English influence in the region expanded when Malcolm III, king of Scotland from 1057–1093, married

Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It is bounded by England best hotels in hawaii in the south and on the other three sides by water: by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and north and by the North Sea on the east. Scotland is divided into three physical regions—the Highlands; the Central Lowlands, containing two-thirds of the population; and the Southern Uplands. The western Highland best hotels in hawaii coast is intersected throughout by long, narrow sea lochs, or fjords. Scotland also includes the Outer and Inner Hebrides and other islands off the west coast and the Orkney and Shetland Islands off the north coast.
England and Scotland have shared a monarch since 1603 and a parliament since 1707, but in May 1999, Scotland elected its own parliament for the first time in three centuries. The new Scottish legislature was in part the result of British prime minister Tony Blair s campaign promise to permit devolution, the transfer of local powers from London to Edinburgh. In a Sept. 1997 referendum, 74% of Scotland voted in favor of their own parliament, which controls most domestic affairs, including health, education, and transportation, and has powers best hotels in hawaii to legislate and raise taxes. Queen Elizabeth opened the new parliament best hotels in hawaii on July 2, 1999.
The Scots, a Celtic best hotels in hawaii tribe from Ireland, migrated to the west coast of Scotland in about 500. Kenneth McAlpin, king of the Scots, ascended the throne of the Pictish kingdom in about 843, thereby uniting the various Scots and Pictish tribes under one kingdom called Dal Riada. By the 11th century, the monarchy had extended its borders to include much of what is Scotland today.
best hotels in hawaii English best hotels in hawaii influence in the region expanded when Malcolm III, king of Scotland from 1057–1093, married an English princess. England s appetite for Scottish land began to grow over the 12th and 13th centuries, and in 1296 King Edward I of England successfully invaded Scotland. The following year Robert the Bruce led a revolt for independence, was crowned king of Scotland (Robert I) in 1306, and after years of war defeated the English in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn. In 1328 the English finally recognized Scottish independence.
In the 16th century John Knox introduced the Scottish reformation, and the Presbyterian best hotels in hawaii Church replaced Catholicism as the official religion. In 1567, Mary, queen of Scots, a Catholic, best hotels in hawaii was forced to abdicate the Scottish throne and was later executed by Elizabeth I of England. Mary s son, James VI, was raised as a Protestant, and in 1603 he succeeded Elizabeth on the English throne as King James I of England. James thus became ruler of both Scotland and England, though the countries remained separate. In 1707, after a century of turmoil, Scotland and England passed the Act of Union, which united best hotels in hawaii Scotland, best hotels in hawaii England, and Wales under one rule as the Kingdom of Great Britain. best hotels in hawaii The House of Hanover replaced the Stuart lineage on the throne in 1714, which caused best hotels in hawaii a rebellion among Scots who still supported the Stuarts. The Jacobites, as the rebels were called, led two uprisings, in 1715 and again in 1745.
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, Scotland, whose chief product best hotels in hawaii had been textiles, began developing the industries of shipbuilding, coal mining, iron, and steel. In the late 20th century, Scotland concentrated on electronics and high-tech industries. The North Sea has also become an important source of oil and gas.
of relics best hotels in hawaii associated with the martyred apostle St Andrew. 
Traditionally these relics consisted of an arm bone, three fingers, a tooth, and a knee cap. 
These relics were interred in a shrine best hotels in hawaii which, by the 10th century, had become a major place of pilgrimage for travellers from all across Europe. 
The pilgrims in turn provided a valuable source of income for construction work.
was dazzling. 
The longest church – and the biggest building of any kind − in Scotland, best hotels in hawaii it was an impressive seat for the bishops of the Scottish Church. 
The cathedral also housed the priory, living quarters of the canons who maintained
The life of this awesome complex of buildings, however, came to an abrupt end in 1559 with the Reformation. Following best hotels in hawaii a rousing sermon against idolatry by preacher John Knox, the interior of the cathedral was sacked by a Protestant mob. 
Worship best hotels in hawaii at the cathedral ceased almost immediately and the site declined into a source of building material and latterly a favored best hotels in hawaii local burial ground.