A People's History of Scotland facts for kids

A People's History of Scotland is a book written in 2014 by Chris Bambery. It tells the story of Scotland from a different point of view. Instead of focusing on kings and queens, it looks at history through the eyes of ordinary people, especially workers. The book covers events from ancient times all the way up to 2014. It explores how Scottish people felt about big political parties and their own national identity.

About the Book

A People's History of Scotland was released in 2014. It was published by Verso Press and has 374 pages. The author, Chris Bambery, wrote the book to share a unique perspective on Scottish history.

What the Book is About

The book has fifteen chapters. It starts by briefly mentioning ancient history. Then, it dives into the Middle Ages. It talks about how Scottish towns and cities grew over time.

The book also discusses how Scots were involved in British colonisation. It points out that a few wealthy Scots made a lot of money from these activities. However, this money often went to England instead of helping ordinary Scottish people.

The book highlights how workers in Scotland started to come together. This happened especially from the 1880s onwards. People began to understand their shared struggles. This feeling of working together was very strong in Scotland and Wales, even more so than in England.

Chris Bambery writes about the Labour Party. He mentions that their leader, Ramsey MacDonald, supported "austerity" in the 1930s. Austerity means the government cuts spending to save money. This made the Labour Party less popular in Scotland at the time.

The book also looks at the power of Scottish folk music. It explains how music helped shape the Scottish national identity. It also showed how music was used to promote peace.

Bambery discusses how Scots felt about the Communist Party of Britain. He also writes about the impact of "Thatcherite" politics. These political changes led to the 1997 Scottish devolution referendum. This vote resulted in "devolution," which gave Scotland its own Parliament of Scotland. This meant Scotland gained more control over its own affairs.

The book notes that many Scots were very upset about the Iraq War. There were widespread protests against the government's policies. Bambery describes the Scottish National Party as sometimes misleading. He suggests they were more aligned with certain economic ideas than they let on. He also says that people who voted for Scottish independence were looking for more democracy. The book ends by discussing the growing gap between rich and poor in Scotland.

See also

• Bought & Sold: Scotland, Jamaica and Slavery (2022 book)
• People's history
• Scotland in the Middle Ages