It's worth reminding all Scot readers on here that today marks the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath. This historical document is probably the most important in Scotland's history as it set out the will and wishes of the people above the King. Its manifesto also affirmed the nation's independence in a way that no battle could, and justified it with a truth that is beyond nation and race. The organised celebrations of this anniversary have sadly been scuppered by the coronavirus. However, true to typical Scottish innovation, the celebrations have been moved to the digital world where many different link ups through the likes of Facebook have been set up globally and led by the Scottish Independence Movement and other Scot indy groups. This document, the Declaration of Arbroath , is the first time that we see the dawning of realisation that all of us who belong to this ancient collectivity that constitutes our nation should have an equal say, an equal right and an equal voice. All those many years ago, our ancestors stood up and declared that it would be the people of Scotland, not a king or a monarch, who had the ultimate right to decide the path that their nation treads - one of the first declarations of true democracy and democratic values. Interestingly, in a research study of a 1000 Scots, carried out by the National Trust for Scotland and published today, it was found that just over 50% of Scots don't know about the Declaration of Arbroath, a 1320 letter from Scotland's leading political leaders to Pope John XXII arguing for the recognition of Scotland as an independent nation in the context of Scotland's ongoing struggles with the English state. The NTS intimated that many more Scots should be made aware of this document and indeed much more of the history of Scotland as well. The Trust also asked whether people would like to know more about Scotland's history and 77% responded positively with an affirmative to that question.
Lastly, one can only say that 700 years on from this notable event we are still fighting for self-determination to finally break away from a "broken" Union.
Lastly, one can only say that 700 years on from this notable event we are still fighting for self-determination to finally break away from a "broken" Union.