Scotland
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Scotland is a country in the Northern part of the British Isles. It is now part of the United Kingdom. It used to be a separate kingdom, and in 1603 the Scottish King James VI (the Sixth) was made King of England too. In 1707 Scotland joined with England to become Great Britain, and in 1801 with Ireland to become part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Although Scotland is not independent any more, it has always had separate legal and education systems to the rest of the UK, as well as a unique culture. Since 1999 Scotland has its own parliament again, but it does not have control over everything as some decisions are still made by the UK Parliament.
The Scottish flag is blue with a white diagonal cross (called a saltire). This is the cross of Saint Andrew, who is the patron saint of Scotland. Some other symbols used for Scotland are a thistle, and a lion.
The north of Scotland is very mountainous, and few people live there. Most people live in the low central area, or around the coast. South of the central belt are the Southern Uplands, another hilly place. On the west coast and in the north are a lot of islands.
The capital city of Scotland is the city of Edinburgh, on the east coast. But the biggest city is Glasgow - nearly half of Scotland's people live in Glasgow or in the area near it. Other cities in Scotland are Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling.
[edit] Sport
Football (soccer) is very popular in Scotland. The big cities often have two or three big teams, and most towns have at least one team. Other popular sports are rugby, cricket, hill-walking, mountain-climbing, swimming, and golf, which was invented in Scotland.
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