Preserving

A Brief History

Humans inhabited Scotland about 12,000 years ago, after the last ice age. These humans were nomadic.  The Romans arrived on the island in the middle of the first century AD.  Skirmishes, battles, and walls were created, but the Romans finally withdrew unable to conquer the area.  The Picts were the dominate force in northern Scotland with various tribes occupying the south.  

Scotland was converted to Celtic Catholicm by the Irish from the 5C - 7C which may have helped continue the Gaelic language in Scotland. 

At the end of the 9th century, the Vikings invaded the north of the island and center to what is now known as England.  The land in the middle was termed Scotia later evolving into Scotland with its own ruling kings.

With the death of the King Alexander III in 1286, there were 14 rivals for the Scottish crown.  The king of England was asked to arbitrate but required Scotland to be a feudal dependent to England.  There were many battles between England and Scotland and in 1314 the Scots would defeat England and create the Declaration of Arbroath to which Pope John XXII agreed and Scotland became a recognized independent country.  

In 1603 James VI, king of Scotland, succeeded to the English crown as the Queen of England died with no children.  He would rule both as separate nations.  In the mid 17th century Oliver Cromwell of England would invade and defeat the Scots beginning another set of battles until Scotland became a part of the United Kingdom in 1707.

Scottish spoken in 2011 census

A Brief History

Evidence of human occupation in Brittany date back to at least 5000 BC when megalithic stone art was built.  It was inhabited by Gallic peoples before it was conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 BC and came under Roman control. 

Roman power started to decline and in the 5th Century migration from the southwest British regions, now Cornwall and Devon, came at the request of Rome to secure the territory.  

Brittany became its own country in 851 and would mostly remain so until it became an autonomous region of France in 1532. Although the country did not survive, its language did and the Celtic language Breton has continued into modern day.  

The 17th century brought war and trouble.  Brittany lost is autonomy in 1789 and became a department of France. 

In the 20th Century, there was a movement of cultural reaffirmation and a preservation of Brittany's Celtic heritage. 

Breton spoken from 2004 census

A Brief History

Humans settled in Wales around 9000 BC.  The Celtic people had been pushed from Europe and settled in Wales, among other locations.  The Romans dominated the region by 79 AD and would remain in control of Wales until the 5th century when the Anglo-Saxon's invaded the island, pushing the Romans out.  Wales was a collection of small kingdoms without an official boundary until the 8th century when a wall was built to protect against Welsh attacks.  

Gradually Wales would come under the English crown at the end of the 13th century.  But continued revolt and uprising against English rule would continue until the early 15th Century.  Wales became a part of Great Britain in 1707 and then the United Kingdom in 1801.  

Even as a part of the United Kingdom, the Welsh retained their language and culture.  

In 1997 the Welsh people voted to have more autonomy from Great Britain and the Welsh Assembly was set up in 1999.  

Welsh language spoken from 2011 census

A Brief History

Humans inhabitated Cornwall after the end of the last ice age.  A rocky outcrop jutting into the sea and separated from the mainland by the River Tamar Cornwall's geography created a natural isolation from the rest of the the British Isles. 

In first recorded history the language was Common Brittonic which evolved into the Cornish language.  Although the Romans ruled on the Island until the early 3rd century and Saxons after them, the geographic isolation of Cornwall enabled them to retain their culture and most autonomy.  It would not be until the 9th Century that Cornwall would fall and come under England's control.  

In the early 11th century, the Vikings annexed much of the island but allowed Cornwall (along with Wales and Scottland) to be independant for an annual payment of tribute.  This was only to last a few decades before England came back into power and replaced the Cornwall landowners with English.  

Even with English rule, the culture of Cornwall was maintained.  They still spoke the Cornwall language, still descendants from British ancestory (vs. the Saxons of England), and continued their dress, naming conevntions, games, and stories.

After a sharp decline from the 14th - 18th centuries, a revival of the Cornish language occured in the 20th century.  Today there are once again native Cornish speakers. 

Cornish spoken by area by year