Scottish burgh

Scottish burghs were urban settlements enjoying trading privileges from medieval times until 1832. They regulated their own affairs to a varying extent according to the type of burgh concerned. The Scottish burghs were abolished in 1975. Burghs produced many types of historical records. Medieval burghs started to appear in the twelfth century. They provided an environment in which merchants and craftsmen could live and work outside the feudal system. However each burgh had to pay significant sums of money to the post holder of its original creator. This could be the crown, an abbot or a bishop, or also a secular baron.^[1]