Edinburgh

Scotland Edinburgh

Guide to Edinburgh history, family history, and genealogy: parish registers, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.

Welcome to the Edinburgh page

Flag of the city of Edinburgh

Edinburgh city coat of arms

Location of Edinburgh in Scotland

HISTORY

Edinburgh (Listeni/ˈɛdɪnbərə/ Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Èideann) is the capital city of Scotland. As such, it has a significant role to play in the governance of Scotland within the United Kingdom.

The earliest known human habitation in the Edinburgh area is from Cramond where evidence was found of a Mesolithic camp-site dated to c. 8500 BC.

At some point before the 7th century AD, the Gododdin, who were presumably descendants of the Votadini, built the hill fort of Din Eidyn or Etin. Although its exact location has not been identified, it seems more than likely they would have chosen a commanding position like the Castle Rock or Arthur's Seat or Calton Hill.

The royal burgh was founded by King David I in the early 12th century on land belonging to the Crown, though the precise date is unknown. By the middle of the 14th century, the French chronicler Jean Froissart was describing it as the capital of Scotland (c.1365), and James III (1451–88) referred to it in the 15th century as "the principal burgh of our kingdom".

In 1706 and 1707, the Acts of Union were passed by the Parliaments of England and Scotland uniting the two kingdoms into the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Scotland has remained a part of the UK, with efforts to ensure independence as recently as 2014 AD failing.

LOCATION

Edinburgh is situated in Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth. As such, it is ideally situated for marine access to the Firth, and thence to the North sea.

The castle built on Arthur's Seat is a formidable piece of engineering, making it almost impossible to besiege. Thus Edinburgh was always a defensible location.

It's lowland location makes for easy transportation by all types of carriers. When the first bridge over the Forth was built in 1890, it secured for Edinburgh key transportation routes to the north and north west of Scotland.

RELIGION

From early times, Scotland became a Christian Country. However the type of Christianity practiced was much more rigorous than was practiced south of the border; Calvinism and Presbyterianism.

In 1638, King Charles I's attempt to introduce Anglican church forms in Scotland encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Subsequent Scottish support for Charles Stuart's restoration to the throne of England resulted in Edinburgh's occupation by Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth of England forces – the New Model Army – in 1650.

Today complete religious freedom is practiced albeit with still a large measure of Calvinism. The Church of Scotland claims the largest membership of any single religious denomination in Edinburgh as evidenced by a religion census of 2010.

INDUSTRY

Edinburgh has the strongest economy of any city in the United Kingdom outside of London and the highest percentage of professionals in the UK with 43% of the population holding a degree-level or professional qualification.

According to the Center for International Competitiveness, it is the most competitive large city in the United Kingdom.

Known primarily for brewing and distilling, banking and insurance and printing and publishing in the 19th century, Edinburgh's economy is now based mainly on financial services, scientific research, higher education, and tourism.

Banking has been a mainstay of the Edinburgh economy for over 300 years, since the Bank of Scotland was established by an act of the Scottish Parliament in 1695.

CEMETERIES

Edinburgh cemeteries and crematoria

Edinburgh cemeteries

Find a grave in Edinburgh

find Edinburgh graves

GENEALOGY AND FAMILY HISTORY

Scots Genealogy

Midlothian Genealogy

Scottish Genealogy

Edinburgh Genuki