Chapter 14 - Scotland at the Time of the Union of 1707 - G.M. Trevelyan

G.M Trevelyan - SHE - Chapter III

[alert-success] SCOTLAND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 18TH CENTURY

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[alert-primary] SCOTLAND AT THE TIME OF THE UNION OF 1707 [/alert-primary]

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    The people of England have always delighted in Scottish tradition and its story. They go to Scotland to admire the scenery and for pleasure. The Union between Scotland and England have made the Great Britain of today. In 1707, when the Act of Union was passed, Scots parliamentarians saw it as a golden chance to pull their country out of terrible poverty. The Scot either supported the Jacobites or the Presbyterians. Apart from religion and politics, the national and personal pride of the Scot was associated with poverty. The Scots see England with aversion and overbearing Neighbours. Popular poetry, history all pointed to England as the ancient enemy. 
The Scottish Nobles 
    The predominance of the aristocracy was in the Parliament. The Edinburgh Parliament had never been a big deal in people's social lives or their minds. Before the union, the Parliament met in a great hall off the High Street which is called as the Parliament House. In this house, the Nobles, Barons, Burgesses sat together.   
    In 1703, the people of Scotland chose a new Parliament. But it was more radical than the one before it. It passed an Act of Security that gave Scotland the right to choose its own monarch. The English Parliament passed a law called the "Alien Act," which was very harsh and threatened to make all Scots who didn't live in England into "aliens." Queen Anne of England thought that the problem could be solved if the two countries joined together politically. 
Scottish Education 
    The goal of having a school in every Parish was left over from the Reformation in Scotland. This was made clear by an Act of the Scottish Parliament in 1656. In rural areas, this meant that landowners had to build a schoolhouse and pay a teacher. Ministers and local Presbyteries were in charge of making sure the education was good. Even though there weren't enough schools, Latin was often taught in the ones that were there. Sons of nobles, lairds, ministers, farmers, and mechanics all went to school. 
Antiquated Farming 
    On a Scottish estate, the peasants and the lord knew each other well, and the lord had to listen to the sharp tongues of the peasants when he rode around his land. The peasants rented their farms on yearly leases that could be ended at any time. 
    Most of the time, a group of farmers worked their land together and shared the profits. This was called the "run-rig" system, and each farmer was given a different "rig" each harvest. 
    There were two parts to the farm: the "infield" and the "outfield." On the "infield" near the clachan houses, all the manure that could be found nearby was spread out. But the "outfield," which made up maybe three-quarters of the total acreage, was not fertilised and was used as rough feed for the cattle for eight or ten years in a row. 
Conclusion 
    The failure of the "unfortunate Darien Scheme" caused Scotland to lose a lot of money. The cash that was used to pay back investors in the Darien Scheme was a bribe, since a lot of it went into the pockets of influential Scots. When most Scots found out what the terms of the deal were, they were furious. 
    The most important thing was to stop England from getting in the way of how the Scots ran their own religion. Scotland was for a long-time way ahead of England when it came to education.
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