 | Press ReleasesScotland's History: The Top Ten - the second batch of contenders emerge... |
Scotland's History: The Top Ten revealed a contentious contender in its second episode screened last night.
Margaret Thatcher was revealed as among the possible contenders for inclusion in the top ten of Scottish history. Advocating the former Conservative Prime Minister's place in our history was 28-year-old David Stewart from Motherwell, whose phd from Glasgow University focused on her lasting impact on Scotland. He says: "Margaret Thatcher is so important to Scottish history because she exerted a profound influence over the nature of Scottish society and the campaign for Scottish devolution... "She was the unwitting architect of the present day Scottish Parliament." At the age of 28, David only experienced the Thatcher years in childhood, but says: "For older generations it might seem strange to classify the Thatcher years as history, but Margaret Thatcher entered Downing Street over 27 years ago. "Her premiership was a watershed, and future generations will come to learn that it was a pivotal phase in the campaign for Scottish devolution." The second batch of contenders screened on Friday 17 November, with their advocates: The Scottish Empire - historian Michael Fry The Slave Trade - author James Robertson Unification (of Scotland) - Alex Woolf, St Andrews University Engineers and Inventors: James Watt - Rowan Brown, Curator of Technology at National Museums of Scotland The Enlightenment - broadcaster James Naughtie Irish Immigration - Martin Mitchell, Strathclyde University Entertainers - actor Sanjeev Kohli Margaret Thatcher - David Stewart Renaissance Court: James IV and V - Katie Stevenson, St Andrews University Working Women - journalist Dr Norman Watson. Topics revealed on 10 November: Declaration of Arbroath - Ted Cowan, Glasgow University The Reformation - Jenny Wormald, Edinburgh University Burns - Owen Dudley Edwards, Edinburgh University Tartanry - folklorist Margaret Bennett Scientists: James Clerk Maxwell - Bruce Borthwick The Scottish City - historian Hamish Fraser Radicalism - historian Michael Donnelly Treaty of Union - Richard Finlay, Strathclyde University
Clearances - Donald William Stewart, Edinburgh University
Football - Bill Murray, La Trobe University, Australia. A further 10 subjects will be revealed next week by presenter Neil Oliver to make a list of 30 topics - people, events, ideas - culled from more than 1,000 nominations from the public. After the initial three programmes, all 30 subjects will go up on bbc.co.uk/scotlandshistory on Friday 24 November for the public to choose their favourites. The results will be revealed in a special programme on St Andrew's night (30 November), alongside the deliberations of a panel of history professionals chaired by Professor Tom Devine. Joining him to debate and wrestle with the significance of the 30 topics will be: Allan MacInnes, Aberdeen University; Alison Cathcart, Strathclyde University; David Caldwell, National Museums of Scotland; Doreen Grove, Historic Scotland; Duncan Toms, Principal Teacher of History, Bearsden Academy; and Katie Barclay, a Ph.D student at Glasgow University. HM | 
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