This is the Guardian's guide to Scottish independence.
For the non-Brits.
It’s a long and complex story but let's begin by answering the most fundamental question.
Where is Scotland anyway?
The country of Scotland is right here, at the top of the island of Great Britain, the
crazy hat worn by the bearded troll who appears to be looking west, toward Ireland and laughing.
On Thursday the 18th of September, the people of Scotland will vote to decide whether or
not it will become a country in its own right.
But wait, I hear you ask.
Didn’t you just call Scotland a country?
Isn’t Scotland already a country?
The definitive answer to that question is: sort of.
Technically Scotland is a country within a country known as the United Kingdom.
Scotland may have its own church, its own legal system, its own professional soccer
league and its own dietary idiosyncrasies, but it’s still part of the UK, which also
includes the countries of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Scottish people have British passports.
Scotland did used to be a separate country, with its own king, James VI.
Then in 1603 Queen Elizabeth - not that one, this one - died without leaving an heir, and
the nearest relative they could find turned out to be her cousin James.
He became James I of England, while still keeping his job as James VI of Scotland.
If you think that’s confusing, you ain’t heard nothing yet.
England and Scotland maintained a monarch-sharing arrangement for over a century before the
Acts of Union in 1707 made the two nations a single entity, with one parliament, located
in London.
Scotland went along with this largely because it was almost bankrupt, thanks to something
called the Darien Disaster, which happened way over here and is, frankly, another story
for another time.
Let’s have a stirring musical interludel before we skip ahead, Way ahead.
Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh (etc)
In the 1970s speculation about devolution, the notion of returning a measure of power
to the Scottish government gave rise to what used to be known as the West Lothian question.
For most people in the UK today the real West Lothian question is: ‘What is the West Lothian
question?’
The West Lothian question named after the Scottish constituency of the MP who first
asked it.
To paraphrase, he basically posited a world where Scotland had its own regional parliament,
but also continued to send representatives to the British parliament in London.
How could it be, he asked, that Scottish MPs could vote on laws that affected only England,
and yet had no vote on matters that affected Scotland?
That would be totally crazy!
You weren’t really meant to answer the West Lothian question; it was just there to demonstrate
that a Scottish parliament couldn’t logically exist, and that if you tried to set one up
the universe would disappear, or something.
But then in 1998, after a referendum on devolution, they did set up a Scottish Parliament, with
its very own brand new building.
I know, but it’s meant to be really nice on the inside.
Devolution is not the same as being a separate country.
The British parliament merely devolved certain powers to Scotland, rather than transferring
them, and it reserved to the right to overturn any law made in the Scottish legislature.
In 2011 the Scottish National Party - a party that campaigned on a pledge to hold an independence
referendum - won a landslide in the Scottish parliament.
The SNP leader - this man, Alex Salmond (you don’t pronounce the L, like with the fish)
- became Scotland’s First Minister, and promised a referendum within the election
cycle.
In 2012 British Prime Minister David Cameron finally agreed to a legally-binding referendum,
saying: “This United Kingdom can never hold a country within it without its consent.”
What he meant was: “I’m allowing this because it’s certain to fail”.
Polls consistently showed that only a minority of Scots would vote for actual independence.
A Yes Campaign was set up, and also a No campaign, which isn’t called the No Campaign, because
that would sound a bit negative.
Instead it’s called Better Together, which is arguably worse.
Those is Yes camp include Alex Salmond and the SNP, and also the Scottish Green Party,
the Scottish Socialist Party, possibly Rupert Murdoch, Sir Sean Connery and both of the
Proclaimers.
The No camp includes all three main political parties, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Susan
Boyle, one of the Dr Whos, and a majority of the people in the rest of the UK, who don’t
get a vote.
Those conspicuously offering no opinion include Andy Murray, Billy Connelly and the Queen.
Recently the no camp's comfortable lead has eroded and a lot of questions that nobody
had ever answered satisfactorily have suddenly become interesting to people.
Questions like: if it were independent, what would Scotland use for money?
What about Scottish passports?
Would Scotland be able to join the EU?
Or NATO?
And what will they call the rest of the UK if Scotland leaves?
At the moment they’re are literally calling it “the rest of the UK” or rUK for short,
which gives you an idea how much thought has gone into the whole business.
The real question is: will Scotland be better off as an independent country, or would it
be an economic disaster.
And the real answer is nobody knows... because it’s the future.