At the moment, Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, which is made up of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The name "United Kingdom" refers to the fact that the modern UK has been formed from what were, in the past, separate countries. Scotland is, and always has been, a separate country in terms of its culture, education and legal system, but in 1707, the Acts of Union joined England and Scotland together and from then on, Scotland was ruled from London. There is now a Scottish Parliament, so some things are locally decided, but there will be a vote on whether this should go further and Scotland should become totally independent.