The Treaty of York (1237) defined a border between Scotland and England which is almost identical to the modern border- it was signed between Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland, set the border between England and Scotland. It defined the boundary between the two kingdoms as running between the Solway Firth (in the west) and the mouth of the River Tweed (in the east). It remains the border to this day, with the exception of a small area around Berwick, which was taken by England in 1482. With the Treaty of York, Alexander II abandoned traditional Scottish claims to the regions of Northumbria, south of the Tweed, and Cumbria. Northumbria had history, predating the competing claims of England and Scotland, as a kingdom strethching from the Humber to the Forth. Since the 1240s, the Scottish king Alexander II had been attempting to buy the islands from the Norwegian king Håkon Håkonsson, but he consistently refused.
Håkon IV., king of Norway, at once to restrain the independence of his jarls and to keep in check the ambition of the Scottish kings, set sail in 1263 on a great expedition, which, however, ended disastrously at Largs. I~Iagnus, son of Håkon, concluded in 1266 a peace with the Scots. renouncing all claim to the Hebrides and other islands except Orkney and Shetland, and Alexander III. agreed to give him a sum of 4000 merks in four yearly payments. It was also stipulated that Margaret, daughter of Alexander, should be betrothed to Eric, the son of Magnus, whom she married in 1281. She died two years later, leaving an only daughter afterwards known as the Maid of Norway.
The Hebrides, also known as Fingal's Cave. Fingal's Cave is a sea-cave on the uninhabited island of Staffa, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. It is formed entirely from hexagonally-jointed basalt, similar in structure to (and part of the same ancient lava flow as) the more famous Giant's Causeway in North Ireland. Its size and naturally arched roof, and the eerie sounds produced by the echoes of waves, give it the atmosphere of a natural cathedral. The cave's Gaelic name, Uamh-Binn, means "cave of melody." The cave was "discovered" by 18th-century naturalist Sir Joseph Banks in 1772. The Scottish side of the causeway on the isle of Staffa has similar basalt formations at the site of Fingal's Cave that are part of the same ancient lava flow. Legend has it that the giant Fionn mac Cumhail (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish equivalent Benandonner. From the inside, the entrance seems to frame the sacred island of Iona across the water.
Of the total area of 1,800,000 acres, or 2812 sq. m., only one-ninth is cultivated, most of the surface being moorland and mountain. The annual rainfall, particularly in the Inner Hebrides, is heavy (42-6 in. at Stornoway) but the temperature is high, averaging for the yeare 47 F. Potatoes and turnips are the only root crops that succeed, and barley and oats are grown in some of the islands. Sheep-farming and cattle-raising are carried on very generally, and, with the fisheries, provide the main occupation of the inhabitants, though they profit not a little from the tourists who flock to many of the islands throughout the summer. The principal industries include distilling, slate-quarrying and the manufacture of tweeds, tartaris and other woollens. There are extensive deer forests in Lewis-withHarris, Skye, Mull and Jura. On many of the islands there are prehistoric remains and antiquities within the Christian period. The more populous islands are in regular communication with certain points of the mainland by means of steamers from Glasgow, Oban and Mallaig. The United Free Church has a strong hold on the poeple, but in a few of the islands the Roman Catholics have a great following. In the larger inhabited islands board schools have been established. The islands unite with the counties to which they belong in returning members to parliament (one for each shire).