The News Minute | September 18, 2014 | 9.40 am IST

"Should Scotland be an independent country?" will be the question that all residents of Scotland who are above sixteen years of age would answer with a Yes or No on Thursday, the 18th of September. The people of Scotland have long since been demanding for complete independence. Having obtained it part by part, on Thursday the people of Scotland may get independence fully provided the 'Yes' votes win by a simple majority. 

A look at the timeline of their freedom struggle.

1603 - Two separate monarchies of England and Scotland were united.

1707 – Two separate kingdoms were united to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

1934 – To press for independence of Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) was formed.

1940s – An attempt was made for home rule by drafting a document named Scottish Covenant. But the covenant secured only 40% of the people's votes.

1979 – First referendum was introduced but it failed to obtain a majority.

1998 – Second referendum was introduced and it achieved partial success. The result was that the Scottish Parliament was established with powers to legislate on matters like agriculture, health, environment, local government, etc.

2007 - SNP became the largest party in the Parliament and formed a minority government in the Scottish Parliament. It attempted to pass a referendum but failed.

2011 – SNP won a clear majority and again formed a government and passed the referendum bill.

18 September 2014 – All residents of Scotland who are above 16 years of age will vote in the referendum.