JUST over half of Scots don’t know about the Declaration of Arbroath, according to research by the National Trust for Scotland published today, on the 700th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration.
Scots are, however, keen to know more about the history of their country according to the new poll.
Conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) commissioned the survey to mark the 700th anniversary of the Declaration, and it found that 51% of Scots had not heard of it. When told about the Declaration, however, 72% of people agreed that it was important or very important for Scotland’s development as a nation. The research also showed there was a vast appetite for Scottish history with 77% of people wanting to know more.
READ MORE: How the Declaration of Arbroath still resonates in modern Scotland
The Declaration of Arbroath was a 1320 letter from Scotland’s leading political leaders to Pope John XXII arguing for the recognition of Scotland as an independent nation in the context of Scotland’s ongoing struggles with the English state. It is often remembered for its stirring words: “For as long as a hundred of us remain alive, we will never on any conditions be subjected to the lordship of the English. For we fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, but for freedom alone, which no good man gives up but with his life.”
Some 1000 people were polled by the Trust and 48.7% had heard of the Declaration and knew at least something about it. Men were more likely to claim some level of knowledge of it, with 14.6% of men reporting knowing a lot about it, compared to 8.3% of women.
Older people were more aware of the Declaration, with double the amount of over-65s knowing about it (15%) compared to the 16-24 age group (7.8%). Only 10.5% of the older group hadn’t heard of it, compared to 43.1% of 16-24 year-olds.
Curiously, people from the south of Scotland knew more about the
Declaration than those in the north-east, where the Declaration originated (56.6% in the south, compared with 51.7% in the north east – including Arbroath).Highlands and Islands had 46.6% awareness, Lothian 49.3%, West Scotland 52.8%, Central Scotland 46.9%, mid Scotland and Fife 43% and Glasgow 42.7%.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, people who voted SNP in December’s General Election were most likely to have heard of the Declaration (58%), compared with 51.3% of Labour voters, 49.7% of Conservative voters and 49% of Liberal Democrat voters.
Those who voted Remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum were most likely to consider the Declaration very important (37% compared to 28% for those who voted Leave), as were those who voted Yes in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum (45% compared to 23% who voted No).
The Trust asked whether people would like to know more about Scottish history and the vast majority (77%) said that they would. Overall, the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 was considered the most important event in Scotland’s history, chosen by 26% of those who responded. The second placed event was the Act of Union in 1707.
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