Union and Revolution: Scotland and Beyond, 1625-1745

Scotland's history in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries continues to get a bad press. Popular books and television programmes portray this period as one defined by economic stagnation, religious fanaticism, and cultural backwardness. These assumptions help to reinforce the idea,commonplace amongst the British governing and media establishments, that the loss of Scotland's political autonomy through incorporating union with England in 1707 was the necessary price to be paid for stability and prosperity. Although scholars no longer see Scotland's journey from sovereignkingdom to provincial status within a global Anglo-Britannic empire in these terms, there is limited public awareness of alternative views. Union, Revolution and War provides a provocative but accessible new account of a contentious and highly volatile period in both Scottish and British history. Although Scotland's political, economic, and diplomatic affairs were undeniably dominated by the relationship with England, Scottish societyand culture remained distinctive. The seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries cannot be characterised simply as a story of Scottish assimilation into an Anglo-Britannic state.
A provocative new account of Scotland’s history across a century of revolution and political instability
Union, war, conquest, revolution, attempted invasions, and armed rebellions: this was an eventful time even by the standards of Scotland’s turbulent history. At the same time, traditional notions of kinship and community came under strain as profound economic changes reshaped social relations and created new opportunities.Laura A. M. Stewart and Janay Nugent explore the creative volatility of the Anglo-Scottish relationship within a European and transatlantic context. Scotland’s integration into the burgeoning British imperial state proved easier for some than others; it also drew Scots into the global slave trade. This is a stimulating account of a contentious period, knowledge of which is crucial for an understanding of British history and the politics of today.This edition in the New History of Scotland series radically updates Rosalind Mitchison’s Lordship to Patronage (1983), covering Scotland's history, 1625-1745.