Scotland's witch-burning shame: It's right to recognise our awful history – Brian Wilson
Precisely why Scotland went about this with such enthusiasm, at five times the rate of anywhere else in Europe, remains worthy of study. And I would disagree with those who say “it was a long time ago, so forget it”.
Though it was indeed a long time ago, it wasn’t half as long ago as Bannockburn. The fact that several centuries later, Scotland was still burning thousands of people alive creates historical perspective.
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Hide AdIt was under the pre-1707 Scottish Parliament that almost all the human conflagrations were authorised which provides a clue to why getting rid of it was no great social loss. Within a century, Scotland was in the midst of the Enlightenment.
More important than apologies is the ongoing question of how history is taught. History in the hands of politicians is a dangerous weapon. Recognising how our society evolved, warts and all, is essential to interpreting its modern condition, whatever one’s conclusions.
The book from which I learned about Scotland’s witch-burning (and much else) was Tom Johnston’s History of the Working Classes in Scotland. As Johnston wrote in his preface: “It is an abiding and indisputable truth that a people which does not understand the past will never comprehend the present nor mould the future.”
That maxim led me to believe in the politics of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ – for divisions of wealth, land, power, prejudices all have their roots in history rather than geography.
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