Persistence, Principle and Patriotism in the Making of the Union of 1707: The Revolution, Scottish Parliament and the squadrone volante

Abstract

Since the 1960s most historians of the Union of 1707 have considered it a less than glorious chapter in Scotland's history. Driven by ambition and greed, Scots politicians, covetous of English wealth and swayed by promises and bribes, bartered their nation's independence for personal gain. Those genuinely committed to political union were in a minority. The following article maintains that this interpretation is based on an essentially short-term approach to the subject. Concentrating on the worsening relations between Scotland and England in the years immediately preceding the Union gives a distorted impression of what was a more enduring concern. It suggests the Revolution of 1688-9 had a far greater impact on the politics of union than previously anticipated, with the religious and political freedoms it guaranteed shaping the beliefs of a large number of Scots MPs who sat in Parliament 1706 -7, almost half of whom had been members of King William's Convention Parliament with a majority supporting union. Focusing on the squadrone volante -one of the two much-maligned Scots unionist parties -the article traces the ideological roots of its key members and illustrates the various factors that led them to endorse an incorporating union which offered security for presbyterianism and a solution to Scotland's economic underdevelopment. Not denying that management and ambition played a significant part in securing the Union, it highlights the fact that amongst the Scottish political elite there was also a degree of genuine commitment and principled support.

Reformed Religion, Regime Change, Scottish Whigs and the Struggle for the ‘Soul’ of Scotland, c.1688 – c.1788

“…133 They assumed key positions in the Court party and were strongly represented after 1702 in the New Party, or Squadrone Volante which continued to operate at Westminster after 1707. 134 The former émigrés and their allies were represented in virtually all of the main institutions of Scottish society, above all in the Church of Scotland as moderators and commissioners, and in the dissenting churches. Several of them, including William Dunlop and John Stirling at Glasgow and the one-time conventicler Gilbert Rule at Edinburgh, held influential positions in the purged universities, which were major suppliers of young ministers.…”

Becoming British? Navigating the Union of 1707

“…He was particularly anxious to ensure the Protestant succession and to counter the plans of the Jacobites. 50 However, the emphasis of these authors on "Persistence, Principle and Patriotism" should not exclude a consideration of Profit. The results of that union did not seem to these leading members of the squadrone consonant with their efforts.…”

Chapter 1 The Issues Facing Scotland in 1707

“…Jerviswood had witnessed the public execution of his father, one of the Rye House plotters. 116 It was Marchmont who opened the debate in Parliament on the articles. In short men like these (from both the court party and the squadrone) were on what contemporaries called a 'Revolution foot'.…”