duke of Albany rules Scotland. He is not crowned until 1424.
1413 Scotland’s first university, St Andrews, is founded
1437 James II becomes king following his father’s murder
1451 Glasgow University is founded
1460 James II is killed while besieging Roxburgh when a cannon explodes. James III becomes king
1488 James III is murdered. James IV becomes king.
1494 Aberdeen university is founded
1503 James IV marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII
1513 The Scots lose the battle of Flodden. James IV is killed
1537 King James V marries Madeleine of France
1542
The English defeat the Scots at Solway Moss in Cumbria. James V dies and his heir is a baby named Mary1544
Angry at Scotland’s refusal to let his son Edward marry Mary the English King Henry VIII sends an army to plunder southern Scotland.
1547 The Scots are defeated at the Battle of Pinkie
1548 Mary is sent to France
1558 Mary marries Francis, the heir to the French throne
1559-1560
The Reformation sweeps Scotland, led by John Knox. The Reformation Parliament ends the Pope’s authority and bans the mass. Mary’s husband Francis dies
1561 Mary returns to Scotland and finds the country changed by the Reformation. Mary herself remains a Catholic
1565 Mary marries Lord Darnley (Henry Stuart)
1566 Darnley and his followers kill Mary’s secretary David Riccio
1567
Darnley is strangled and blown up by a gunpowder explosion in a house. Mary is suspected of organising the murder of Darnley with her lover the Earl of Bothwell (James Hepburn). Mary marries Bothwell and the Scots rise in rebellion. Mary is forced to abdicate and James I becomes king.
1568 Mary flees to England and is imprisoned by Elizabeth I
1582 Edinburgh University is founded
1587 Mary is executed by Elizabeth I for plotting against her
1589 King James marries Anne of Denmark
1600 Charles I is born1603 James VI of Scotland inherits the English throne and becomes James I
1614 John Napier discovers logarithms1617 King James visits Scotland for the first time since becoming king of England
1625 Charles I becomes king of Scotland and England
1637
Charles I tries to make the Scottish Kirk accept a new prayer book. In Edinburgh a riot begins in St Giles Cathedral.
1638 All over Scotland Scots sign a document called the National Covenant promising to defend the Kirk1639
Desperately short of money to pay his soldiers King Charles is forced to make a peace treaty with the Covenanters.1640
Charles goes to war with the Covenanters again but his army quickly retreats before the Scots
1642 Civil war begins in England between king and parliament
1643
The parliamentarians persuade the Scots to join in the war on their side by promising to make the English church Presbyterian. By the Solemn League and Covenant the Scots agree to join parliament in its struggle.
1644 The Marquis of Montrose tries to take Scotland for the king
1645 Montrose is defeated at the Battle of Philiphaugh
1646 The English civil war ends. The king surrenders to the Scots
1647
The Scots hand Charles over to the English parliament. In December Charles I makes a deal with the Scots in an attempt to regain his throne
1648 English royalists rise in rebellion. The Scots invade England but are defeated at Preston
1649 Charles I is executed
1650
Charles I makes a deal with the Scots. Oliver Cromwell marches into Scotland and wins the battle of Dunbar in September. 1651
Charles II is crowned in Scotland and invades England. He is defeated at the battle of Worcester and flees abroad. Subsequently the English army occupies Scotland.
1660 Charles II is restored as king of England and Scotland
1661
Charles II tries to impose episcopacy (rule by bishops) on Scotland. For years Covenanters are persecuted.1666 An uprising in southwest Scotland is crushed
1688
James II is deposed. His son James Edward Stuart is born this year. Later the son is known as the Old Pretender because he ‘pretends to’ (claims) his father’s throne.
1689
William of Orange and Mary take the Scottish throne. Viscount Dundee leads a rebellion in the Highlands. The rebels win the battle of Killiecrankie but Dundee is killed and the rebellion collapses.
1690 Presbyterianism is finally re-established
1692 The massacre of Glencoe
1695 The Bank of Scotland is founded
1707 The Act of Union unites England and Scotland. Many Scots are bitterly opposed to the union.
1715
John Erskine, the Earl of Mar raises the Highlands in support of James II. His supporters are called Jacobites from the Latin for James, Jacobus. An indecisive battle is fought at Sheriffmuir.
1716 The rebellion fizzles out
1720 The old pretender has a son, Charles Edward, known as the young pretender
1745
The young pretender arrives in Scotland in an attempt to take the throne. On 21 September the Jacobites defeat the British army at Prestonpans. The Jacobites march south as far as Derby but withdraw.
1746
On 16 April the Jacobites are crushed at Culloden. Afterwards the Duke of Cumberland (known as Butcher Cumberland) and his men kill and plunder all over the Highlands. They destroy crops and houses.
1747 The Act of Proscription bans Highlanders from carrying arms, wearing the kilt and playing bagpipes
C. 1785-1820
The first great wave of Highland clearances takes place. Rich landowners decide that raising sheep or cattle would be more profitable than traditional farming. Tenants and their families are evicted from their homes and land causing great suffering. Many Highlanders are forced to immigrate to North America. The Highlands are left depopulated.
1766 James II, the old pretender dies
1782 The Act of Proscription is repealed
c. 1780s
The Industrial Revolution begins to transform central Scotland. The populations of towns like Glasgow and Dundee boom.
1788 The young pretender dies
During the 19th century some Scottish towns mushroom. Conditions in the new industrial towns are very often appalling. They are dirty, unsanitary, and overcrowded. Not surprisingly life expectancy is short and infant mortality is high. However, things improve in the late 19th century. Sewers are dug, piped water supplies are created.
1822 George IV visits Scotland
1832 Outbreaks of cholera in Scottish towns.
1840-1860 A second wave of Highland clearances takes place.
1843 The ‘Disruption’. The Church of Scotland splits. The Free Church of Scotland is formed.
1847 Food riots occur in Scotland
1848-1849 More cholera epidemics in Scottish towns.
1879 The Tay Bridge collapses
1885 Secretary for Scotland appointed
1886 The Crofters Act is passed
1890 Forth Rail Bridge opens
1920s Many Scots emigrate
1926 Secretary of state for Scotland appointed
1929 The Church of Scotland is reunited
1931 onward Depression caused mass unemployment in Scotland
1932 Unemployment in Scotland reaches 28%
1934 The Scottish National Party is formed
1941 The Germans bomb Glasgow
1965 The Highlands and Islands Development Board is formed
1980-1982 Unemployment in Scotland soars as recession bites
1982 Caron Iron Works calls in the receiver
C. 1980s The electronics industry in Scotland grows.
1990 Glasgow is the cultural capital of Europe
1999 The Scottish Parliament meets
2014 The Scots vote against independence
