The economic impact of the Act of Union to 1715

Quick version

There were 25 Articles of Union of 1707 that impacted on areas of law, trade, and the economy.

There were positive outcomes for Scotland from Union with England.

Scottish traders gained access to English overseas trading colonies.
Scots merchants earned huge fortunes from trading in sugar, cotton, sugar, and tobacco.
Scots farmers gained access to improved English farming technology and techniques.
A new middle class of professionals emerged - lawyers, bankers, merchants.
Scottish farmers profited from access to English markets.

There were also negative impacts after the Union.

Textile and paper manufacturers suffered as a result of competition with English manufacturers.
Taxes increased on goods such as soap, salt, and alcohol.
Higher rates of English custom duty now applied to Scottish goods.

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Main Articles of Union

The 25Articles of Union of 1707 dealt with such matters as

A future parliament.
The law.
The succession.
Trade and taxation.

Some of the main Articles are listed below.

Article 1	Scotland and England were united into one Kingdom, called Great Britain.
Article 2	On the death of Queen Anne, the succession was to pass to the Electress Sophia and her descendants of the Protestant House of Hanover. No Catholic or anyone married to a Catholic could succeed to the throne of Great Britain.
Article 3	There would be one parliament, at Westminster in London for the whole of Great Britain.
Article 4	There was to be freedom of trade within Britain and its colonies.
Article 6	Customs duties would be the same in Scotland as in England.
Article 7	Taxes on alcohol would be the same in Scotland as in England although there was less tax on beer in Scotland.
Article 8	Scottish salt was granted a tax exemption.
Article 15	A sum of £398,085, 10 shillings, known as the Equivalent, was to be paid by the English Government as compensation for Scotland taking on a share of England's national debt and also to the shareholders in the Darien Scheme.
Article 19	Scotland was still to have its own law courts.
Article 22	Scotland was to be represented by forty-five members of the House of Commons and by sixteen Peers in the House of Lords.
Article 24	A Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain would replace the separate seals of both Scotland and England. The Scottish crown jewels were to remain in Scotland.

Positive economic impacts of union

Trade

Engraving depicting Leith Harbour, c. 1700. — Image caption,
Scotland's port towns and cities saw new opportunities from trade with England's overseas colonies after Union.

There were immediate boosts to Scottish trade, with merchant shipping benefiting through increased links with Baltic nations and the Caribbean.

Scottish merchants travelled to English colonies in the West Indies to make their fortunes in cotton, tobacco, rum, and sugar via the trade in enslaved people.

Colonies in India gave them positions in the powerful trading network of the East India Company, developing interests in the tea and spice trades.

At home, Highland farmers who bred black cattle became wealthy through access to English markets.

Land improvement

Scottish landowners improved their land and production methods after learning modern English farming techniques - there was an increase in the number of tenant farmers adopted the English land system to maximise crop yields and pasture land.

Industrialisation and infrastructure

Due to increased trade, towns developed. Crieff and Falkirk are examples of towns which thrived as popular markets or places where merchants stopped on their way elsewhere.

Increased government investment led to the creation of institutions such as the Royal Bank of Scotland and organisations to improve industrial, agricultural and fisheries practice.

A new professional class emerged, with lawyers, bankers, and merchants making vast incomes.

Negative economic impacts of union

Trade

Map of Darien, Panama, — Image caption,
18th century map of Darien, Panama. As part of the Articles of Union, financial compensation known as the Equivalent would be paid to Scottish investors in the Darien Scheme.

Many Scots were unhappy about the fact that the Equivalent - the sum of money that compensated for financial losses accrued by the Darien Scheme - remained unpaid for several years.

Scottish manufacturers suffered from English competition due to increased taxation on Scottish trade.

Textiles, paper, and linen manufacturers found that they suffered from English competition and increased taxes.

As a result of increased goods duties, there was also an increase in smuggling of goods into Scotland.

Taxation

After 1707, new taxes raised the prices of Scottish goods, which benefited English manufacturers.

Duties on linen in 1711 and 1715, and the Soap Act of 1714 upset many people in Scotland. The Salt Tax of 1711 was especially unpopular and resulted in riots.

When a malt tax was proposed in 1713 riots broke out all over Scotland.

As a result of increased goods duties, there were attacks on customs officers and an increase in the smuggling of goods into Scotland.

Effects of land improvements

During the 1720s there was much unrest as a result of the English system of replacing the traditional Scottish system.

There were outbreaks of fence-smashing by labourers who had fallen on hard times through not being able to afford enclosures.

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Recap what you have learned

There were 25 Articles of Union of 1707 that impacted on areas of law, trade, and the economy.

There were positive outcomes for Scotland from Union with England.

Scottish traders gained access to English overseas trading colonies.
Scots merchants earned huge fortunes from trading in sugar, cotton, sugar, and tobacco.
Scots farmers gained access to improved English farming technology and techniques.
A new middle class of professionals emerged - lawyers, bankers, merchants.
Scottish farmers profited from access to English markets.

There were also negative impacts after the Union.

Textile and paper manufacturers suffered as a result of competition with English manufacturers.
Taxes increased on goods such as soap, salt, and alcohol.
Higher rates of English custom duty now applied to Scottish goods.