This volume represents one of the first attempts to examine the connection between Scotland and the British empire throughout the entire twentieth century. As the century dawned, the Scottish economy was still strongly connected with imperial infrastructures (like railways, engineering, construction and shipping), and colonial trade and investment. By the end of the century, however, the Scottish economy, its politics, and its society had been through major upheavals which many connected with decolonisation. The end of empire played a defining role in shaping modern-day Scotland and the identity of its people.Written by scholars of distinction, these chapters represent ground-breaking research in the field of Scotlands complex and often-changing relationship with the British empire in the period. The introduction that opens the collection will be viewed for years to come as the single most important historiographical statement on Scotland and empire during the tumultuous years of the twentieth century. A final chapter from Stuart Ward and Jimmi Østergaard Nielsen covers the 2014 referendum.

John M. MacKenzie is Emeritus Professor of Imperial History at the University of Lancaster, UK, Honorary Professor at the University of St. Andrews, Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen, and Honorary Professorial Fellow at the University of Edinburgh

Introduction John M. MacKenzie and Bryan S. GlassPart I: Migration, diaspora, identities1. Initiatives, impediments and identities: Scottish emigration in the twentieth century Marjory Harper2. Applying the diasporic lens to identity and empire in twentieth-century Scotland Graeme Morton3. The strange case of jute Gordon T. Stewart4. Scots in early twentieth century British Columbia: class, race and gender Michael E. VancePart II: Anti-colonialism, the military, decolonisation and nationalism5. Anti-colonialism in twentieth-century Scotland Stephen Howe6. Beating retreat: the Scottish military tradition in decline Stuart Allan7. Newspapers and empire: bringing Africa to the Scottish public Bryan S. Glass8. David Livingstone, the Scottish cultural and political revival and the end of empire in Africa John M. MacKenzie9. 'Cramped and restricted at home?': Scottish separatism at empire's end Jimmi Østergaard Nielsen and Stuart WardIndex