Acts_of_Union

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{{British legislation lists, Acts}}
The '''Acts of Union''' were a pair of [[Act of Parliament|Parliamentary Acts]] passed in 1706 and 1707 by, respectively, the [[Parliament of England]] and the [[Parliament of Scotland]], to put into effect the terms of the [[Treaty of Union]] which had been negotiated between the two countries. The Acts joined the [[Kingdom of England]] and the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] (previously separate [[state]]s, with [[Personal union|separate legislatures but with the same monarch]]) into a single [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].

The two countries had shared a monarch for about 100 years (since the [[Union of the Crowns]] in [[1603]]). There had been three attempts in 1606, 1667, and 1689 to unite the two countries by Acts of Parliament, but it was not until the early 18th century that the idea had the will of both political establishments behind them, albeit for rather different reasons.

The Acts took effect on [[1 May]] [[1707]]. On this date, the Scots Parliament and the English Parliament merged to form the [[Parliament of Great Britain]], based in the [[Palace of Westminster]] in [[London]], the former home of the English Parliament (the parliaments of England and Scotland were dissolved{{Fact|date=September 2007}}). Hence, the Acts are referred to as the '''Union of the Parliaments'''.

There was an attempt to rename [[Scotland]] and [[England]] as North and South Britain. This was generally short lived, particularly in "South Britain" - although the name "[[North Britain]]" lingered for a while in some institutions. It was not until 1991 that the last remnant of this was assigned to history, when the [[North British Hotel]] at [[Edinburgh|Edinburgh's]] [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Waverley Station]] was renamed.<ref>[http://www.stuckonscotland.co.uk/edinburgh/balmoral-hotel-history.html History of the Balmoral Hotel]</ref>

== Background ==

=== Previous attempts at union ===
The first attempt to unite England and Scotland was by [[James I of England|King James VI and I]]. On his accession to the English throne in [[1603]] King James announced his intention to unite his two realms so that he would not be "guilty of bigamy". The Scottish and English parliaments established a commission to negotiate a union but ultimately abandoned the attempt.

Later in the seventeenth century the [[Parliament of Scotland|Estates of Scotland]] petitioned a number of times for a union but were rejected by [[Parliament of England|England]].

The [[Solemn League and Covenant]] sought a forced union of the [[Church of England]] into the [[Church of Scotland]], and although the covenant referred repeatedly to union between the three kingdoms, a political union was not spelled out. In the aftermath of the [[English Civil War|Civil War]], in which the [[Covenanter|Covenanters]] had fought for the King, [[Oliver Cromwell]] conquered Scotland and by force created the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland]], a brief union which was dissolved by the restoration of King Charles II. Scottish members expelled from [[Parliament of England|Parliament]] petitioned unsuccessfully for a continuance of the union.

At the [[Glorious Revolution]] in [[1689]], the records of the Scottish Parliament show much discussion of possible union. Nothing was done. Thereafter relations between the English and the Scots deteriorated, largely perhaps through the English stranglehold on Scottish trade and ultimately because of the failure of the [[Darien Scheme]] and the popular perception in Scotland that the scheme's failure was the fault of the English.

=== The English perspective ===
The English purpose was to ensure that Scotland would not choose a different monarch from England. The two countries had shared a king for much of the previous century, but the English were concerned that an independent Scotland with a different king, even if he were a Protestant, might make alliances against England. Specifically, England wished to ensure a [[Protestant]] [[Royal Succession]]. Until the Union of Parliaments, the Scots could choose their monarch in line with the [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[Act of Security 1704]], and it was quite possible for them to choose a Catholic monarch. The English succession was provided for by the English [[Act of Settlement 1701]], which ensured that the King of England would be Protestant.

=== The Scottish perspective ===
In Scotland, it was claimed that union would enable Scotland to recover from the financial disaster wrought by the [[Darien scheme]] through English assistance and the lifting of measures put in place through the [[Alien Act 1705|Alien Act]] to force the Scottish Parliament into compliance with the Act of Settlement.

The ultimate securing of the treaty in the [[unicameral]] [[Parliament of Scotland|Scottish Parliament]] is sometimes attributed to the weakness and lack of cohesion between the various opposition groups in the House, rather than to the strength of pro-incorporationists{{Fact|date=February 2007}}. The combined votes of the [[Court party]] with a majority of the [[Squadrone Volante]] were sufficient to ensure the final passage of the treaty through the House.

Personal financial interests were also involved. Many Commissioners had invested heavily in the Darien Scheme and they believed that they would receive compensation for their losses; Article 14, the Equivalent granted [[Pound sterling|£]]398,085 10[[Shilling|s]] sterling to Scotland to offset future liability towards the English national debt. In essence, it was also used as a means of compensation for investors in the [[Darien Scheme]].

Even more direct bribery was said to be a factor. £20,000 (£240,000 [[Pound Scots|Scots]]) was dispatched to Scotland for distribution by the [[Earl of Glasgow]]. [[James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry]], the [[Queen's Commissioner in Parliament]], received £12,325, the majority of the funding. (Other studies suggest that all of this money was propely accounted for as compensation for loss of office, pensions and so forth not outwith the usual run of government. It is perhaps a debate that will never be set to rest.) [[Robert Burns]] referred to this:

:''We were bought and sold for English Gold,''
:''Sic a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation.''

Some of the money was used to hire [[espionage|spies]], such as [[Daniel Defoe]]; his first reports were of vivid descriptions of violent demonstrations against the Union. "A Scots rabble is the worst of its kind," he reported, "for every Scot in favour there is 99 against". Years later [[John Clerk of Penicuik]], originally a leading [[Unionism (Scotland)|Unionist]], wrote in his memoirs that,

:''(Defoe) was a spy among us, but not known as such, otherwise the Mob of Edinburgh would pull him to pieces.''

Defoe recalls that he was hired by [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer|Robert Harley]].

The Treaty was not universally popular in Scotland. Many petitions were sent to the Scottish Parliament against Union, and there were massive protests in [[Edinburgh]] and several other Scottish [[burgh]]s on the day it was passed {{Fact|date=February 2007}}, as threats of widespread civil unrest resulted in the imposition of [[martial law]] by the Parliament. [[George Lockhart|Sir George Lockhart of Carnwath]], a [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] and the only member of the Scottish negotiating team who was not pro-incorporation, noted that `The whole nation appears against the Union'. [[John Clerk of Penicuik|Sir John Clerk of Penicuik]], an ardent pro-unionist and Union negotiator, observed that the treaty was `contrary to the inclinations of at least three-fourths of the Kingdom'.

Public opinion against the Treaty as it passed through the Scottish Parliament was voiced through [[petition]]s from Scottish localities. Anti-union petitions were received from shires, burghs, presbyteries and parishes. The [[Convention of Royal Burghs]] also petitioned against the Union and not one petition in favour of an incorporating union was received by Parliament. On the day the treaty was signed, the [[carillon]]er in [[St Giles Cathedral]], Edinburgh, rang the bells in the tune ''Why should I be so sad on my wedding day?''<ref>Notes by [[John Purser]] to CD ''Scotland's Music'', [http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/magazine/augsep2003/edinburgh.htm Facts about Edinburgh].</ref>

=== The Irish perspective ===
[[Kingdom of Ireland|Ireland]], the third of the "sister kingdoms" was not included in the union. It remained a separate kingdom and indeed was legally subordinate to Great Britain until 1784. Ironically, it was in part of Ireland that the first "British nation" can have been said to have been forged, in the mixing of Scottish and English [[Protestant]] settlers who peopled [[Ulster]]. Nevertheless, Ireland was left out.

Ireland's benefits from the Union of 1707 were few. Its preferential status in trade with England now extended to Scotland. The strengthening of Great Britain improved Ireland's defence against enemies, whether foreign or domestic. Nevertheless, Ireland was left unequal and unrepresented in the Parliament of Great Britain.

In July 1707 each House of the [[Parliament of Ireland]] passed a congratulatory address to Queen Anne, praying that "May God put it in your royal heart to add greater strength and lustre to your crown, by a still more comprehensive Union"<ref>Journals of the Irish Commons, vol. iii. p. 421</ref>. The British government did not respond to the invitation and an equal union between Great Britain and Ireland was out of consideration until the 1790's. The [[Acts of Union 1800|union with Ireland]] finally came about on 1 January 1801.

== Provisions of the Acts ==
The [[treaty]] consisted of 25 articles, 15 of which were economic in nature. In Scotland, each article was voted on separately and several clauses in articles were delegated to specialised subcommittees. Article 1 of the treaty was based on the political principle of an incorporating union and this was secured by a majority of 116 votes to 83 on [[4 November]] [[1706]]. In order to minimise the opposition of the [[Church of Scotland]], an Act was also passed to secure the [[Presbyterian]] establishment of the Church, after which the Church stopped its open opposition, although hostility remained at lower levels of the clergy. The treaty as a whole was finally ratified on [[16 January]] [[1707]] by a majority of 110 votes to 69.<ref name = "Riley">PJW Riley, The English Historical Review, Vol. 84, nº 332. (Jul., 1969), pp. 523–4.</ref>

The two Acts incorporated provisions for Scotland to send [[Scottish representative peers|representative peers]] from the [[Peerage of Scotland]] to sit in the [[House of Lords]]. It guaranteed that the [[Church of Scotland]] would remain the [[established church]] in Scotland, that the [[Court of Session]] would "remain in all time coming within Scotland", and that [[Scots law]] would "remain in the same force as before". Other provisions included the restatement of the [[Act of Settlement 1701]] and the ban on [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholics]] from taking the throne. It also created a [[customs union]] and [[monetary union]].

The Act provided that any "laws and statutes" that were "contrary to or inconsistent with the terms" of the Act would "cease and become void."

Soon after the Union, the Act 6 Anne c.11 (later infelicitously named "The Union with Scotland (Amendment) Act 1707") united the English and Scottish [[Privy Council]]s and decentralised Scottish administration by appointing justices of the peace in each shire to carry out administration. In effect it took the day to day government of Scotland out of the hands of politicians and into those of the College of Justice.

== Criticisms ==
The English and Scottish parliaments had evolved along different lines, so contradictions and teething troubles in the merged parliament were frequent. For example, the English doctrine of [[parliamentary sovereignty]] in all aspects of national life did not exist in Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament was [[unicameral]], not [[bicameral]]. Most of the pre-Union traditions of Westminster continued, while those of Scotland were forgotten or ignored.

Defoe drew upon his Scottish experience to write his ''[[Tour thro' the whole Island of Great Britain]]'', published in 1726, where he actually admitted that the increase of trade and [[population in Scotland]], which he had predicted as a consequence of the Union, was "not the case, but rather the contrary", and that the hostility towards his party was, "because they were English and because of the Union, which they were ''almost universally'' exclaimed against".

[[Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun]], a vehement critic of the Union, said in ''An Account of a Conversation'', that Scotland suffered "...the miserable and languishing condition of all places that depend upon a ''remote seat of government''."

However by the time [[Samuel Johnson]] and [[James Boswell]] made their tour in [[1773]], recorded in ''[[A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland]]'' Johnson noted that Scotland was: “a nation of which the commerce is hourly extending, and the wealth encreasing”, and [[Glasgow]] in particular had become one of the greatest cities of Britain.

== A new Scottish Parliament ==
In [[1999]], after almost three centuries, a [[Scottish Parliament]] was opened after a [[Scottish devolution referendum, 1997|referendum]] in [[Scotland]]. The new parliament was opened with the words "the Scottish Parliament, adjourned on the 25th of March in the year 1707 is hereby reconvened." Being just a devolved parliament, the new Scottish Parliament does not have the same powers as the old parliament as major areas of responsibility, like defence and social security, have been reserved to the UK parliament. Scotland remains a [[constituent member country]] of the [[United Kingdom]] and the Parliament may not pass laws to change this, even though the [[Scottish National Party]] now forms a [[minority government]].

== 300th anniversary ==

[[Image:2007£2union.jpg|thumb|The 2 Pound Coin issued in the United Kingdom in 2007 to commemorate the 300th Anniversary of the Acts of Union]]

A commemorative [[two-pound coin]] was issued to mark the 300th anniversary of the Union, which occurred two days before the [[Scottish Parliament election, 2007|Scottish Parliament general election]] on 3 May 2007.<ref>[http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2006-11-06a.79.0 House of Lords - Written answers], 6 November 2006, TheyWorkForYou.com</ref>

The [[Scottish Government|Scottish Government]] announced plans for a year-long commemoration including an education project led by the [[Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland]], an exhibition of Union-related objects and documents at the [[National Museums of Scotland]] and an exhibition of portraits of people associated with the Union at the [[National Galleries of Scotland]].<ref>Announced by the Scottish Culture Minister, Patricia Ferguson, 9 November 2006</ref>

== Notes ==
<references/>

== References ==
{{Refimprove|date=May 2007}}
* Defoe, Daniel. ''[[A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain]], 1724–27''
* Defoe, Daniel. ''The Letters of Daniel Defoe'', GH Healey editor. Oxford: 1955.
* Fletcher, Andrew (Saltoun). ''An Account of a Conversation''
* Herman, Arthur. ''How the Scots Invented the Modern World''. Three Rivers Press, 2001. ISBN 0-609-80999-7

== See also ==
{{wikisource}}
*[[Andrew Fletcher]]
*[[Daniel Defoe]]
*[[List of treaties]]
*[[History of democracy]]
*[[MacCormick v. Lord Advocate]]
*[[Scottish Parliament]]
*[[Scottish independence]]
*[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]
*[[Political union]]
*[[Real union]]
*[[Unionism (Scotland)]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/corporate/history/SPTradition/treaty.htm The Treaty of Union], the [[Scottish Parliament]]
*[http://www.parliament.uk/about/images/historical/1707union.cfm Articles of Union 1707] at the [[Parliamentary Archives]]
*[http://www.archives.org.uk/sca/richardfinlay.html Image of the Treaty of Union] courtesy of the [[National archives of Scotland]], published by the [[Scottish Council on Archives]]
*[http://www.rahbarnes.demon.co.uk/Union/index.htm Union with England Act and Union with Scotland Act - Full original text]
*[http://www.collectionscanada.ca/collectionsp-bin/colldisp/l=0/c=81 Treaty of Union and the Darien Experiment], University of Guelph, McLaughlin Library, Library and Archives Canada
*{{UK-SLD|2078400|the Union with Scotland Act 1706 (c.11)}}
*{{UK-SLD|1519711|the Union with England Act 1707 (c. 7)}}

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[[Category:1706 in law]]
[[Category:1707 in law]]
[[Category:1706 in England]]
[[Category:1707 in Scotland]]
[[Category:1707 in Great Britain]]
[[Category:Constitutional laws of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of England]]
[[Category:Acts of the Parliament of Scotland]]
[[Category:History of Great Britain]]
[[Category:Scottish laws]]
[[Category:English laws]]
[[Category:Treaties of England]]
[[Category:Treaties of Scotland]]
[[Category:Unionism]]


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