The Scottish Parliament: - History

A number of attempts at union occurred before 1707, but it was the constitutional and economic factors of the early 1700s that brought the issue to the fore.

Royal succession

Although Scotland and England were united by one monarch in 1603, Scotland attempted a different route after the execution of Charles I. Separate monarchies would remain a possibility as long as two Parliaments existed to legislate on matters of succession. William and Mary and then Queen Anne (1702-14) had no surviving children. It was felt that a coherent line of succession needed to be established before a crisis happened. William had developed a working relationship with Scotland, but Anne had few links with the country, and there was no guarantee that an independent Scotland would follow her plans to pass the crown on to the House of Hanover.

Economics

Poor harvests in the 1690s weakened Scotland's internal economic situation. Externally, there was an economic conflict between England and Scotland, from which Scotland did not benefit. The Darien scheme, to set up a Scottish trading colony in the New World, brought Scotland into competition with the East India Company, supported by the English government. The East India Company refused to sell supplies to the second Darien expedition in 1700, helping towards its failure and the subsequent loss of up to one quarter of Scotland's liquid assets. Scotland was already reliant on an economic relationship with England, half of Scotland's exports in 1700 went to England, but this figure began to decline in the early years of the eighteenth century. Union with England would create the largest free trade area in eighteenth century Europe.

Map showing Scots settlement in Darien in America

The Treaty

Union could only happen if a treaty could be agreed by both the English and Scottish governments. Each country sent commissioners who worked in separate groups. When the Treaty was drawn up in October 1706, it began its progress through the two Parliaments. It was ratified first by the Scottish Parliament, in January 1707, and then by the English Parliament, in March 1707.

Scotland, 1689 - 1707: the Scottish Parliament and the Union of 1707

Scotland, 1689 - 1707:
the Scottish Parliament
and the Union of 1707
© National Archives of Scotland.
Licensor www.scran.ac.uk

The Treaty of Union declares that England and Scotland shall become one kingdom, with the same monarchy and succession, a single parliament (‘the Parliament of Great Britain’), and equal trade and economic rights. Some clauses permit the continuation of Scottish institutions (such as the burgh and legal systems). Other institutions, such as the Great Seal (used to signify state approval) were remade as a new ‘British’ version. However, most clauses stated that Union was to be obtained by Scotland adopting the existing English form, for example with regard to customs and excise duties, weights and measures and coinage. The English representation in the House of Commons and the House of Lords remained unchanged, while Scotland would send 16 peers to the Lords and 45 MPs (burgh and shire commissioners) to the Commons.

Scotland and Westminster