Since I've gotten a bit of help from the rabble, I figured I'd post the content of my presentation to the Girl Scouts here. I've tried to keep it accurate but simple, as the average age present will be second grade. It will be in several posts.


I History

Just off the western coast of Europe there are islands. Some are big, some are small. Some are easy to live on, others are hard.
One of these islands is what we now call Scotland. It is not the biggest of the islands, but it’s not the smallest, either. It’s also in the middle for how hard it is to live there. The southern part is relatively flat with lots of rivers and lakes for water. The northern part, though, is rough country with lots of mountains and less water.

A very long time ago, people called the Picts moved there. They were a relatively primitive people and in some ceremonies and for war they painted themselves with dyes made from plants. This is how they got their name, Pict means “painted”.
After that, some people called the Celts moved into Scotland. They sometimes fought with the picts, but both groups lived side by side for a long time. The Celts eventually moved into the mountains of the north and the Picts settled in the south. Not much is known about the Picts, because they did not have a written language and left no records. The Celts, however, left a lot of stuff, including pictures and art that still have an effect on Scottish culture today. That’s why many Scottish things are described as being Celtic.
A third group of people finally moved in. They were called the Gael. They got along with the Celts and moved near them in the northern mountains. They spoke a language called Gaelic that is still spoken today in Scotland.

The rest of Europe was ruled by people called the Romans. Their leader, Julius Caesar, decide to invade Scotland. The Romans came first to the south, called the Lowlands. The Picts still lived there, but were not able to keep the Romans out. The Romans eventually beat the Picts and most Picts were either killed or taken back to Rome as slaves. Those that escaped went to the Highlands in the north to join the Celts and Gael.
The Romans tried to take over the Highlands, where the Celts and Gael lived. The Celts and the Gael agreed to fight together against the Romans. The Romans weren’t able to beat them and built a wall called Hadrian’s’ Wall to keep the Celts and Gael out of the lowlands they had taken from the Picts.
The Celts and Gael eventually beat the Romans and had all of Scotland to themselves. The people who live in Scotland today are descendant from these Celts and Gael.

Everyone got along for a while, until a group of people called the Vikings came. They were from a place called Scandinavia. The people of Scotland fought against them and the Vikings finally went home.

After the Vikings left, another group of people came along, called the English. They came from the biggest island , called England, and wanted to control all the islands around them. Many battles were fought and many people were killed. Finally, at a place called Stirling Bridge, the Scottish king Robert the Bruce beat the English for good.
Three hundred years later, England needed a new king. Because of who he was related to, James VI of Scotland also became king of England. This is the same king James who commissioned the translation of the King James version of the Bible. Since Scotland and England now had the same king, they became known as the United Kingdom.

After al the centuries of war and fighting, Scotland is a growing country. Their wealth is based on banking and oil production. Edinburgh is one of the biggest banking centers in Europe and the North Sea has a lot of oil to drill for. They also make a lot of money on tourism, people going to see the old castles and historic places of Scotland. One of the most popular places to go is the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.