Orkney Islands see Scottish referendum as chance of freedom View of St. Margaret's Hope, Orkney The Orkney Islands have been part of Scotland for more than 500 years, but it is a mark of the distinctive culture of this green and windswept archipelago that many locals still do not think of themselves as very Scottish. "I'm an Orcadian in a globalised world," says James Stockan, an Orkney councillor who like many of his neighbours feels his primary identity lies with the islands rather than the Scottish mainland across the turbulent Pentland Firth. As Scotland prepares for a referendum on independence from the UK, local loyalties are gaining wider political significance. Seizing the opportunity presented by the plebiscite, Orkney council has joined with Shetland and the Western Isles to demand greater autonomy from both Edinburgh and London. The devolution push has won attention from Scottish and UK policy makers, not least because of longstanding speculation that Shetland and Orkney, with their substantial oil wealth, may choose not to be part of an independent Scotland. "No self-respecting Orcadian calls themselves Scottish," laughs one local Scottish government agency employee, who describes herself and a colleague as both having "mixed marriages." "My husband is a Scot and hers is an Englishman," she says. Tom Muir, exhibitions officer at the Orkney Museum and a professional storyteller, says islanders nurture the legacy of a Viking past from before the archipelago was traded to Scotland as part of the dowry of a Norwegian princess in the 15th century. Nostalgia was fuelled by the brutality of early Scots rulers of the islands and the imposition of English on a population that previously spoke a Norse dialect. But while Orcadians retain distinctive attitudes, accents and music, cultural links with the rest of Scotland are deep and growing. Indeed, Mr Muir detects a creeping "Scottification" of the islands marked by widening use of the Scottish flag. "A lot of Orcadians bang on about "I'm Orcadian," but as soon as there is a Scotland football or rugby match, suddenly out come the Saltires," he says. Norn speakers trace roots back to Picts Orkney's distinctive identity is rooted in historical links with Scandinavia and a geographical setting that combines rich soils and easily worked stone with long cold winters and strong sea winds, writes Mure Dickie. Once an important centre of stone age culture and later a home to Pictish kings, Orkney came under the sway of Norse settlers from the eighth century AD. The islands became a seat of Norwegian earls and a trading centre and staging post for Norway's sea empire, with locals speaking a Norse language known as Norn. Scottish influence gradually increased from the 13th century. In 1468, Christian I, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, offered Orkney as a pledge for the dowry of his daughter Margaret, who was to marry Scotland's James III. When the dowry went unpaid, Scotland annexed the islands two years later. However, local views of Scottish rule remain coloured by the brutality and greed of Stewart lords who ruled them in the 16th century. In recent years, the Orkneys have benefited from the exploitation of North Sea oil, including the creation of an oil fund used to develop infrastructure. The islands are also a leading centre of electricity generation, from wind and home to the world's biggest testing centre for wave and tidal energy. Orkney is certainly no hotbed of separatist resentment. The archipelago's economy is buttressed by tourism and an emerging renewables energy sector that has helped it weather the UK's economic downturn. Locals speak proudly of an outward-looking island culture that welcomes the increasing flow of immigrants from Scotland and the rest of the UK. Indeed, such is the calm and democratic flavour of the UK's current constitutional debate that even Orcadians who talk wistfully of possible future independence for the northern islands say its appeal lies less in nationalist sentiment and more in the ability to set policy locally. "For us, Edinburgh, London, Brussels - they are all relatively remote," says Mr Stockan. The joint devolution campaign with Shetland and the Western Isles is focusing on practical issues, including calls for island authorities to gain control of the seabed from the UK's Crown Estate and of ferry services from the Scottish government. The Scottish government has to set up a ministerial working group that met for the first time this week to discuss what powers could be transferred to the islands if Scotland votes for independence next September. And Michael Moore, Liberal Democrat Scottish secretary in the UK government, has called the islands" devolution case "strong in principle and right in intention." Steven Heddle, convener of the Orkney council and a leading figure in the devolution push, says he is still waiting for a detailed response from the Conservatives and Labour, but that the islands are willing to push "very hard" for firm commitments from all parties well before referendum day. Mr Heddle says he personally expects Orkney to remain part of Scotland whatever the result of the vote. But he suggests neither side of the independence debate should take Orkney's loyalty for granted, pointedly noting that the UN already has independent member states with populations smaller than the island group's 21,530 people. That would be the thermonuclear option. It would come with so much danger and difficulty," Mr Heddle says of seeking independence. [But] we shouldn't rule anything out.