Editing Aberdeen (section)

===Early origins===
[[File:View Of Aberdeen by William Mosman - William Mosman - ABDAG004432.jpg|thumb|View of Aberdeen by William Mosman, 1756]]

The Aberdeen area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years.<ref name="prehistory" /> The city began as two separate [[burgh]]s: [[Old Aberdeen]] at the mouth of the [[River Don, Aberdeenshire|river Don]]; and New Aberdeen, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary.<ref>[https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst498.html New Aberdeen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016111514/https://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst498.html |date=16 October 2019 }}, [[Gazetteer for Scotland]]</ref> The earliest [[charter]] was granted by [[William the Lion]] in 1179 and confirmed the corporate rights granted by [[David I of Scotland|David I]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfAHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA8|title=Annals of Aberdeen, from the reign of King William the Lion|volume=1|page=8|first=William|last=Kennedy|year=1818|publisher=A. Brown & Co.|access-date=18 March 2023|archive-date=4 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504233203/https://books.google.com/books?id=IfAHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA8|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1214, Aberdeen Burgesses were granted a Royal Charter by [[Alexander II of Scotland]] giving them the sole right to form a Guild. This body exercised power in the composition of the local council, and the affairs of the town. The [[Burgesses of Guild of Aberdeen|Burgesses of the Guild]] were an integral part of the council for more than 700 years and played a considerable role in the growth and development of Aberdeen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us {{!}} Aberdeen Burgesses |url=http://www.aberdeenburgesses.com/about-us/ |access-date=21 December 2023 |archive-date=18 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231218165808/http://www.aberdeenburgesses.com/about-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1319, the Great Charter of [[Robert the Bruce]] transformed Aberdeen into a property-owning and financially independent community. Granted with it was the nearby Forest of Stocket, whose income formed the basis for the city's [[Common Good Fund (Aberdeen)|Common Good Fund]] which still benefits Aberdonians.<ref name="keith">{{Cite book|author=Keith, Alexander|year=1987|title=A Thousand Years of Aberdeen |publisher=Aberdeen University Press}}</ref><ref name="fraser">{{Cite book|first=W. Hamish|last=Fraser|title=Aberdeen, 1800 to 2000: A New History |year=2000 |publisher=Tuckwell Press |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>