Editing Northumberland (section)

===As a county===
The [[Earl of Northumbria|Earldom of Northumberland]] was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage, between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the [[Treaty of York]] (1237). The earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic lords in the [[Scottish Marches]], they had the task of protecting England from Scottish retaliation for English invasions.

Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the [[Rising of the North]] (1569–1570) against [[Elizabeth I]]. These revolts were usually led by the earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] makes one of the Percys, the dashing [[Harry Hotspur]] (1364–1403), the hero of his ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]''. The Percys were often aided in conflict by other powerful Northern families, such as the [[House of Neville|Neville]]s and the Patchetts. The latter were stripped of all power and titles by the victorious Parliamentarians after the [[English Civil War]] of 1642–1651.

After the [[English Restoration|Restoration]] in 1660, the county was a centre for [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] in England, as well as a focus of [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and [[Border Reivers]] hid from the law. However, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the [[Union of the Crowns]] of Scotland and England under [[James I of England|King James I and VI]] in 1603.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Sharon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nxQABQAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |title=Scotland in the Age of Two Revolutions |last2=Goodare |first2=Julian |date=2014 |publisher=Boydell |isbn=9781843839392 |location=Woodbridge |pages=38–39}}</ref>

Northumberland played a key role in the [[Industrial Revolution]] from the 18th century on. Many [[Coal mining|coal mines]] operated in Northumberland until the [[UK miners' strike (1984–85)#Pit closures announced|widespread closures]] in the 1970s and 1980s. [[Collieries]] operated at [[Ashington]], Bedlington, [[Blyth, Northumberland|Blyth]], Choppington, Netherton, [[Ellington, Northumberland|Ellington]], and [[Pegswood]]. The region's coalfields fuelled industrial expansion in other areas of Britain, and the need to transport the coal from the collieries to the Tyne led to the development of the first railways. [[Shipbuilding]] and [[armaments]] manufacture were other important industries before the deindustrialisation of the 1980s.

Northumberland remains largely rural, and is the least densely populated county in England. In recent years, the county has had considerable growth in tourism. Visitors are attracted both to its scenic beauty and to its historical sites.