In full disclosure I have a lot of Scottish blood but I have never lived in Scotland and have no honest opinion regarding the Scottish independence vote.  That being said, I find this more than a little interesting.  Scotland won its independence from Britain starting when Robert the Bruce was crowned King of Scots on March 25, 1306.  The final battle for independence was at Bannockburn in June 1314.  The Declaration of Arbroath was sent to Pope JohnXXII in 1320. Following is a quote most of you probably know from the Declaration of Arbroath:

…for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself

The Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton was ratified by the English Parliament on May 1, 1328 and Scotland became an independent country.   Scottish independence lasted until around 1603 when James the VI of Scotland became James the I of England uniting the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland. You might be interested in knowing that this was the King James of the King James Bible.  Scotland and England had the same King, but still had separate parliaments.  That lasted until 1707 when the Acts of Union resulted in the union of the English and Scottish parliaments.  One motivation for Scotland giving up its parliament was that it ran out of money.  It sure looks like the leaders in Scotland did choose riches over independence.

There was a serious financial problem.  Scotland had tried to establish the colony of Caledonia on the Isthmus of Panama.  They picked a spot on the Gulf of Darien, which was a lousy choice.  It is still mostly uninhabited today, for the same reasons it was uninhabitable in 1698. It was a major failure and Scotland ended up broke and in debt.  So in exchange for a lot of English money and the right to participate in English trade, Scotland gave up its parliament.  Both Scotland and England benefited from this decision.  Scotland thrived financially and an amazing number of British prime ministers have been Scots.

If you have ever been to Scotland, one quickly learns that the Scots do not like to be confused with the English.  They have always considered themselves to be a separate country.  For example at the Edinburgh Tattoo the announcers asked the audience where they were from.  He mentioned places all over the world.  Then he sighed and said, “Ok, do we have anyone from south of Hadrian’s Wall.”  It was obviously said in good humor.

Now, 300 years later, Scotland is considering setting up its own parliament again.  They may or may not agree to keep Queen Elizabeth.  England is trying desperately to keep Scotland by basically offering more money.  This is like Déjà vu all over again.

TDM