Every Nation on Earth is governed by a form of Administration, whither it be Judicial, Ecclesiastical 0r Civil. Throughout their entire History, they have survived under one of these forms, or perhaps more than one at the same time. Scotland has seen many changes in it's Administrations throughout the ages. Many of the records to these Administrations have survived and we can see the evolution through to the present day. Some forms of Administration in the far past we can only speculate at. The fact that Scotland stands as a Nation today is witness to all the Administrations, from simple tribal to complex judicial, that have shaped the country and it's people today. The Picts, who inhabited the land before the Scots arrived, had been in residence for perhaps 3000 to 4000 years, before their World was invaded by the Romans. To have survived so long, they would have had to have had some form of Administration to keep their peoples together. But that is lost to History and Time. The Romans were well organized and we know they had an Administration to govern this far-flung Province of the Empire. They had a large network of camps and forts throughout Central and Southern Scotland and an organization to keep these places supplied. I don't know if such a chart for that Administration Survives in some Museum today. This was probably the first formal Administration of the land that would become Scotland. From Historians, we do know that the Romans did make maps of the land indicating places, landmarks and the local Pictish tribes. This information forms the first of the following Charts.

The Charts in this section show some of the Administrations from Scotland's Past and it's Present. They are arranged in Chronological Order to try and show their evolution. More importantly for the Researcher, they show the use of local names and how many have remained in use for the longest time. Some have faded into obscurity and may only be mentioned in local areas, many have become well known around the World. Some Researchers may only have a place name of where their Ancestors had originated and these Charts may be of some use pinpointing a location for those names.

SAM GIBSON
LAFSL