ALBA GO BRAGH!!
October 31st 2006 22:20
Well, today is a special day for all of those of a gaelic persuasion. It's new years day. So I've decided to post on a book that my grandmother (both a staunch catholic and scotswoman) leant me awhile back. How the Scots Invented the Modern World.
Now, the man who wrote the book isn't a scot himself, nor does he have an axe to grind against them. He simply writes the facts down, granted, he writes them very well. One can also feel however, a touch of admiration seeping through the pages as he writes about the more notable, entertaining and poetic parts. But this book does not pull punches. It speaks of Culloden (and why it was best that we actually LOST that fight) and of the Highland clearances (the responsibility being very much in the hands of the highland chiefs).
A few my favourite little excerpts (and this says ALOT about me personally) were the small ones, the ones so typically scottish. The fact that just after the act of Union in 1709 the city of Glasgow suffered some of the worst riots it had ever seen. Why? Because the scots were unused to paying taxes on things and the english had decided to tax malt. Smart english (bastards). Malt is one of the main ingredients in both beer and whiskey. The riots were to do with the price of alcohol. What a bunch of drunks. Or the fact that the scottish naming conventions for places in america was so very scottish. My two favourites were shitbritches creek and of course f%^king creek.
But the book isn't all funny anecdotes. The writing about Culloden (in fact, the whole Jacobite rebellion is depressing, that Prince Dumbass Bloody Charlie was a moron) and of the highland clearances are both heartwrenching, especially when one considers that these were real events, real people.
Still, the achievements from a tiny illiterate backwater are quite remarkable. They developed some of the worlds most quoted poets and philosophers (Robert Burns, David Hume to name a couple), had two highly renowned universities at both Glasgow and Edinburgh and had economic power that rivalled, and in some cases out stripped that of England and many other larger nations.
A classic and interesting read, even if you're no' a scotch yersel'.
Josh Z
Now, the man who wrote the book isn't a scot himself, nor does he have an axe to grind against them. He simply writes the facts down, granted, he writes them very well. One can also feel however, a touch of admiration seeping through the pages as he writes about the more notable, entertaining and poetic parts. But this book does not pull punches. It speaks of Culloden (and why it was best that we actually LOST that fight) and of the Highland clearances (the responsibility being very much in the hands of the highland chiefs).
A few my favourite little excerpts (and this says ALOT about me personally) were the small ones, the ones so typically scottish. The fact that just after the act of Union in 1709 the city of Glasgow suffered some of the worst riots it had ever seen. Why? Because the scots were unused to paying taxes on things and the english had decided to tax malt. Smart english (bastards). Malt is one of the main ingredients in both beer and whiskey. The riots were to do with the price of alcohol. What a bunch of drunks. Or the fact that the scottish naming conventions for places in america was so very scottish. My two favourites were shitbritches creek and of course f%^king creek.
But the book isn't all funny anecdotes. The writing about Culloden (in fact, the whole Jacobite rebellion is depressing, that Prince Dumbass Bloody Charlie was a moron) and of the highland clearances are both heartwrenching, especially when one considers that these were real events, real people.
Still, the achievements from a tiny illiterate backwater are quite remarkable. They developed some of the worlds most quoted poets and philosophers (Robert Burns, David Hume to name a couple), had two highly renowned universities at both Glasgow and Edinburgh and had economic power that rivalled, and in some cases out stripped that of England and many other larger nations.
A classic and interesting read, even if you're no' a scotch yersel'.
Josh Z
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Comment by The Old Man
Compelled Christian
I had hoped your article would have been more fuller than it was. It would have been a great article.
The Old Man.
Comment by Jimmy