Scotland -- Long-Time



Scotland, today and for many years, part of the United Kingdom (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) has a very long history and traditions. Over a thousand years ago there were ancient kingdoms that made up Scotland. The area is now divided into six regions: the Borders, the south-west, the north-east, the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland.

When a recent study was done of a large group of natives of Scotland, especially those whose great grandparents were born with 50 miles of each other, the majority of people married locally so preserving their genetic identity. So many Scots in appearance, size, mannerisms, etc., are very similar to their ancestors of the same region hundreds of years ago. In fact, today’s Scots are very similar to the Scots living at the end of the Roman Empire in 476 AD to around 1,000 AD in kingdoms of Strathclyde in the south-west, Pictland in the north-east and Gododdin in the south-east part of what would become Scotland.

Many of the ancient regions or kingdoms such as Gododdin and Pictland were fighting for supremacy, with battle skills honed fighting the Roman invaders.

So as you research any Scottish heritage, see if those ancestors who lived in Scotland remained in the same location for centuries.

Photos: Ancient regions of Scotland.

Related FamilyTree.com Blogs:

National Records of Scotland

Scottish-American Heritage

MacGregor Clan

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