The Scottish Government conduct international engagements with foreign leaders, heads of state and diplomats of international countries to promote Scotland and Scottish interests overseas. Scottish Ministers, such as the first minister as the head of government, and their external affairs and constitution secretary, promote the country's culture, education and research, economy and advocate Scotland as a place for trade and business. As of 2023, Scotland has a total of nine Scottish Government offices – Beijing, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, London, Ottawa, Paris and Washington D.C. The Scottish Government plan on opening a further office in Warsaw by the end of the current parliamentary term.
Thirty international offices of the Scottish Government currently operate in twenty countries globally. Scottish offices in other countries act as a mechanism to promote collaboration and engagement between the Scottish Government and other international governments whilst two Scotland Houses, one in London and another in Brussels, are both independent establishments created by the Scottish Government to promote Scotland. There are seven Scottish Government offices based in British embassies or British High Commission offices.
Scottish culture is celebrated in a number of countries worldwide, a symbolism of the approximately 40 million Scottish diaspora globally. Events such as Tartan Day are celebrated in the United States, Canada and New Zealand annually. The Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in the Scottish Government is responsible for the international development of Scotland, international strategy implementation and the countries international network whilst supporting the first minister in their promotion of Scotland internationally.
Overview
The Scottish Government, along with the other devolved governments of the United Kingdom, pay the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office an annual charge to be able to access facilities and support in the embassy or High Commission in which the Scottish international offices are based.
The Scottish Government's international network allows Scottish Government ministers to interact with other international governments and bodies in relation to the government's policy objectives as well as that of Scottish businesses. Additionally, the international network of the Scottish Government acts as a mechanism to promote and strengthen the Scottish economy by creating opportunities for Scottish businesses to increase export sales of Scottish products, whilst working with their current, and any future, foreign investors to establish and maintain Scottish jobs in the goods sector.
The Scottish Government has at least one British Embassy-located office in each of Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany and Ireland.
History
Bilateral relations of Scotland Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland engaged in a number of battles with each other. Both countries were independent prior to the Treaty of Union 1707, and fought typically over land, and the Anglo-Scottish border frequently changed as a result. Prior to the establishment of the two kingdoms, in the 10th and 9th centuries, their predecessors, the Northumbrians, Picts and Dal Riatans, also fought a number of battles. Major conflicts between the two parties include the Wars of Scottish Independence (1296–1357), and the Rough Wooing (1544–1551), as well as numerous smaller campaigns and individual confrontations. In 1603, England and Scotland were joined in a "personal union" when King James VI of Scotland succeeded to the throne of England as King James I. War between the two states largely ceased, although the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the 17th century, and the Jacobite risings of the 18th century, are sometimes characterised as Anglo-Scottish conflicts.
Scotland experienced a number of invasions by England, such as the English invasion of Scotland (1296) which occurred in retaliation to the Scottish treaty with France, the renouncing of fealty of John, King of Scotland, and the Scottish raids which occurred in Northern England. Two years later, the English invaded Scotland again during the English invasion of Scotland (1298), a military campaign undertaken by Edward I of England in retaliation to a Scottish uprising in 1297, the defeat of the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge and Scottish raids into Northern England. While the English defeated a Scottish army at the Battle of Falkirk, Edward I, hampered by food shortages, was only able to reach Stirling before heading back to England. Scotland was invaded by England a further four times – in 1300, 1385, 1400 and 1482.
In 1653, Scotland joined England and the Kingdom of Ireland to form the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (also known as The Protectorate), which existed until 1659. During this period, Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, faced challenges in foreign policy. The First Anglo-Dutch War, which had broken out in 1652, against the Dutch Republic, was eventually won by Admiral Robert Blake in 1654. Having negotiated peace with the Dutch, Cromwell then proceeded to engage the Spanish Empire in warfare through his Western Design. That involved secret preparations for an attack on the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and resulted in the invasion of Jamaica, which then became an English colony. The Lord Protector became aware of the contribution the Jewish community made to the economic success of the Netherlands, now England's leading commercial rival. Allied to Cromwell's toleration of private worship of non-Puritans, that led to his encouragement of Jews to return to England, 350 years after their banishment by Edward I, in the hope that they would help speed up the recovery of the country after the disruption of the Civil Wars.
In 1655 a crypto-Jew known as Simón de Casseres proposed to Cromwell a plan to take over Spanish-rule Chile with only four ships and a thousand men. However English plans to engage in Chile came into fruition only in 1669, with John Narborough's expedition. After the Battle of the Dunes (1658), the town of Dunkirk was awarded by France to the Protectorate. It would be sold back to France by Charles II in 1662.
In sports, the England–Scotland football rivalry between the England and Scotland national football teams, is the oldest international fixture in the world, first played in 1872 at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow. Scottish nationalism has been a factor in the Scots' desire to defeat England above all other rivals, with Scottish sports journalists traditionally referring to the English as the "Auld Enemy".
Alliance with France
The historical Kingdom of Scotland and Kingdom of France experienced a close economic, military and personal relationship which was known as the Auld Alliance. The Auld Alliance Treaty was drafted in 1295 between Scotland and France against England. The alliance played a significant role in the relations among Scotland, France and England. The alliance was renewed by all the French and Scottish monarchs of that period except Louis XI. By the late 14th century, the renewal occurred regardless of whether either kingdom was at war with England at the time.BONNER, ELIZABETH. "Scotland's 'Auld Alliance' with France, 1295–1560." History, vol. 84, no. 273, Wiley, 1999, pp. 5–30, . The alliance began with the treaty signed by John Balliol and Philip IV of France in 1295 against Edward I of England. The terms of the treaty stipulated that if either country were attacked by England, the other country would invade English territory. The 1513 Battle of Flodden, where the Scots invaded England in response to the English campaign against France, was one such occasion. Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, negotiated the renewal of the alliance in 1326. The alliance played an important role in the Wars of Scottish Independence, the Hundred Years' War, the War of the League of Cambrai, and the Rough Wooing.
The alliance underwent a dramatic revival when it was formally reviewed in 1512 and again in 1517 and 1548. Scotland still suffered badly following the death of James IV and most of his nobles at Flodden in 1513. Periodic Anglo-French and Anglo-Scottish conflict throughout the sixteenth century continued, but the certainties that had driven the Auld Alliance were disappearing. As Protestantism gained ground in Scotland, more and more people favoured closer links with England than with France.Cussans, Thomas. "Kings and Queens of the British Isles". The Times Books, 2002, p.65.
In a speech which he delivered in Edinburgh in June 1942, Charles de Gaulle described the alliance between Scotland and France as "the oldest alliance in the world". He also declared that:
In every combat where for five centuries the destiny of France was at stake, there were always men of Scotland to fight side by side with men of France, and what Frenchmen feel is that no people has ever been more generous than yours with its friendship.
In 1995, celebrations were held in both countries marking the 700th anniversary of the beginning of the alliance. After extensive research, British historian Siobhan Talbott concluded that the Auld Alliance had never been formally revoked and that it endured and thrived long after the Acts of Union in 1707 and the Entente Cordiale of 1904. Scotland and France continue to share a close relationship, and the French Institute for Scotland aims to promote French language and culture in Scotland, and the Auld Alliance Trophy in the Six Nations Championship is held annually between the national rugby teams of France and Scotland.
Scottish Colonialism 1603–1964
Like other European nations, Scotland engaged in colonial expansion in the 17th century whilst it was an independent country.
In a joint-enterprise with England, Scottish planters settled Ulster in 1603, ultimately laying the foundation of Northern Ireland. Scotland would later unsuccessfully attempt to colonise Nova Scotia in the 1620s and infamously suffered financial ruin in the 1690s after the Darien scheme failed colonisation attempt by the Company of Scotland in modern-day Panama. The failure of Scotland's colonisation attempts influenced members of the Parliament of Scotland in seeking Union with England in 1707 in order to gain access to English overseas possessions.
After the Acts of Union 1707 Scotland would continue to engage in colonial expansion through the umbrella of the newly christened British Empire. Due to Scotland's limited autonomy and distinct identity, the Empire was the primary mode of interaction between Scottish civic society and the outside world. Scottish institutions such as the Church of Scotland were at the forefront of imperial expansion and Scotland had a disproportionate impact on the Empire and wider world. Areas of the Empire that were subject to heavy Scottish influence include Canada, Southern New Zealand, Malawi, the Caribbean and Myanmar.
Devolution
Prior to the 1990s, Scotland's primary outlet for international relations and affairs had been the British Empire. However organisations such as the Scottish Council Development and Industry, founded in 1931, engaged with international affairs as they related to trade and the economy.
The 1990s saw an increase in Scottish civic society's capacity to engage with international affairs, following a post-imperial decline. After the 1992 general election, Ian Lang, Secretary of State for Scotland and Conservative MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, established Scotland Europa in Brussels. This served as an unofficial embassy to promote national and local interests including business, industry and culture.