What Scotland’s Dual Experience as Colonized and Colonizer Tells Us About Residuals of Colonialism, Scotland’s Current Push for Independence, and the Application of Postcolonial and Decolonial Theory
By: Katelin Harmon
With a growing push to deconstruct the colonial past providing reparations where necessary, filling education gaps, and allowing the subaltern to speak, Scotland emerges as a case study that has been affected by both sides of colonialism (Chakravorty). Scotland has played roles as both colonized and colonizer and aided in colonization as they themselves were being colonized, creating a complicated loss of their own language and culture while simultaneously doing the same across the globe. This paper examines Scotland’s role as both colonized and colonizer from the 13th century to the present day to more completely understand Scotland’s place within the European Union and the likelihood of a second independence movement. Understanding Scotland’s place in contemporary society in contrast with its brutal history is formidable in nature but essential to further our collective understanding and application of postcolonial and decolonial thought. I will address why residues of colonialism persist in Scottish life today, what Scotland may look like through a decolonial and postcolonial lens, and whether a decolonial or postcolonial approach would best benefit Scotland when dealing with the pursuit of independence from the European Union as well as considering how to educate its citizens as a means to recognize Scotland’s past as a colonizer.
Scotland as Colonized: A History of British Colonization
Scotland has always been colonized, even as a colonizer. During the medieval period, in the early 13th and 14th centuries, Scotland was at odds with England as it began to cross geographic boundaries, treating Scottish land as feudal territory (Solly 2020). William Wallace, a prominent Scottish freedom fighter, became a popular image associated with the movement as a “blue paint-covered kilt wearer (Solly 2020).” Wallace experienced a period of great successes and calamitous shortcomings as the Scottish leader after winning a decisive battle at the Stirling Bridge in 1297 and shortly after suffering a devastating defeat at the Battle of Falkirk (Solly 2020). Such a great defeat caused William Wallace to abandon the Scots, he was eventually captured by the English and executed. Robert Bruce stepped up following Wallace’s death by seizing power after the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 and eventually securing Scotland’s independence by 1328 (Solly 2020). A second war for independence followed Bruce’s death, but it quickly ended when the English got involved in the Hundred Year’s War with France (Solly 2020).
In 1603, Scotland’s independence was questioned again when childless Queen Elizabeth I of England died, leaving no direct successor to the throne. Her distant cousin James I, previously known as James VI of Scotland, took over the throne uniting England, Ireland, and Scotland under one Monarch (Solly 2020). Throughout James and his son Charles I, rule, civil war, and rebellion ran rampant due to the oppressive nature of their kingships (Solly 2020). During this period of unrest, Scotland went out on its own pursuit to try its hand yet again at establishing a previously-failed colony known as Nova Scotia, located in the Isthmus of Darien (Solly 2020). The opportunities in Nova Scotia were promising, as the widely successful Spanish conquistadors had planted colonies close by (Hopper 2014). The famous William Paterson, known for founding the Bank of England, developed a plan that would work to connect the East and West, allowing Scotland to have control over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (Johnson, n.d.). The people of Scotland were also convinced; about half of the available cash, equivalent to 500,000 pounds, in Scotland was raised for the project (Hopper 2014). However, the Scottish attempt to colonize failed as Nova Scotia was riddled with disease and crop failure and fell into what would become known as the Darien Disaster (Hopper 2014). Only one of the original sixteen ships that sailed to Darien returned, and all of the money that was put towards the colonial scheme had been squandered, making it evident to Scots that they were in economic shambles (Hopper 2014). Without means of supporting themselves, the Scottish people decided to enter a Union with England, dissolving their own parliament and becoming one political entity (Solly 2020).
England quickly began to display its ownership over Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries viewing Scottish people as uncivilized and in need of modernization as England began to industrialize (Britannica, 2023). Scots faced forced removal from their land in the Highlands of Scotland as those living there were considered old-fashioned and out of touch (Stewart 2017). This period was known as the Highland Clearances, in which the Scottish people were not only disposed of their land but, in many ways, their culture as well. The English acted swiftly to dissolve the clan system and use the land for sheep farms (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2023). The clan system posed a specific threat to England as the Scottish people continued to follow orders from their clan chief and were not allegiant to the king. In 1725 the process was not moving as England had planned and took it upon themselves to begin occupying parts of Scotland and the Highlands to remind Scots who held sovereign power. Naturally, the Scots felt betrayed by their government and pushed to employ a series of militant rebellions for the return to Scotland to be self-governed and free from any English influence. The Scots formed a small army of 6,000, the Jacobites, and faced the British redcoats up until 1745, when they inevitably lost to the powerful British army. Over 1,000 Jacobites were killed, several were taken to London as prisoners, and highlanders were still being forced out of their homes to relocate to the coast; some were not as lucky to relocate and became indentured servants after the war (Stewart 2017). The continued struggle for independence is a product of the long arms, weak fingers dichotomy and shows that colonization is never truly complete and that there will always be pushback from forcing new institutions and positions of power upon a body of people that don’t consent.
Scotland as Colonizer
It is important to note that during the entirety of Scotland being colonized and their sovereignty as a kingdom being violated numerous times, they were an active colonizing force. They cannot be made out to be merely a victim of colonialism. Scots initially thrived as colonizers throughout the 16th century up until the beginning of the 18th century; they worked to establish various empires across the globe, each providing them access to new resources and riches. In the process of dismantling existing power structures as Scots worked to force their ideology, European diseases wreaked havoc on native colonized populations. William Patterson, who spearheaded the Darien Scheme and founded the Bank of England, promoted an especially damaging ideology of forced globalization, stating, “Trade will increase, and money will beget money, and the trading world shall need no more want work for their hands, but will rather want hands for their work (Hopper 2014).” Scotland’s drive for empire-building did not end after the Union of 1707, as they eagerly joined England in their pursuit of colonizing the new world. A disproportionate number of Scots participated as soldiers, merchants, agents, and sailors in aiding Britain’s colonial pursuits (Boyd 2017). They aided in forcing China to take opium, as well as suppressing the rights of indigenous people in Canada and Australia (Cameron, 2022). Additionally, Scots fought in two World Wars for the British Empire; it was not until the withering of the empire post-1945 that there was a collective revival of interest in Scottish identity and independence (Cameron 2022). Much of Scotland’s and the EU’s modern economic success can be attributed to their historical success as a dominant colonizing force. Today they consistently take the second ‘rank’ among the UK’s four nations in terms of GDP, and most people live positive, fulfilling lives with little economic struggle in comparison to other previously colonized countries (Barker 2021).
Contemporary Independence Movement
The first independence referendum occurred in 2014 and was described as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” with an 84.6% turnout (BBC News 2022). Scots viewed much of their economic well-being to be at stake, with fears stemming from creating their own welfare system and what trade ties would be broken; these apprehensions went unanswered from the Scottish parliament at the time, likely because there were no other countries that had pulled out of the EU prior to the first referendum (East Dunbartonshire Council 2014). The UK decided to allow the Scottish parliament to hold an election on independence likely because they did not believe parliament would win the independence vote (BBC News 2022).” The official vote came out to 55.3% of citizens voting no and 44.7% voting yes (UK Parliament 2016).
Shortly after the first referendum came to a close, discussions of Brexit arose. The United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union in 2020, but the referendum was first formally announced in 2017 to leave the union officially (BBC 2020; Sandford 2020). Brexit caused the EU to lose some of its relevance, cutting off the fifth largest economy in the world; it additionally served as a wake-up call to many Scottish citizens, with a new poll held in 2019 showing that 62% of Scots favor a second referendum (BBC News 2022). Professor Alf Baird, who taught at Edinburgh Napier University up until 2016, states in his work that “Brexit proved that the Scottish nation is treated more or less as a colony. (Baird, n.d.)” This language is a strong choice considering the role that Scotland played as a colonizer across the globe and has not done much to recognize its racist, colonial past. Statues, street names, and buildings pay homage to slavery, colonialism, and racism. In the center of Edinburgh stands Lord Melville, a slavery profiteer and facilitator of a patronage network that allowed Scotland citizens to take Indian jobs (Boyd 2017).
Nevertheless, Scotland is not an independent nation in any capacity, as evidence shows that Scots are continuously put on the back burner. The Scottish people are told they are “union equals” but have virtually no voting power within Westminster; their 9 percent is outvoted most of the time (Baird, n.d.). Even though the EU is relatively prosperous, half of the Scottish nation is living in or close to poverty despite Scotland being such a resource-rich nation as a result of England extracting resources from Scotland, paying Scottish workers low wages, and selling their products at a much higher cost to natives (Baird, n.d.).
Baird, like many other Scottish people, viewed the Supreme Court case that decided Scotland could not legally hold a second referendum to reinforce its colonial status. Professor Baird follows closely with Coulthard’s call for the complete removal of the old recognition systems that perpetuate these one-way dynamics, in this case, favoring those in the EU that hold more voting power and call for a push for new systems that are mutually affirming. Modern-day Scotland reflects what Coulthard describes as a settler-colonial relationship in which “power has been structured into a relatively secure or sedimented set of hierarchical social relations” that systematically dispossess persons of “lands and self-determining authority (Coulthard 2015, 5).” Scotland has been the subject of population displacement in the past through more direct means, such as the Highland Clearances. Yet, this inability to govern their own land is a much less direct form of a settler-colonial relationship. As Coulthard describes, it can be easy for Scots to not entirely recognize their place within the EU as a colonial relationship as they are not being coerced into a power dynamic but have “rather endured an asymmetrical exchange of mediated forms of state recognition and accommodation” that has become the standard (Coulthard 2015, 10).
Another less-discussed way in which England maintains its grip on Scotland, suggested by Professor Alf Baird, is occupation from the “mother country (Baird, n.d.).” English people make up the largest in-migration to Scotland of any ethnic group. Most English people migrating to Scotland are associated with the professional and managerial class and are looking for jobs. These jobs are typically some of the highest paying in Scotland. They are advertised in the London Press with the only language requirement being English, further contributing to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. This is a clear representation of a higher value being placed on English values and heritage, and in a colonial environment, only the values of the colonizer are sovereign. In this case, Baird points out that there are truly only two options for the people of Scotland. Option one is securing “independence, which is decolonization and liberalization from oppression,” along with recovery of the native language, culture, and sovereignty (Baird, n.d.). Option two is what Baird views to be Scotland’s current trajectory in which cultural assimilation and oppression continue until the native language and culture perish, creating a homogenous social, cultural, and political entity.
Indyref2 and Potential for Success
The Scottish National Party (SNP) began pushing for independence once again in 2019, this time largely as a response to the Brexit referendum. The supreme court case denying Scotland’s autonomy to hold its independence movement highlighted how little Scottish citizens have in their own self-determination. This has fueled plans for an SNP party conference next year to discuss a sort of “de facto referendum” to agree on details of an independence plan. In the meantime, the SNP is continuing to work on, in the words of former parliament member Nicola Sturgeon, a “major campaign in defense of Scottish democracy (BBC News 2022).
The next general election in 2025 is said to be an independence vote solely. However, many Scots are skeptical of the potential for success of a second independence movement and hold some of the same reservations that they did in 2014. A recent switch in power as Sturgeon resigned, too much of the country’s shock, has temporarily shifted union attention as finance secretary Kate Forbes, health secretary Humza Yousaf, and former community safety minister Ash Regan are all in the running to replace her (Carrell, Brooks, and Adu 2023). Nevertheless, the conversation of independence has not left Scottish politics as the three front runners believe they could lead Scotland to independence. If Scotland were to achieve independence, it would not likely be with Westminister’s approval. Scottish leaders would need to be clear on issues like currency and pension in order to be secure in an independence vote, as a lack of direction on some of these issues leave Scots hesitant to support the independence movement since they rely heavily on the decision-making power of the EU and their trade ties.
Should Scotland Take a Postcolonial or Decolonial Approach?
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines postcolonialism as: “ the historical period or state of affairs representing the aftermath of Western colonialism; the term can also be used to describe the concurrent project to reclaim and rethink the history and agency of people subordinated under various forms of imperialism (Ivison 2022).” Postcolonial theory is used in hopes of a possible future of overcoming colonialism and “investigating the various trajectories of modernity(Ivison 2022).” Brexit highlighted the question of Scottish independence and its identity within the EU. Yet, some scholars are instead offering an alternative way of thinking about Scottish independence and believe that independence should not be achieved without Scotland confronting its very imperial past. It was very easy for Scotland to emphasize their past as a victim while suppressing its deeply flawed past as a strong colonial force up until 1707 and their collusion with the British Empire to colonize other parts of the world (Cameron 2022). As Scots readily bought into the union values of military power, racial superiority, Presbyterianism, and the British pretense of free trade, they eagerly helped England build empires that also benefited them (Cameron 2022). They profited from free labor without blinking an eye, owning 32 percent of slaves and 30 percent of slave estates in Jamaica. Today Scottish people are said only to be vaguely conscious of these links. With no equivalent to the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, the “Scottish consciousness often feels totally removed from the violence that divided the world into rich and poor. (Boyd 2017)”
In an effort to address its colonial past, the Edinburgh city council launched a review to consider ways to acknowledge its historical connections with slavery and colonialism. This call to action has not gone without academic controversy, as a plaque was placed in St Andrew’s Square underneath a statue portraying Henry Dundas, a man who directly delayed the abolition of slavery. Additionally, universities such as Glasglow are looking into a form of reparations (Cameron 2022). Glasgow benefited greatly from the profits of slave traders and has, in recent years, “set up a £20m fund to engage in joint research with the University of West Indies (Cameron 2022).” These are steps to looking at Scotland through a postcolonial lens but are merely at the academic level, not directly contributing to Scottish citizens’ knowledge base of their past. Even though everyone can walk by and read plaques, without other methods of education and awareness, it is easy to continue to turn a blind eye to how Scotland established the success that it has today. Important steps Scotland can take to continue to push for increased awareness and education of Scotland’s past not only as colonized but as colonizer to facilitate understanding of just how important the opportunity for independence is. Working through Scotland’s colonial past in terms of postcoloniality should begin by spreading information and education, perhaps by continuing to place plaques at the foot of buildings, banks, and university buildings that benefited from stolen money and resources. This should not be where recognition of the past ends. The Scottish government should consider what reparations could look like and how education on their imperial past can be implemented into the education system, creating an enlightened body of Scots that will likely be more skeptical of indyref2, what independence means for Scotland, and native’s sovereignty that they violated hundreds of years prior. As Coulthard implies, Scots should consider going a step further by destroying old systems of recognition (statues) that perpetuate one-way dynamics. Scots should not give up on the prospect of independence but rather try to implement a critical lens into the current dialogue surrounding indyref2 and future independence movements that promote critical thinking and dialogue and do not reinforce traditional power dynamics (Coulthard 2014, 3). The Scottish government should acknowledge how they actively took away from other countries’ sovereignty, and the subsequently ironic opportunity for independent Scotland is now experiencing, even if the hope of success is in many ways up in the air.
Decoloniality separates itself from postcolonialism and postcolonial theory as decolonialism urges us to “re-learn the knowledge that has been pushed aside, forgotten, buried or discredited by the forces of modernity, settler-colonialism, and racial capitalism (William & Mary, n.d.).” Decoloniality is meant to reveal how modernity is “built on the backs of others” and that “modernity racializes, erases, and/or objectifies” and is not meant to be a singular method of restoration or reparation (William & Mary, n.d.). Professor Alf Baird discusses in his article “Scotlands Colonial Status” the first option for Scotland to begin to decolonize following independence from the European Union. Decolonial thinking in Scotland differs from other places in unworking Scotland’s own colonial past and the past in which Scots were suppressed, losing much of their own culture and sense of identity working to “extricate oneself from linkages between rationality/modernity” in both spaces as colonized and colonizer (Quijano 2007, 177). Steps for decolonization in an independent Scotland would look like addressing the formation of modern colonial order, identifying decolonial trajectories at work in Scotland and globally, and recognizing processes of re-emergence and re-existence. In this process of decolonization and introduction to decolonial thinking, Scots would likely initially grapple with questions suggested by Escobar, like: “How do we recreate and re-communalize our worlds? How do we develop forms of knowing that do not take words and beings and things out of the flow of life (Escobar 2018, 200)?”
A decolonial Scotland is not at the forefront of many citizen’s minds but it opens up the option to consider Scotland as colonial and colonized through postcolonial theory but also to choose from a variety of various cultural orientations depending on how deep ties to English or Scottish culture may be for Scottish people residing in Scotland (Quijano 2007, 178). With decolonial consideration, Scots earn the “freedom to produce, criticize, change, and exchange culture and society (Quijano 2007, 178).” Scots’ current ties to their culture are rooted in the older generation of Scottish people; a beginning of decolonial thinking and learning of their language and culture would allow Scots to choose how they view independence and what culture, whether that be English or Scottish, they want to align themselves with. Quijano takes an even more radical approach, and the Scots also have this opportunity as identifying with one culture may be challenging but undoing colonialism and understanding why they have been subjected to forms of power is important to begin to understand the decolonial option. A decolonial lens applied would give the Scottish people the freedom of choice whether to remain a part of the EU or not, whether to govern themselves, and what pieces of culture they decide to reclaim.
Ultimately I think that the application of a postcolonial lens could best fit Scotland’s current situation with the opportunity for independence. Postcolonial thinking provides for possible futures of overcoming colonialism but also acknowledges why aspects of it may linger. Education and understanding of why systems are the ways they can combat areas in society where colonialism is still present. Separate from the prospect of independence, it will be especially important for Scotland to reckon with its racist and colonial past as awareness by universities is being spread and nongovernmental programs work to provide reparations to those affected negatively by colonialization will eventually trickle down to the knowledge of all Scottish citizens. The Scottish education system can get ahead of this by creating an all-encompassing curriculum that makes it explicit to Scottish learners at all levels how imperialism and colonialism have contributed to the loss of Scottish culture and the culture of other groups across the globe. Also, understanding that Scotland is responsible for much of the world’s colonialism as well will allow students to see the residues of colonialism and better understand how to address their Scottish heritage and place as citizens of the world. Leaders of indyref2 now and in the future could benefit from conversations on colonialism to get a better view of what they want the movement to achieve and how to address Scotland’s imperialistic past. In the meantime, Scots can look to confront their colonial past while dissecting what their relationship to the European Union means, how Scotland might have looked if it were not made to be a union with England, and what designs can be made for a pluriverse in which Scots can live in a sovereign nation, and consider Scotland as well as England’s roots in modernity, capitalism, and state domination.
References
Baird, Alf. n.d. “Scotland’s Colonial Status.” Salvo. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://salvo.scot/scotlands-colonial-status/.
Barker, Dan. 2021. “Survey finds that half of Scots feel ‘broadly positive’ – but where is Scotland’s ‘least happy’ city?” The Scotsman. https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/glasgow-is-least-happy-city-in-scotland-survey-finds-3463531.
BBC. 2020. “Brexit: What you need to know about the UK leaving the EU.” BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887.
BBC News. 2022. “Scottish independence: Will there be a second referendum?” BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-50813510.
Boyd, Cat. 2017. “Cat Boyd: It’s about time Scotland confronted its own racist, colonial past.” The National. https://www.thenational.scot/politics/15486882.cat-boyd-its-about-time-scotland-confronted-its-own-racist-colonial-past/.
Cameron, Fraser. 2022. “Scotland must lead in confronting its imperial past.” Sceptical Scot. https://sceptical.scot/2022/01/scotland-must-lead-in-confronting-its-imperial-past/.
Carrell, Severin, Libby Brooks, and Aletha Adu. 2023. “Who will replace Nicola Sturgeon? Scottish leadership runners and riders.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/15/who-will-replace-nicola-sturgeon-scottish-leadership-john-swinney-kate-forbes-humza-yousaf.
Coulthard, Glen S. 2015. “Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the ColonialPolitics of Recognition.” Minnesota Scholarship Online, (August), 25. 10.5749/minnesota/9780816679645.001.0001.
East Dunbartonshire Council. 2014. “Scottish Independence Referendum 2014.” East Dunbartonshire Council. https://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/council/elections-voting/scottish-independence-referendum-2014.
Encyclopedia Britannica. 2023. “Highland Clearances | Scottish history | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Highland-Clearances.
Escobar, Arturo. 2018. Designs for the Pluriverse: Radical Interdependence, Autonomy, and the Making of Worlds. N.p.: Duke University Press.
Hopper, Tristin. 2014. “Why Scotland is part of Great Britain: Disastrous 17th century colony in Panama behind union with England.” National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/why-scotland-is-part-of-great-britain-disastrous-17th-century-colony-in-panama-behind-union.
Morris, Rosalind C., ed. 2010. Can the Subaltern Speak? Reflections on the History of an Idea. N.p.: Columbia University Press.
Solly, Meilan. 2020. “A Not-So-Brief History of Scottish Independence.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/brief-history-scottish-independence-180973928/.
Stewart, Terry. 2017. “The Highland Clearances.” Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Highland-Clearances/.
UK Parliament. 2016. “Act of Union 1707: Contemporary context.” UK Parliament. https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/act-of-union-1707/contemporary-context/.