Scottish Republicanism - A History and Future

If you believed the press, Scottish Republicanism would be confined to a few outspoken hairy-knee’d fundamentalist’s at the Scottish National Party conferences.

But Scottish Republicanism runs deeper, and longer, than the Brits would care to admit.

It began following the French and American Revolutions, which would inspire not only political thinkers in Scotland, but its artists and it’s poets. The obvious casualty of the Unionist hijacking is Robert Burns, Scottish National Bard, and Scottish Republican. How anyone who said: “The story of Wallace poured a Scottish prejudice in my veins, which will boil along there til the floodgates of life shut in eternal rest” can be written into history as a unionist hero is of breathtaking dim-witted propagandery.

One of Scottish Republicanisms earliest victories came with the taking of Menzies Castle during the 1797 United Scotsmen uprising, and organisation that grew through the influence of their sister organisation, the United Irishmen.

United Scotsmen were at the forefront of the 1820 Insurrection and General Strike (the first of its kind on this Island). James Wilson of Strathaven, who carried the Banner “Scotland Free or a Desert” was a US veteran who was one of the last in the “UK” (along with Andrew Hardie of Glasgow and John Baird of Condorrat) to be sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered for treason.

The Labour Party and other unionists would later hijack these rebellious Scots. Of course, they’ll write out the parts that don’t fit in with Unionism. Take Thomas McFarlane, a Condorrat man who helped Baird form the Condorrat Radicals to march with the Glasgow Radicals onto Carron Ironworks. It is a matter of public record that he was a member of the United Scotsmen before later organising the Condorrat Radicals. He was fighting for an Independent Scottish Republic his whole life, and even after being transported to Australia, came home to the jubilation of the Condorraters at the time. He had been sentenced to death, but this was commuted.

Rebellious Scots would lead to the vote for the working classes, and more indirectly, the vote for women. But clearly, our place could not be revealed or contained. Whilst in the overall scheme of history Scottish Republicanism would create the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Labour Party, this was too much for faint Brutish hearts. Instead of Scottish Republican martyrs, would be replaced with the timid, and ultimately pointless Todpuddle Martyrs, who were merely sent away by a Liberal Government who should’ve know better. Unlike the Scottish Radicals, they would not die for their sins.

Between then and now, Scottish Republicanism would be suppressed and contained. Instead of Baird, Hardie, Wilson and Thomas Muir we would learn about Pitt the Pointless and the birth of the Union and why it was good for us. Instead of learning about James Connelly of Edinburgh, we would be taught about the various roads to various wars and why we won all of them. If we didn’t win it: like the American Wars of Independence or the Irish Wars of Independence, then it was far too controversial to talk about, and therefore we would be taught something far more fitting, like Henry VIII, William the Conqueror or the Battle of Britain.

However, inevitably, Scottish Republicanism persisted. The Scottish Republican Army, which continued after comrades served our brothers during 1916 et al they came home and remained committed to a Scottish Republic.

It survived in Scottish Republican John Maclean during Red Clydeside, who taught his people relentlessly, and who was hounded until the very day he was martyred. To this day a Rally is held in Pollockshaws on Saint Andrew’s Day to commemorate the man who kept the Spirit of Republicanism alive in Glasgow during the dark period of the first world war.

In 1952-4 a bright spot in Scottish Republicanism came, when the Brits truly where sent hame tae thing again. Elizabeth of England would deign to call herself “Elizabeth II” in Scotland’s eyes and Scottish Republicans rebelled, destroyed emblems up and down the country. To this day the English would never dare put “EIIR” in Scotland for fear it would be intentionally slandered. A minor victory, but one that proved that Scottish Republicanism survived, persisted and grown.

It is these victories, these histories that Scottish Republicans grow upon. It is a battle over two hundred years in the making, and one that the Brits amongst us so sorely want to repress it almost hurts them.

Scottish Republicanism exists and grows within our society, not as much as we would want, but still effective and determined to prevail. During a poll four or five years ago a poll was taken regarding the presence of the monarchy in Scotland, we bucked the trend and was the only country on this Island to reject the monarchy. Opinion polls consistently bring up Scottish Independence as being the favoured option for the Scottish People.