Table of Contents

Note on Style, and Abbreviations; List of Plates; Acknowledgements; Preface; Introduction: Contrasting and changing receptions of the union of 1707; 1: Issues, debates and aims; 2: Scotland under the union of the crowns to the Revolution of 1688-89:; searching for the roots of union; 3: Roots: ambition and achievement and the aftermath of Revolution; 4: The 1690s: a nation in crisis; 5: 'The most neglected and opprest State in Europe'? Confrontations and the; search for compromise, 1700-1705; 6: Digging Scotland out: Parliament and the reconstruction of the pathway; towards union, 1705-6; 7: Paving the way: the union commissioners and the hearts and minds of the; People; 8: 'An affair of the greatest concern and import': the union Parliament and; the Scottish nation; 9: Union in the balance, union accomplished; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author

Christopher A. Whatley is Professor of Scottish History, Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Dundee. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, he is currently co-editor of the four-volume History of Everyday Life in Scotland series (to be published by Edinburgh University Press).

Reviews

This is an important and finely argued book. It brings an infusion of new evidence to bear on the old question of the causes of the Union of 1707. From it emerges a fresh interpretation of the birth of Great Britain, controversial but fairminded, solidly supported by scholarship. Everyone who seriously wants to understand how and why modern Scotland came into being should read it. -- T. C. Smout, Historiographer Royal in Scotland Scholarly, judicious and readable, The Scots and the Union convincingly demythologises the history of the event that was to change the course of Scottish history. Christopher Whatley's account of the political world that gave birth to the Union will make uncomfortable reading for some. But it will provide many more with the sort of history they have been waiting for, for a very long time. For future historians, the history of the Union starts here. -- Nicholas Phillipson, School of History and Classics, Edinburgh University Whatley's careful research, spliced with fascinating detail, reveals the sophisticated politics used by these Scots and reclaims them as patriots. It is a magnificent study of the politics of the time. ... Whatley has done the history of the period a great service, stripping away the myths and revealing sophisticated people making sophisticated decisions. -- Ruaridh Nicoll The Observer The publication of this book marks an important historiographical development for a mature understanding and appreciation of the events and issues relating to the 1707 union. It can now be regarded as the leading work on 1707... Our understanding of 1707 has been taken to a new level. ... Whatley's book should be compulsory reading for all MSPs and media commentators, irrespective of their own political party allegiances and viewpoints, and for anyone who has an interest in Scottish history. -- John R. Young Scottish Review of Books The book's careful weighing of the evidence, standing back and thinking about the silences and the biases of the past, pays dividends. The Scots and the Union offers the most complete and nuanced account of the state of the Scottish economy in the period between the Revolution of 1688 and the Union of 1707... -- John Morrill FBA Times Higher Education A mejor reinterpretation of the Union underpinned by a great deal of original research. -- Times Litterary supplement History: The Journal of the Historical Association This is an important and finely argued book. It brings an infusion of new evidence to bear on the old question of the causes of the Union of 1707. From it emerges a fresh interpretation of the birth of Great Britain, controversial but fairminded, solidly supported by scholarship. Everyone who seriously wants to understand how and why modern Scotland came into being should read it. Scholarly, judicious and readable, The Scots and the Union convincingly demythologises the history of the event that was to change the course of Scottish history. Christopher Whatley's account of the political world that gave birth to the Union will make uncomfortable reading for some. But it will provide many more with the sort of history they have been waiting for, for a very long time. For future historians, the history of the Union starts here. Whatley's careful research, spliced with fascinating detail, reveals the sophisticated politics used by these Scots and reclaims them as patriots. It is a magnificent study of the politics of the time. ... Whatley has done the history of the period a great service, stripping away the myths and revealing sophisticated people making sophisticated decisions. The publication of this book marks an important historiographical development for a mature understanding and appreciation of the events and issues relating to the 1707 union. It can now be regarded as the leading work on 1707... Our understanding of 1707 has been taken to a new level. ... Whatley's book should be compulsory reading for all MSPs and media commentators, irrespective of their own political party allegiances and viewpoints, and for anyone who has an interest in Scottish history. The book's careful weighing of the evidence, standing back and thinking about the silences and the biases of the past, pays dividends. The Scots and the Union offers the most complete and nuanced account of the state of the Scottish economy in the period between the Revolution of 1688 and the Union of 1707... A mejor reinterpretation of the Union underpinned by a great deal of original research.