In 1707, The Act of Union forged the nation of Great Britain. This joined the English and Scottish Parliaments into the British Parliament centered in London. The Union promised Scots unhindered access to English markets and colonies. The possibility of economic benefit through trade was a significant pro-union sentiment, expressed best by a Commissioner of Scottish Parliament:
This nation is behind all other nations of Europe, for many years, with respect to the effects of an extended trade. This nation being poor and without force to protect it, its commerce cannot reap great advantages by it, till it partake of the trade and protection of some powerful neighbour nation, that can communicate both these. By this union we will have access to all the advantages in commerce the English enjoy.
He argued, in theory, the English and Scots would become closer associated as Britons due to the flow of capital, labor, and ideas between the neighboring countries. However, the establishment of the Union immediately increased taxes on an already weakened Scotland. Many Scots felt that the promise of economic improvement had been broken, which resulted in a profound feeling of betrayal towards the British Parliament. Several disgruntled …show more content…
The military and political response devastated the Highland culture, leading to Highlander migration that extended from Britain to America and Canada. The enervation of the Jacobites effectively rid Britain from the threat of a Catholic government, thus securing its Protestant cause. The economic progress—pioneered by the British Linen Company—benefited the entire British Union. Therefore, the failure of the 1745 rebellion was a decisive moment in Scottish history as it allowed for the economic and political stability originally proposed in the 1707 Act of
This nation is behind all other nations of Europe, for many years, with respect to the effects of an extended trade. This nation being poor and without force to protect it, its commerce cannot reap great advantages by it, till it partake of the trade and protection of some powerful neighbour nation, that can communicate both these. By this union we will have access to all the advantages in commerce the English enjoy.
He argued, in theory, the English and Scots would become closer associated as Britons due to the flow of capital, labor, and ideas between the neighboring countries. However, the establishment of the Union immediately increased taxes on an already weakened Scotland. Many Scots felt that the promise of economic improvement had been broken, which resulted in a profound feeling of betrayal towards the British Parliament. Several disgruntled …show more content…
The military and political response devastated the Highland culture, leading to Highlander migration that extended from Britain to America and Canada. The enervation of the Jacobites effectively rid Britain from the threat of a Catholic government, thus securing its Protestant cause. The economic progress—pioneered by the British Linen Company—benefited the entire British Union. Therefore, the failure of the 1745 rebellion was a decisive moment in Scottish history as it allowed for the economic and political stability originally proposed in the 1707 Act of