I imagine the first question anyone will ask is what is a column called "Scottish Flotsam". I guess we will have to begin with what is "flotsam". Among the definitions of the word are "things washed ashore" or "miscellaneous trifles". Well, we believe you can find some great treasure on the ocean shore. But -- you will never know what you will find or its value. So we decided that is what this column is - flotsam. We wanted a place to put things that didn't fit anywhere else and might be of interest. Each item could be a column itself and might be some day but for now it will be the flotsam, which washes our way.

Convention of Estates - The term seems to have regular usage from the reign of James V (1512-42) by which date it had superseded the earlier General Council. This was the name given to meetings of lords and prelates, summoned to discuss the affairs of the kingdom, and possessing financial and legislative powers comparable to Parliament. The practice introduced in the early sixteenth century of including burgh representatives in the composition of conventions apparently led to the change in nomenclature. Nevertheless for the rest of that century there were still significant differences between a convention and a parliament; the former remained a more selective institution while it continued to lack the judicial functions belonging to the latter. However, in the seventeenth century the distinctions became less obvious especially as burgh representation increased and meetings became more formal with twenty days notice being given beforehand. Thus, while conventions were still called for specific purposes, mainly related to taxation, and couldn't proceed to discuss other issues, there was latterly little to distinguish between them and meetings of Parliament. The convention, for instances, brought together in 1689 to undertake the Revolution Settlement was simply converted into a parliament by means of a letter from William III (1650-1702)

. Source: A Source Book of Scottish History III, Nelson 1963

Here is a famous Scot whose name you will recognize immediately.

LIVINGSTONE, David (1813-73) David Livingstone achieved fame as an African explorer, opening up the 'Dark Continent' to European contact and imperialism. Born in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, he worked in the cotton mills there from the age of ten, receiving his education at night school and by wide reading, mainly in the classics and science. Imbued with enormous determination and all the virtues of self-help Livingstone decided in 1834 to become a medical missionary and supported himself studying at Anderson's College and the University of Glasgow. There he met William Thompson, later Lord Kelvin (1824 -1907) and James 'Paraffin' Young (1811-83), the latter a life-long supporter. He continued his studies in London, where, in 1838, he was accepted by the London Missionary Society. The outbreak of the Opium War (1839-42) prevented him going to China, but Robert Moffat (1795-1883), a famous Scottish missionary in Southern Africa, influenced his decision to serve there. He arrived in Cape Town early in 1841.

Livingstone's early missionary journey 1841-9 had the objectives of eradicating slavery and spreading the gospel through what he called 'native agents', mainly in the Cape frontier and in the Transvaal and Kalahari. His contribution to the expedition that discovered Lake Ngami in 1849 was recognized both by a gold medal from the Royal Geographical Society and by its continued support of later explorations. Livingstone had married Moffat's daughter, Mary, in 1845 and she accompanied him on many of his travels before returning to Britain with their family in 1852.

In three subsequent journeys Livingstone set out to 'open up a path into the interior or perish in the attempt. The first, the Luanda -Quelimane expedition (1850 -6) involved a hazardous journey westwards from what is now modern Angola to Mozambique, in the course of which he discovered and named the mighty Victoria Falls on the Zambesi river. He came home to a rapturous welcome and his story of Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa (1857) became an instant bestseller.

Severing his connection with the Londom Missionary Society he returned to Quelimane as British Consul. He then set out on Zambesi expedition (1858-64), a well equipped enterprise including six Europeans among whom was his brother, Charles Although Livingstone's leadership was criticized and it failed to fulfill all of its objectives the expedition nevertheless gathered useful information about the Zambesi and Lake Nyasa regions, which was later to prove of considerable significance in the colonization ol British Central Africa. Livingstone and his brother published their Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries in 1865.

Finally, against medical advice, Livingstone returned to Africa in 1866 and set out on his quest for the Nile. This involved exploration of much of the lakes region and the headwaters of the Lualaba, a tributary of the Congo. The sick and failing Livingstone was found on 23 October 1871 by Henry M. Stanley (1841-1904), a correspondent of the New York Herald, sent to look for him. For a while they continued the expedition together, then Livingstone went on alone. He died in May 1873 and his body was brought by his servants to the coast where it was shipped to Britain. Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1874. His discoveries were of major significance for the development of much of southern Africa and he can legitimately be considered as much a pioneer of African nationalism as a tool of European imperialism.

Source: David Livingstone: The Dark Interior, John Murray, 1978.

Now lets look at some specific dates:

1789 - June 3
Stornoway-born explorer Alexander Mackenzie set out with 13 companions to survey the vast river system of north-west Canada.

1578 - June 10
Deadline set by Scots Parliament for all threshing of grain to be completed. This measure was designed to prevent hoarding: the grain had to be at market within 20 days.

1841 - June 17
More than hald of Glasgow Irish population of 32,000 were said to be enrolled under the banner of teetotalism.

1919 - June 21
German High Seas Fleet, consisting of 74 vessels including 11 battleships and five battle-cruisers, scuttled by their crews at Scapa Flow in Orkney where they had been interned.

1965 - June 27
Peat began to make a comeback as a fuel in the Highlands due to the cost of coal.

Source - Scotching the Myths by Jim Hewiston can be found in the History Book Section of Scottish Radiance.

It is time to stop combing the library but we can not quit without some quotes from Quotable Scots another great History bookshelf resident. Let's see what quotes we can find.

There is a southern proverb - fine words butter no parsnips.
Sir Walter Scott, A Legend of Montrose.

They talk of my drinking but never my thirst.
Scottish Proverb

He that has lost a wife and sixpence, has lost sixpence.
Scottish Proverb

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