Next week Scotland will decide whether to secede from United Kingdom. June will mark the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, where Robert the Bruce won Scotland’s independence.
from Wiki:
The early modern period saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of Protestant state churches in each country.[54] Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of England,[55] and Ireland was constituted as a kingdom in personal union with the English crown.[56] In what was to become Northern Ireland, the lands of the independent Catholic Gaelic nobility were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers from England and Scotland.[57]
In 1603, the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were united in a personal union when James VI, King of Scots, inherited the crowns of England and Ireland and moved his court from Edinburgh to London; each country nevertheless remained a separate political entity and retained its separate political, legal, and religious institutions.
In the mid-17th century, all three kingdoms were involved in a series of connected wars (including the English Civil War) which led to the temporary overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the short-lived unitary republic of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.[60][61]
Although the monarchy was restored, it ensured (with the Glorious Revolution of 1688) that, unlike much of the rest of Europe, royal absolutism would not prevail, and a professed Catholic could never accede to the throne. The British constitution would develop on the basis of constitutional monarchy and the parliamentary system.[ During this period, particularly in England, the development of naval power (and the interest in voyages of discovery) led to the acquisition and settlement of North America.
In 1707,when Scotland united with England to form the United Kingdom .
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/12/global-elections-to-watch-in-2014-101647.html#ixzz2p935ZSQc