Scottish History – Test Questions

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1.  Which Irish monk brought Christianity to Scotland?

 

 

2.  When did the Scots invade “Scotland”?  Who were the most important Celtic people living there at the time?

 

 

3.  Who was Kenneth MacAlpin?

 

 

4.  What is the Hungarian connection with one of Scotland’s patron saints Queen Margaret?

 

 

5.  What changes were brought about by Queen Margaret?

 

 

6.  Why did the Canmore kings ask for Norman-English help?

 

 

7.  When were the Scottish Wars of Independence?  How successful were these wars?

 

 

8.  Who were William Wallace and Robert Bruce?

 

 

9.  Who was John Knox?

 

 

10.  In 1560 when Scotland became a Protestant country her traditional political alliances changed.  Why and how?

 

 

11.  In what way was the Presbyterian Church democratic and thus radically different from the English (Anglican Church)?

 

 

12.  Why was Mary Queen of Scots imprisoned by the Scottish nobility?  Where did she flee to seek protection from the angry Scottish nobility (after her escape from the prison)?

 

 

13.  Why was Mary executed by her cousin (Queen Elizabeth I)?

 

 

14.  Who was the heir of Queen Elizabeth I (1603)?

 

 

15.  What was King James’s most unpopular move in Scotland after he had become the joint monarch of England and Scotland in 1603?

 

 

16.  Why did the Scots attack England in 1638?  What happened in the end? 

 

 

17.  What did Cromwell promise to the Scots in return for their help in the English Civil War?

 

 

18.  Why did Cromwell invade Scotland and occupy Edinburgh (after the English Civil War in which he had received substantial help from the Scots)?

 

 

19.  What is the difference between the union of  England and Scotland in 1603 and 1707?

 

 

20.  What were the reasons why Scotland entered into Union with England in 1707?

 

 

21.  What were the areas in which Scotland could keep her own institutions even after the Act of Union?

 

 

22.  Why were there 2 uprisings in Scotland after Queen Anne’s death?

 

 

23.  Why did the Jacobite uprisings fail?

 

 

24.  How did England take revenge against the supporters of the Jacobite uprisings?

 

 

25.  Nowadays there are a lot of postcards, magazines, ads and so on of sheep farms and the romantic Scottish Highlands.  Comment.  (Were sheep a romantic addition to the Scottish landscape at the time – as they are portrayed today?)

 

 

26.  What literary genre is the world famous invention of Sir Walter Scott?

 

 

27.  How did Sir Walter Scott manage to revive interest in Scotland’s past?

 

 

28.  When did Glasgow become the second largest city of Great Britain?

 

 

29.  When was the Scottish National Party formed?  What was its main agenda?

 

 

30.  What happened in 1969 that boosted Scottish nationalism?  What could be the explanation?

 

 

31.  What were some of the economic measures affecting Scotland taken by Thatcher’s government in the 1980s?

 

 

32.  When did the number of Gaelic-speaking schools increase dramatically in Scotland?

 

 

33.  What is the story of the Stone of Destiny/Scone? (legendary origin, Kenneth MacAlpin, the ancient capital Scone, Edward I, Westminster Abbey – coronations, stolen in 1950, returned in 1996)

 

 

34.  Why did Tony Blair promise devolution to the Scots in 1997?

 

 

35.  Define the word DEVOLUTION.

 

 

36.  What  percent of the Scottish electorate voted in support of Devolution?

 

 

37.  In what year was the Scottish Parliament opened for the first time since the Act of Union in 1707?

 

 

38.  What used to be some common bonds (that no longer exist!) between the English and the Scottish people?