The EU, Edinburgh, and the End

This is my last blog post while I'm in Scotland! How sad is that? Probably less sad for you than for me, but either way, here we go:

On Tuesday we spent our last day in Edinburgh, and it was a truly stupendous finale. Our first stop was the Scottish Government at Victoria Quay where we met to talk to Miranda McIntosh and other government officials about Scotland's international agenda. Quickly, let me just say that events on Tuesday proved my rather naive statement in the last blog post that, in comparison to England, Scotland is rather inward-looking. Boy am I wrong. Firstly, on the level of the immense reach of the Scottish diaspora, but also on a more international relations-y level as well. So, here's what proved me wrong:

Firstly, we were told all about Scotland's role in the European Union (EU). As you might know, the UK government has been preparing for an "in/out referendum" concerning membership in the EU. Scotland, however, is completely against this referendum. This kind of caught me off guard. Throughout this whole trip I saw the massive number of distinctions between Scotland and England and the political conundrums of devolution, but it really surprised me that Scotland and England could be divided on an issue of international relations. But even so, they are divided, and Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon (leader of the SNP) has actually requested 3 things in the event of an "in/out referendum:" firstly, that 16 and 17 year olds will have the right to vote in it (as they do in Scotland) secondly, that EU nationals be able to vote (so people living in the UK from the EU) and thirdly, that there be a double majority. A double majority would mean that not only would the majority of the UK have to vote "out" to leave, each particular nation within the UK would have to have a majority to leave the EU. So, Scotland would have to have an "out" majority, Northern Ireland would have to have an "out" majority, and Wales would have to have an "out" majority.

All of us with the Scottish Government Officials

The Scottish Government itself has developed an entire agenda about the benefits of Scotland's EU membership (detailing the importance of both the flow of trade and people, among other things) along with Scotland's Agenda for EU Reform. Both the platforms are very well put together and comprehensive, so if you're interested, you should absolutely check them out at the following links:

The Benefits of Scotland's EU Membership: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0047/00473833.pdf
Scotland's Agenda for EU Reform: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/08/5067

All of us outside the Scottish Government

So, not only does Scotland play its own, completely separate role in the international world, it also plays an important role for a particular country in Africa: Malawi. So, the Scottish Government's International Development Fund is given 9 million pounds a year by the Scottish Parliament for, as you might imagine, international development. But interestingly, one of their priority countries is Malawi! Why is that, you might ask. Scotland and Malawi have quite a historical connection actually! This is largely due to David Livingston, a missionary who actually negotiated an end to the slave trade in Malawi in 1859. Ever since then, Scottish missionaries and politicians have been inspired to support health and education in Malawi, and the relationship continues today. Your bells of imperialism might be going off, but the missionaries aren't really trying to convert - today the relationship is based off of supporting NGOs and other local organizations within Malawi to support development and health. They emphasized that they ask local Malawi people what they want help with and then give them the finances and some help to accomplish their goals. It really sounds like an amazing international relationship.

So, after our amazing discussion about the international role of Scotland, we had some free time to get some lunch in the amazing Edinburgh. Patty, Tim and I ended up stopping in a wonderful Parisian cafe that made THE BEST SANDWICH I'VE EVER HAD. It was truly spectacular. I don't know what they did, but it was magical.

Moving on. We met Leo outside the National Museum of Scotland for a short tour by David Forsyth, the Principal Curator. This museum was really thorough in Scottish history. We took a trip through centuries in only one hour seeing and learning many new things! One of my favorite moments was seeing this rather complicated looking chest:

Chest used by Scots as part of the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies which created the Darien Expedition

So a rather unknown and unsurprisingly untouched aspect of Scottish History is this failed attempt at joining the colonization trend going on in the 17th century throughout Europe. Essentially, the Scots wanted to take part in the amazing economic success that could be had through colonies and set up the Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies which set up a project of creating a trading colony in Central America. It was honestly kind of an anti-English campaign since the English were limiting Scotland's trade with the colonies via the Navigation Acts. So, fundraising for the campaign was rather easy when one marketed it as a patriotic Scottish act to contribute and a middle finger to England as well. Although the funding was successful, that would be the reason for its ultimately enormous failure. Many of the people who joined the endeavor either lost an immense amount of money or actually died from disease. It's not really a huge surprise that Scotland failed in trading with countries like Africa and the Indies with a base in South America since one of their main trading goods is wool. Anyway, it failed for an abundance of reasons, but the results were quite drastic. This Company was backed by 25-50% of all the money circulating in Scotland (great job marketing, guys!) so when the endeavor failed, it destroyed the economy of Scotland. Now, the colony was abandoned in 1700. Hmm. Something rather important in Scottish history happened right around 1700. I'll give you a hint. It's not this union...

One of the first symbols of the union of the Scottish crowns

It's the Act of Union. Or the Treaty. I'm in Scotland, it's the Treaty of Union...1707. The destruction of the Scottish economy due to the Darien Venture contributed hugely to the union of English and Scottish parliaments in 1707. I don't think it's a very popular thing to talk about in Scotland. Not one of our lecturers even mentioned it, which is pretty fascinating actually.

Quick sidenote, you might recognize these, but they were original woodcarvings from the ceiling of the King's Bedchambers in Stirling Castle! Liam and I had seen the rest when we were there a couple weeks ago. 

Alright, after our super awesome tour of the National Museum of Scotland, we headed to the National Library of Scotland. Our experience here might have been my favorite of the entire trip. You'll see why. We started out by going through the personal records of Dame Muriel Spark, a rather famous Scottish writer deemed Scotland's "grand dame" of literature. It sounds kind of invasive...going through personal records...but it felt more like sharing in someone else's life for a bit. We were walked through her life by a good friend of hers, Alan Taylor, who spoke extremely fond of her as he told us about her life. She sounded like an amazing woman and she just happened to keep almost all of her records (apparently because different men in her life kept trying to screw her over), but this results in an amazing insight into who she was. We were all captivated while sifting through her personal letters and passports along with a short telegraph from Maggie Smith (the actress who played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films) thanking her for writing such a wonderful character for her to play. If you're interested, we were told that her most famous and favorite novel was The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, so if you'd like to find out why Dame Spark was in fact a Dame, that would be a good place to start. After learning about Dame Spark in such a hands-on fashion, we moved on to learn about the National Library of Scotland's connections with America. Also in a very hands-on fashion.

Dame Muriel Spark (thanks for the photo, wikipedia!)

One of the curators casually takes out a large, old book and opens it up to a really old letter. He then asks us "do you recognize this handwriting?" We all shift in our seats to get a closer look, and then throw out some guesses: "John Adams?" "Thomas Jefferson?" "Nope..." "James Madison?" Then the curator told us it was a letter written by George Washington. WHAT?! We were all speechless. You don't usually see letters written by the original commander in chief I guess, so we were all pretty stunned. I was sitting a foot away from a letter written by GEORGE WASHINGTON. How crazy is that? His handwriting is kind of sloppy actually when you compare it to people like Ben Franklin WHICH WE ALSO DID. This book had letters upon letters from massively important people - many of them founding fathers - in American history. It was incredible - truly spectacular - to be that close to our own nation's history. And I think we all got a little sentimental about home - I know I did.

Here we are, looking at the letters of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and many other Founding Fathers

Well, if that wasn't stupendous enough, after a little free time on the streets of Edinburgh, we headed to our last reception at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, hosted by Angela Constance, the cabinet secretary for EDUCATION and Lifelong Learning. How amazing is that? I'm pleased to say I was able to have a lovely conversation about education in Scotland with Ms Constance* along with the Director of Student Experience at the University of Strathclyde, Amanda Corrigan. I also was asked to speak about my time in Scotland so I'll include the speech below.

Speaking at the Royal Society of Edinburgh

"So, I have been tasked with answering two questions for you all, neither of which are particularly easy to answer: firstly why I chose to apply to the Scotland Summer Institute and secondly what my best experience so far has been.

So, why did I choose Scotland? One of our lecturers from last week, Dr Eammon O’Neill, summed it up perfectly. He said something along the lines of “Scotland knows America, but America doesn’t know Scotland.” America doesn’t know Scotland. Well, that’s for sure, all we know are kilts, golf, and whiskey. But why? 

In the United States, world history is taught in a rather narrow fashion – one with the perspective of European males and focused mainly on England, Germany, France and maybe a quick unit on Asia. It wasn’t until I began my study of history at the University of Illinois that I was finally exposed to the other perspectives of history and found that I learned the most when the traditional perspectives were challenged by an alternative story. So, after scrolling through the institutes in England, upon seeing the Scotland Summer Institute, I immediately knew it was the institute for me. Spending five weeks in Scotland surely would open a whole new world of cultural and historical understanding --- and of course, our time in Scotland has done all that and much, much more. 

So what has been the best experience so far? It’s more than just trying haggis, Irn Bru and attempting to play the bagpipes (all of which we’ve done). Perhaps it was the first time we held documents from the 12^th century in the archives of Glamis Castle and fully realized the vast and deep history of this amazing nation. Maybe it was talking to Jenny Marra, a member of the Labour party leadership in the Scottish Parliament, about the referendum and the general election. Or it could have been our day at the Irn Bru factory getting insight into the truly bold spirit of Scotland.

I guess the best experience so far has been having my previously held conceptions about Scotland challenged in diverse ways on a day-to-day basis. There is nothing more valuable in one’s education than a new perspective and I feel incredibly grateful to have been able to gain this extraordinary exposure to Scotland’s amazing history and culture from all those we’ve worked with. So a huge thank you to the Fulbright Commission for this unforgettable experience, along with Leo, Daria, Graeme, Pat, Keegan, John, Neil and all the others who have worked so hard to make our experience a truly stupendous one. I like to think that because of all of you, upon our return, we will all be Americans that know Scotland."

So, after speaking to everyone and enjoying the company of those that have provided us with such a spectacular five weeks, we ate a quick dinner in Edinburgh and hopped on the train back to Glasgow. It was a perfect end to our academic and cultural experience here in Scotland. Today (Wednesday) and Thursday will be spent on presentations about our time in Scotland and on Friday we have a couple debriefs from Strathclyde University and the Fulbright Commission. I will touch on all that in my final blogpost which will likely come out once I return to the United States on Saturday. 

So, as usual, cheers until the next one.



*For anyone starting to read this blog now, in the U.K. they typically do not use a period after titles like Ms., Mrs., Mr., Dr., etc, so I refrain from doing so in my blog posts as well.