Acts of Union 1707

The Act of Union 1707 ( German Association Act) created the legal basis for the unification of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. The law was briefly adopted successively by the English Parliament and the Scottish Parliament and came into effect on May 1, 1707 (according to the laws of England and Scotland Julian calendar) in force. Using the Law of Treaty on European Union ( Treaty of Union) has been implemented. This provided for the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the replacement of the English and Scottish Parliament by the British Parliament.

Background

Already in 1606, 1667 and 1689, there had been attempts to unite the two joined together by personal union countries are also politically. But now both Parliaments were behind the treaty, albeit for very different reasons. England wanted to impose the Protestant succession scheme in accordance with the Act of Settlement of 1701 in both countries in order to not rely on the 1704 adopted by Scotland Act of Security must. The British feared that an independent Scotland with its own king, even if he were Protestant, the Auld Alliance could revive with France and would turn against England. The Union and the opening of a second front in the War of Spanish Succession was prevented.

The after the failure of William Paterson's Darién project effectively bankrupt Scottish government offered itself with the Union the opportunity to pass on the debt, albeit with the release of full sovereignty. At the same time adopted in 1705 by Britain Alien Act threatened economic sanctions could be averted. In addition, creditors of the Company of Scotland and Scotland were compensated received unlimited access to the markets of England and its colonies.

Implementation

The Treaty on European Union comprised 25 articles, 15 of which were economic in nature. In Scotland, the parliament voted on each item individually and some clauses were discussed in -depth specialized commissions. Article 1 of the Agreement set out the merger of the two countries to a Union and was adopted on 4 November 1706 116 to 83 votes. In order to reduce the resistance of the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Parliament passed an additional law that granted the Presbyterians precedence in religious matters. The contract as a whole was adopted on February 16, 1707 with 110 to 69 votes.

Many Scottish MPs acted out of self-interest, because they had lost a lot of money with the Darién project and could count under Union contract with compensation. In addition, many Scottish MPs were bribed with a total of £ 20,000. Of these, only £ 12,325 to the Earl of Glasgow, the representative of Queen Anne in the Scottish Parliament. The contract came into Scotland majority to reject, in particular the common folk. The Scottish Parliament has received numerous petitions directed against the Union. In Edinburgh and several other Scottish cities, there were protests. As the country threatened to come to the brink of civil war, Parliament responded by declaring martial law.

The Act of Union determined the resolution of the Scottish Parliament. Instead, Scotland sent 16 peers of the Peerage of Scotland into the British House of Lords and 45 MPs to the British House of Commons. The agreement guaranteed the independence of the Church of Scotland and the preservation of the Scottish legal system with the Court of Session as the top civil court. Moreover, were a customs union and a monetary union in place, and there were weights and measures as well as administrative and taxation systems aligned. Also, the Union Jack, the new flag, comes from agreements of the Acts of Union.

Pictures of Acts of Union 1707

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