In the early 1700s, poor harvests, famine and the failure of the Darien Scheme put Scotland into financial ruin.
Coming to the throne in 1702, Queen Anne announced in her first speech to the English Parliament that Union between England and Scotland was “very necessary”.
Most of the political elite across Scotland were in favour of the Union, and some lords and landowners were bribed in order to help secure the signing of the Treaty.
For Scottish nobles, Union offered access to English colonial markets, particularly for tobacco and sugar, and provided free trade and equal navigation rights with England.
The “Equivalent”, a payment of nearly £400,000, could be used to pay back investors in the failed Darien scheme.
Merging with the English Parliament could bring political stability after many years of tension. It would also give Scotland the protection of England’s powerful army and navy.
Pro-unionists feared that without unification, a Catholic, Jacobite restoration could take place. The Union ensured the Protestant, Hanoverian succession.
Presbyterians, who were initially against Union, eventually backed it when the Treaty guaranteed the preservation of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.
Description
There were some in Scotland who saw union with England as the best option for Scotland. This film examines the arguments made for union with England.
