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There had already been several schemes for the uniting of Scotland and England during the 17th century, these occurred in 1606, 1667, 1670 and 1689 but on every occasion they failed. From the English point of view there was little to be gained in a union and the Scots did not wish to become the minor partner who would probably be swallowed up by the much larger England.
In fact it was the English who had a change of heart first. They were at war with France, yet again, and Louis XIV recognised the Catholic James VIII, 'the Young Pretender', as the rightful heir to both the English and Scottish thrones. The English would not have this. By the Act of Settlement it was decided that if Queen Anne should die childless, her only son had died in 1701, then the crown would pass to Sophia of Hanover, a cousin of Charles I. The Scots refused to agree to this and passed a series of acts that were hostile to England. The most important of these was the Act of Security in which the Scottish Parliament would have the power to nominate a successor to Anne within 20 days of her death and that the successor did not necessarily have to be from the House of Hanover. This raised the possibility of a separate Scottish monarchy, and also it raised the spectre of the Auld Alliance again, this worried England greatly. Scottish soldiers were important in the army and the English were embroiled in the War of Spanish Succession. Anne did not immediately sign the Act of Security and the Scottish Parliament withheld the supply of Scottish soldiers until she backed down. |
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By 1704 Scotland was moving towards more independence rather than union while Anne and her English government were trying to bring the two countries closer together. The English moved first by putting pressure on Scotland with the Alien Act of 1705. In this Act the Scots were given until Christmas Day to accept the Hanoverian succession or they were to appoint commissioners to negotiate a union. If neither action was taken Scots would be treated as aliens in England, threatening property held by Scots there, and trade with England and her colonies would be destroyed. Money suddenly became available to Scottish MP's to support union. In a poorly attended Scottish Parliament it was decided to appoint the commissioners to negotiate a union. The discussions began in April 1706 and were largely completed by July. Although there were huge protests when the terms of the union were published it was passed by a large majority by the Scottish Parliament on 16th January 1707. By the terms of the Act Scotland and England were to become one country. Anne became Queen of Great Britain and the throne passed to the House of Hanover on her death. There was also economic union with free trade on both sides of the border. Scotland was given only 45 seats in the House of Commons and 16 seats in the House of Lords. What can only be described as a bribe of £398,085-10s English pounds was paid by England as compensation for Scotland now taking on part of England's national debt. It was also intended to repay those who had lost money investing in the Darien scheme, which failed partly due to English interference. Scotland was to keep its legal system and Kirk.
On 28th April 1707 the last Scottish Parliament (until 1999) was dissolved by the last Scottish monarch.
Already in 1708 the agreements of the union were beginning to be broken by the English. The Scottish Privy Council was abolished which left Scotland with little in the way of national administration. Following this other Acts were introduced which fed Scottish fears that their country was becoming a poor northern cousin of powerful England. The same treason laws were introduced in both countries, this was an obvious interference in the Scottish legal system. In 1712 the Toleration Act was introduced allowing greater freedom to Scottish Episcopalians. The Patronage Act was also introduced in 1712 which reversed the abolition of patrongae which had occured in 1690. By this Act the selection of ministers to the Church was decided by the nobles and the Crown, in practice this Act caused a great deal of friction between the Church and the Crown. The Board of Trustees for Fisheries and Manufactures was set up in 1727 and included gentlemen, lawyers and merchants. It was given a budget of £6000 a year with which it was to promote growth in the Scottish economy, the budget was tiny and the Board overextended itself from the beginning. By 1724 and 1736 there were anti-English riots in Edinburgh and Glasgow. |