Worsening relations with England 1689-1707

The decades before the Treaty of Union saw a series of diplomatic rows, political tensions, and even open revolt between England and Scotland.

In 1688, King James VII of Scotland and II of England was deposed by the Dutch army of William of Orange in the name of James's daughter, Mary.

• England's ruling nobles accepted the Protestant William and Mary as rulers.
• Supporters of James were known as Jacobites. Over the next decades there were several armed Jacobite risings.

England and Scotland had differing views about the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688:

• Scotland declared that James had lost the throne through his own actions. It also stated that the actions of the Scottish people were independent of the monarch.
• England stated that James had abdicated. For them, society carried on as normal but with Mary and William as monarchs.

High-profile incidents led to increased political tensions between England and Scotland.

• In 1692, the Glencoe Massacre of the MacDonald clan by government forces shocked Scotland. The MacDonald chief had been late to swear loyalty to William and Mary.
• In 1705, the Worcester Affair saw an English sailor hanged for piracy in Edinburgh.

In 1603, the Union of the Crowns took place - James VI of Scotland also became James I of England upon the death of his cousin, the English Queen, Elizabeth I.

During the 1600s there were different times when either Scots or English MPs wanted full ‘Union’, but an agreement was never reached.

In 1689, the Glorious Revolution saw King James VII and II deposed and replaced by his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William.

While both England and Scotland had declared themselves officially Protestant states, James was openly Catholic. The birth of a son an heir to James raised the prospect of a Catholic dynasty and succession.

With tensions rising, many English nobles appealed to James's Protestant daughter Mary and her Protestant husband, William, to take the throne.

In 1689, William invaded England and captured London with barely any opposition. James fled to France. The English Parliament claimed that James had abdicated, but the Scots declared that he had lost the throne.

Scotland and England had different opinions of the relationship between monarch and people.

This suggested that Union would not happen. However, attempts by William’s English government to bring Scotland into a Union led to the eventual Treaty negotiated in 1705, when Anne was Queen.

In the revolution of 1688-1689, James VII and II had been overthrown. The English Parliament had invited his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange to become joint monarchs.

The supporters of the deposed King James VII and II became known as Jacobites.

King William wanted Jacobite clans to swear loyalty to him but this led to rebellion.

In 1689, Scottish supporters of James VII and II united under Viscount Dundee. They confronted the army of King William at the Battle of Killiecrankie.

Although the Jacobites won the battle, Viscount Dundee was killed and support for military action died with him at this point.

The Jacobites would attempt to take military action again in 1708, 1715, and 1745.

In 1689, the Scottish Parliament had met in a Convention of Estates to state that Scottish people would act independently of the monarch.

The Claim of Right, drawn up by Scottish MPs at this Convention, declared that James had lost the throne through his actions.

The English Parliament however, had stated that James VII and II had abdicated. This suggested that, in Scotland, Parliament had more authority over the Crown than in England.

A Scottish Act of Settlement was passed in 1690 - this legalised a Presbyterian Scottish Kirk.

The Episcopalian Church, still strong in the North-east of Scotland, now supported the exiled James Stuart instead of William. This was because James would support an Episcopalian Church.

There was opposition to William in the Scottish Highlands and he placed stronger control over Highland clans.

On 13 February 1692, the Glencoe Massacre took place. Government troops killed 38 members of the MacDonald clan who had been late in recording their loyalty to the new monarchs, William and Mary.

The Scottish Parliament stated that the killings were an act of murder. The massacre worsened Anglo-Scottish relations and increased support for the Jacobites.

The Worcester Affair of 1705 created more tension between Scotland and King William.

The Worcester was an English ship, under the control of Captain Green. Its crew was captured by an angry mob when it went ashore at Leith, near Edinburgh and Green was executed for piracy, even though the evidence at his trial was unconvincing.

Scots continued to be suspicious of William’s advisors in Scotland. Many thought they were acting to prevent England being threatened by Scottish trade.

It was felt that as long as there was a joint monarchy - Scotland could never act independently of English control.

The decades before the Treaty of Union saw a series of diplomatic rows, political tensions, and even open revolt between England and Scotland.

In 1688, King James VII of Scotland and II of England was deposed by the Dutch army of William of Orange in the name of James's daughter, Mary.

• England's ruling nobles accepted the Protestant William and Mary as rulers.
• Supporters of James were known as Jacobites. Over the next decades there were several armed Jacobite risings.

England and Scotland had differing views about the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688:

• Scotland declared that James had lost the throne through his own actions. It also stated that the actions of the Scottish people were independent of the monarch.
• England stated that James had abdicated. For them, society carried on as normal but with Mary and William as monarchs.

High-profile incidents led to increased political tensions between England and Scotland.

In 1692, the Glencoe Massacre of 38 members of Clan MacDonald by government forces shocked Scotland. The MacDonald chief had been late to swear loyalty to William and Mary.In 1705, the Worcester Affair saw an English sailor hanged for piracy in Edinburgh.