Cartoons might be crude.

But nothing tells us quite how the world sees us as clearly as a caricature.

On Friday morning Americans woke up to a simple image of what had happened in Scotland: a man in a kilt, Tweed jacket and a tam o shanter was sawing the island of Britain in two.

To his south, another man, this time in the shadow of a union flag, was doing the same, slicing through through to English Channel.

The cartoonist, Chappatte of the New York Times, had a simple caption: "Divisive British election."

He may not have known it, but the doodler was pretty much summing up everything that makes US policy makers antsy about the UK: Brexit and break-up.

But it is still too soon for world media to absorb the historic and seismic changes that have taken place in our country.

So most headlines around the globe reflect simple facts, rather than angst.

"David Cameron and Conservatives Emerge Victorious in British Election," declared Chappatte's paper, arguably the world's most influential.

The kick was in the tail: "Labour was almost wiped out in Scotland."

What does that mean? Well it might mean another vote on leaving the UK, the paper suggested.

That, at least was the mood in Scotland as discovered by New York Times reporters.

"The success for the SNP, which favours independence for Scotland, was met Thursday night on Glasgow's streets with the intermittent cheering and jeering reminiscent of soccer fans celebrating their favourite club," they wrote. "Many in Glasgow seemed to think that another independence referendum appeared inevitable, despite the defeat of the pro-independence camp in a referendum last year."

Copy from Associated Press, America's big wire agency, told the story in more detail.

Its focus: a student called Mairi Black, the victory in Paisley and South Renfrewshire, who made it clear her priority was "social justice".

"When a 20-year-old political novice ousted a former shadow foreign secretary, the scope of the Scottish National Party's stunning victory over the Labour Party became totally clear," the agency reported.

Mairi Black has emerged as ones of the stars of international coverage, a living metaphor for the SNP replacing Labour.

She was cited by Paris tabloid 20 Minutes, a sort of French Metro that is very widely read, as it declared that Labour had simply "lost its connection" with the Scottish people.

El Pais, a Madrid daily, used Ms Black's words as its head: "The referendum opened the eyes of Scotland's youth."

It quoted the student at length: "I was brought up in Labour family," she said. "My father and mother come from the working class.

"They had always been traditional Labour voters, but with new Labourism we saw a change that we did not like.

"The party was more interested in power than credibility. The referendum was the final nail in the coffin.

"The Labour party lost its soul, its principles."

The paper may have had its explanation of what elsewhere it called a "spectacular gains" and where now the "third force in Britain".

But El Pais stressed not everything had gone the way of SNP voters.

Reporter Maria Sahuquillo noted: "Despite its victory, the SNP did not manage to achieve its main aim: dislodging the Conservative government of David Cameron."

The SNP dominating Scotland, the Tories, England. This wasn't quite how this election was supposed to end.

After weeks of analysis of what arrangement the SNP and Labour could come to, the reality of Friday morning once again raised the spectre of independence.

Those who have long watched Britain began to wonder whether the UK state - seen increasingly as a multi-national entity rather than a single "country" - could survive.

One such observer was Alexei Gromyko. Recognise the name? You should: his grandfather was Andrei Gromyko, was the Soviet Union's foreign minister from 1957 to 1985. International analysis is in his DNA.

His take this morning: the victory of the SNP presents the main threat to the Tories over the next few months, the seasoned expert told Russian news agency Ria Novosti.

He said: "The challenge is that the second biggest region in the country after England is now completely controlled by a party that is extremely belligerent towards the Conservatives, who oppose Scottish independence.

"Now two nationalisms - English and Scottish - will clash and London will have to do everything it can to prevent the break-up of the country and the real, not illusory, exit of Scotland."

Independence was the word that dominated foreign headlines.

Here are a few, just for flavour:

*Le Figaro in Paris: "The success of the SNP sharpens the thirst for independence.;

*Tageschau in Germany: "The Scottish lion has roared";

* La Vanguardia in Barcelona: "Alex Salmond, from the Scottish dream to the conquest of Westminster";

* Panorama, Italy: "Great Britain: a bright future for Cameron (and Scotland);

* La Presse, Italy: "Sturgeon success: We are at an historic watershed";

* Washington Post in US: "British election results produce seismic political shift in Scotland."

The latter title, paper of the American policy-making elite was, typically, clear that Scotland, not the rest of the UK.

Its reports lead on the following paragraph: "The 2015 British election will be remembered for much more than which party ran first in the overall voting.

"It will be known at least as much as the election that produced a seismic political shift in Scotland that changed the face of British politics."

Opinion was divided over whether the SNP would have an impact in Westminster - thanks to Mr Cameron's success south of the border.

Staunchly federalist Canadian newspaper the National Post said the SNP which, it said, "is well to the left of Labour" had "dramatically transformed the political landscape in the north as well as the political geography in Westminster".

Reporter Matthew Fisher added: "The separatists took scores of seats from Labour, in many cases overturning what had been staggering Labour majorities.

"That means that the SNP, which had high hopes of working with a Labour government in the next parliament, did cause a political earthquake. But it will nevertheless have no formal say in Westminster."

The South China Morning Post, in Hong Kong, stressed just how few unionist MPs were left north of the border.

It reported: "Scottish nationalists swept aside Labour, meaning that Scotland, which voted just a year ago to stay in the United Kingdom, will send just three representatives of major British parties to parliament and be all but shut out of the cabinet.

"That could revive calls for it to leave Britain."

Mairi Black wasn't the only SNP woman making the headlines across Europe and the world. So was Nicola Sturgeon.

The party leader is already known by his first name only in this country.

Increasingly this is the case in key overseas news markets too, as celebrity, fashion and women's magazines, as well as newspapers, fete the first minister.

Here is a taste of some of her coverage:

*"Nicola Superstar" was the headline in Spain's Entorno Inteligente; *"Scotland's Merkel" said Handelsblatt, the German business daily, and several other titles.

*"Scotland's Powerfrau," said Sudwest Presse.

* "The queen of Scotland," said Krone in Austria.

Fear not. The world press has not forgotten Alex Salmond.

The former SNP leader has a new role: La Vanguardia in Barcelona calls him "Scotland's Paladin". Glenn Michael and generations of Scottish children might disagree.