Regarding the issue of Scottish identity, it's interesting to consider Murray
Pittock's argument in _The Invention of Scotland: the Short History of Myth
and the Scottish Identity. Pittock contends that Scottish loss (notably
Culloden and Highland clearances) was reshaped by 18/19th-century Scottish
writers, such as Burns, Scott and MacDiarmid, into a more mythical or romantic
national identity. Somewhere in the act of historicizing Jacobitism--from
the writing of such popular poetry to other factors such as the rapid
development of a tourist industry--the threat of radical Jacobite rebellion
was subdued. The book does overlook some important issues, particularly with
respect to Scottish religion, but it's a fascinating way to think about some
of the many differences between Scotland and its neighbours.
Lynn Schibeci