Reflections on the Scottish Referendum and American Independence

The Referendum intertwines with the American experience. Three words rouse the hearts of Scots and undoubtedly had some bearing on the Referendum. They were also an important factor in the American colonial struggle against London. End Quote

Boston, MA-NH (1888PressRelease) November 13, 2014 - The three words, 'but for freedom', are in the English translation of the Declaration of Arbroath. It was a petition signed by Robert the Bruce and his Lords in 1320 after defeating the English at Bannockburn in 1314. Directed to the Pope, it requests he intercede with the English to leave Scotland alone. Translated from Latin an excerpt reads … 'it is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honors that we fight, but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself'. The tone was a national cry for the right to freedom and the right to defend freedom. It was a consequence after centuries of English kings scheming to conquer and subdue their neighbor to the north.

The egalitarian values of the Enlightenment kindled the concept of natural rights in those three words centuries later.

The religious reformation to Presbyterianism stressed the need for every Scot to have the ability to read the bible. This brought universal education, the highest literacy in Europe, and a well-educated middle class. However, after the union of the Scottish and English parliaments many of the moneyed elite were ensconced in the fashionable life of London. Their absence denied patronage to academicians. Consequently, diminutive Scotland, the poorest yet most literate country in Europe, had great influence in the American colonies with the influx of academicians from its shores. They became tutors, teachers, and professors. Instilled with the concepts of the Enlightenment, they had enormous influence on the young minds of future colonial leaders. One such educator was the young William Small, Professor of Philosophy at William and Mary. He was an ardent disciple of the Enlightenment. Thomas Jefferson was one of his students to become captivated with his egalitarian beliefs. His Declaration of Independence was a rousing affirmation of natural rights to self-determination and freedom.

Elizabeth Rodger, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, now resides in New Jesey, USA. She has taken those three words as the title for her novel BUT FOR FREEDOM - Across the Sea beyond Sky, and the sequel BUT FOR FREEDOM - A Rebellious Echo of the White Cockade. The theme is historical fiction based on the history of Scotland and Virginia. The story begins with a dark period in the rancorous relationship between Scotland and London. The sequel dwells on the rebellion of the American colonies to the edicts from Parliament.

In 1707, the Scottish nobility ceded with economic enticements to a Union of the Parliaments. There was rioting in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Decades later, the effort of Bonnie Prince Charlie to reclaim the throne was lost. A superior English force routed the Highland army at Culloden. Orders from London to 'give no quarter' had the English force scouring the Highlands. The ensuing destruction decimated clan culture. With no economic future, many Highlanders herded on disease-ridden boats, indenturing themselves for years as payment for passage.

The storyline follows the MacKenzie family after the torching of their home and their forced emigration to the 'New World'. With assimilation in the Virginian culture, they prosper. The oldest son commissioned to serve, survives the horrors of the French and Indian war. The youngest son befriends Thomas Jefferson at William and Mary. He returns to Scotland to study medicine in the hub of the Enlightenment, Edinburgh. He travels north to his birthplace to find the once thriving glen quite empty. Correspondence from his brother reports the rising anger in the colonies to the edicts from London. The beginning of armed conflict begins when the colonialists cross the North Bridge at Lexington in Massachusetts to confront the British force. They marched to the piping of The White Cockade, a melody associated with the white rose Bonnie Prince Charlie wore on his bonnet.

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