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Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is steeped in history and culture. The history is all around the city, Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh University are some of the older buildings but history is also being created in the shape of the Scottish Parliament building, Edinburgh Arts Festival, the Hogmanay celebrations to name but a few.

The origins of Edinburgh are buried in mysteries of time but the first settlement in the area was probably called Dunedin (Fort on the hill) on the site of the present day castle. A settlement was built up during the early part of the seventh century and grew into the present day Edinburgh.

Around this time King Edwin of Northumberland formed a settlement in the area, it was known as the burgh of Edwin, the name eventually being shortened to Edwinburgh and, after the regional kings of England defeated the Scots, the name was Anglicised to Edinburgh.

In it's early days Edinburgh, and the surrounding regions, was the center of a great deal of conflict between, at different times, the Scots and the English, the Romans, the Gaul's, though none managed to completely conquer the Scots.

Military and economic power of its larger neighbor (England) eventually prevailed and in 1707 the countries of England and Scotland were joined in the Act of Union.

The Act of Union brought Scotland under the control of the English Parliament but Scotland retained independence in the areas of law, money and education. Scotland regained control, to a large extent, in 1999 with the re-opening of the Scottish Parliament.

The Scots, due to the nations history, have always felt that they were in an unequal marriage with their larger neighbor, this is born out in the Scots always doing things differently to England whenever possible; different education systems, bank notes, different laws, with Edinburgh being the center of this mild form of protest.

To see this rivalry in action go in any Edinburgh pub when England are playing any type of sport and see who the locals support. The answer you will get is, "Whoever the English are playing!!"