Acts of Union 1707

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…

Scots also benefited from other opportunities granted by the unification as well. Now Scots could now join the East India Trading Company as employees and investors and were not barred by the Navigation acts and merchants could now go to the colonies directly for trade. Many Scots quickly joined the Trading Company and rose through the ranks joining many Englishmen into riches earning the title of “Nabob’. The most notable early Scot in the East India Company being James Macrae, born in…

World War II. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power during the 17th, 18th, 19th and first part of the 20th centuries. In the course of the 17th century, the Navy completed the transition from a semi-amateur Navy Royal fighting in conjunction with private vessels into a fully professional institution, a Royal Navy due to the permanent end of the threat to English shipping from the Barbary corsairs. Its financial provisions were gradually…

property and employing the force of community in executing laws and defending the commonwealth from foreign attack (iep.utm). Power can only be used for public and not more than that. The reason government should make the law so that the citizen of a state wouldn’t vote carelessly on a particular law. they wouldn’t vote for something which benefits only themselves and can the state worse. Even though John Locke stated that the people are free to do anything, but still if they act carelessly then…

Roy Porter has discussed the Scottish Enlightenment in these terms and in his own words, spliced ‘Scottish thinkers into the British story as a whole’. The historiography suggests many scholars and historians consider the Scottish Enlightenment to be a consequence of closer association with England and more specifically as a direct result of the Union of Crowns in 1707. Many key figures of the Enlightenment were born or were educated in Scotland, and Scotland’s contribution to the world is…

There had been many before it. They are the “Fleur-de-lis”, “Union Jack” and “Red Ensign”. This flags were first introduced when explores from different parts of Europe came to Canada. “Fleur-de-lis” was introduced by the French sovereignty and was the first flag to wave over Canada from 1534. This was because of Jacques Cartier. When Cartier landed Cartier claimed the new world for France, until the early 1760s, when Canada was ceded to the United Kingdom. Then came the “Union Jack”. In the…

In the chapter “Evil Air” Charles Mann’s argues that disease had a profound effect on Colonial Europe, and far-reaching consequences can still be seen in the modern-day. Firstly, Mann introduces the idea that disease was one of the major reasons Scotland and England completely merged. In 1698, the Scots set out to build a colony in Panama. They hoped to disrupt the Spanish monopoly on both silver and silk. The venture was a colossal failure as almost 84% of the colonists died because of disease.…

The country went through decades of plague. It was called the Black Death. 4. The reign of Marie Stuart After years of unsuccessful kings in Scotland, the dynasty of the Stuarts became the ruling family. Marie Stuart is the most famous. In addition to being a catholic Queen of a protestant country, she had a bad relationship with her cousin, Elizabeth I, who happened to be Queen of England. In 1565, Marie was accused of murdering her husband. She was first captured. Then her cousin…

In 1707 the Acts of Union were approved by the Westminster Parliament and by the Parliament of Scotland. With the Acts of Union, England and Scotland were declared united ‘by the Name of Great Britain’. Scots law is a legal system which includes elements of civil law and common law. Scots law is based on several sources of law: the legislation or statute law, a written enactment of legal rules passed by the Parliament; the common law: judicial precedent, institutional writings and custom.…

were facing. When war between England and France occurred again the Scots received no help from the French as per their alliance but the Scots still had hope that the help would arrive. Tensions between the Scottish government and the English government were rising with the impending death of the last Stuart would end the heir of the Scottish throne, and thus the Act of Security was created in 1703 which granted Scotland free trade with England and reserve the right to settle the crown after the…