Aberdeen

Aberdeen Coat of Arms

Aberdeen is a port city and the residence of the Count of Aberdeenshire, within the Commonwealth of England. Situated on the North Sea, between the mouths of the Don and Dee rivers, 130 mi. northeast of Edinburgh.

Many of the buildings in the main city were built recently, in the 16th century. The harbour suffers from silting, so that while Aberdeen's important for fishing, large frigates cannot make use of it. It remains a highly commercialised market^4R town, however.

History

The original town was settled by Flemings, about 1130, during the reign of David I, receiving its charter from William the Lion about 1175. During the Middle Ages. it was the most important city north of the Firth of Forth and was the Bruce's main port for supplies during the War of Independence. During the War of the Three Kingdoms between 1644 and 1647, the city was plundered on both sides. It was taken and ransacked by Royalist troops under the command of George Gordon in 1646. Afterwards a bubonic plague killed a quarter of the city. It has suffered under a brutal marshal law for the last three years.

Education

In 1494, King's College was founded by Bishop William Elphinstone (1431-1514), as authorised by a papal bull. Modeled on the plan of the University of Paris, and intended chiefly to be a school of law, Aberdeen became the most famous and popular of Scottish universities. Architecturally, the college is notable for its Crown Tower and the chapel, which date from 1500.

In 1593 George Keith, the fifth Earl Marischal, established Marischal College. This latter is built in the Gothic style.

Trade

Sea routes connect Aberdeen with London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull and Glasgow, as well with the Orkneys and the Shetlands. Further trade is carried on with Norway, Denmark and the Low Countries.

Goods produced in and around Aberdeen includes granite^3R for building, distilling^2R, general cloth, cotton cloth^3R, burlap and wool cloth; masonry, shipbuilding^2R, herring and salmon. Aberdeen also transships goods from the Cairngorm Range west of the city and the small villages of Ellon, Huntly and Stonehaven. Population (c.1650), 18,413.