J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, announced last week that she is giving one million pounds (1.8 million Canadian dollars) to the Better Together campaign.
The campaign is trying to convince Scottish people to say no to separation from England. Scots will vote in a referendum in September. A referendum is a question that allows a country’s people to vote about a particular issue.
On her website, jkrowling.com, Rowling wrote:
This separation will not be quick and clean; it will take microsurgery to disentangle three centuries of close interdependence.
Rowling believes a split will be bad for Scotland’s economy.
But Rowling’s donation is not the biggest one in this fight. The largest donation was made to the team that wants independence. It came from Scottish couple Colin and Chris Weir, who gave about 3.5 million pounds ($6.45 million Canadian) from their 2011 lottery winnings of 161 million pounds.
After 300 years, many people in Scotland say it’s time to break away from England. They want their own government and say they want to make sure their Scottish history is kept alive. Some also believe their economy would be better off if they split.
England and Scotland joined forces in 1603 when Scotland’s King became England’s King as well. For three centuries, the Scots and the English have fought together in wars, explored foreign territories together and grown economically together.
The referendum will take place on September 18.
source : http://teachingkidsnews.com/2014/06/17/2-j-k-rowling-scottish-independence/
