Britain – In The Beginning
The Acts of Union were a pair of Parliamentary Acts passed in 1706 and 1707 by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland respectively.
This Act joined the two separate Kingdoms (which had their own separate legislatures but with the same Monarch) into a single Kingdom of Great Britain.
England and Scotland had shared the same monarch for about 100 years, starting with James I of England (James VI of Scotland)
(When Elizabeth I died in 1603, James VI of Scotland was the next in line to the throne. He was a cousin to Elizabeth and since she had died with no direct heir to the throne, he then became James I of England, and was therefore King of England and Scotland)
The first Union Flag 1608
His ascension to being King of both countries lead to what is known as the Union of the Crowns. This could be seen as a little misleading as it was merely a personal or dynastic union, as England and Scotland remained distinct and separate, despite James’s best efforts to unite the two countries into a new imperial throne of Great Britain.
But now, the Act of Union in 1707 was when both countries were politically joined together and was the the start of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain.Both English and Scottish Parliaments had good reasons to forge this Union.
The English purpose was to ensure that Scotland would not chose a different monarch to England, as this could lead to Scotland making alliances against England.
The Scottish purpose was more financial. They saw it as a means by which Scotland could recover from the disastrous and financially crippling venture of the Darien scheme. (the Darien scheme was Scotland’s attempt at colonising part of the new world, which they had called New Caledonia).However, amongst the general public in Scotland, there were a lot of protests and petitions against the Union, but it did not prevent the Union happening.
It did bring about the end of hostilities and mistrust between the two nations and allowed all parts of Scotland and England to prosper. (The only exception to this was the Jacobite uprising 1745-1746).
