Scottish People Existed in 1485 & 1750—Here's the Context

Yes, Continuously

Scotland has been inhabited by Scots (and Picts, Gaels, Britons before) for millennia. The years 1485 and 1750 fall squarely within documented Scottish history.

1485: Late Medieval Kingdom

• Monarch: James III (Stewart) – Renaissance prince, patron of arts, unpopular with nobles.
• Population: ~1.5 million (estimate).
• Society: Feudal, clan-based Highlands; burghs (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen) growing. University of St Andrews (1413), Glasgow (1451), Aberdeen (1495).
• Key event: James III killed at Sauchieburn (1488); son James IV ushered golden age.

1750: Enlightenment & Union

• Monarch: George II (Hanover) – also King of Great Britain since 1707 Union.
• Population: ~1.7 million (growing).
• Society: Lowlands: commercial, agricultural improvement, Enlightenment (Hume, Smith, Ferguson). Highlands: clan system, post-Culloden (1746) repression, clearances beginning.
• Economy: Linen, tobacco trade (Glasgow), early coal/iron. Diaspora to Ulster, Americas.

Continuity

Same land, language (Scots, Gaelic, English), law (Scots law distinct), church (Presbyterian established). The people were there—farming, trading, praying, fighting, writing, inventing.

No gap. No disappearance. Just history unfolding.