Scottish Blog

Act of Union. Part 1.

No matter which way you look at it, the Act of Union was undeniably one of the most important and prominent events in Scottish history. Such is the importance of the Act of Union that everyone, whether they are of Scottish Clans decent or not, should at least hold an idea of what the Act of Union was.

In essence, the Act of Union were voluntary twin acts of the Parliaments of both countries, that created the Kingdom of Great Briton.

The Act of Union took place on the 26th of March 1707. It dissolved both the Scottish Parliament and English Parliament and replaced them with the Parliament of Great Britain.

The reasons behind the Act of Union are different for both countries. For Scotland, the main positive point of the Act of Union was that it could help alleviate some of Scotland’s financial problems. Namely the consequences of William Patterson’s failed Darien scheme. Along the same line of reasoning, Scotland entered into the Act of Union as it would give unlimited trade possibilities to all of England’s partners. The Act of Union also had the effect of guaranteeing that some form of Scottish representation be heard at the Great Britain Parliament. It has been said, in reference to the Act of Union that in exchange for their independence the Scottish received a small but vital say in London.

England’s motives on the other hand were not on the large part revolved around money.
England gained Scottish Parliament sanctioned control of Scotland and also support and protection against possible catholic threat to its Protestant succession line.

The Act of Union itself consisted of 25 articles, 15 of these were economic in their nature. In Scotland each one of the articles was voted upon and amended separately. An act was also put forward and passed, which would keep the Presbyterian Church as the Church of Scotland. It was hoped that this would eliminate the churches opposition. As a whole the treaty was passed by the Scottish Parliament on the 12th of January 1707, by a majority vote of 110 to 67.

The Act of Union is an integral part of the history of Scotland. Whether profoundly or minutely, it has affected all aspects of Scottish life forever.