Scottish public opinion and the Anglo-Scottish union, 1699-1707
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Bibliographic Information
Scottish public opinion and the Anglo-Scottish union, 1699-1707
（Royal Historical Society studies in history new series）
Royal Historical Society , Boydell Press, 2007
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 171-186) and index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
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ISBN 9780861932894
Description
The Anglo-Scottish union crisis is used to demonstrate the growing influence of popular opinion in this period.
In the early modern period, ordinary subjects began to find a role in national politics through the phenomenon of public opinion: by drawing on entrenched ideological differences, oppositional leaders were able to recruit popularsupport to pressure the government with claimed representations of a national interest. This is particularly well demonstrated in the case of the Anglo-Scottish union crisis of 1699-1707, in which Country party leaders encouragedremarkable levels of participation by non-elite Scots. Though dominant accounts of this crisis portray Scottish opinion as impotent in the face of Court party corruption, this book demonstrates the significance of public opinion in the political process: from the Darien crisis of 1699-1701 to the incorporation debates of 1706-7, the Country party aggressively employed pamphlets, petitions and crowds to influence political outcomes. The government's changing response to these adversarial activities further indicates their rising influence. By revealing the ways in which public opinion in Scotland shaped the union crisis from beginning to end, this book explores the power and limitsof public opinion in the early modern public sphere and revises understanding of the making of the British union.
Dr KARIN BOWIE lectures in History at the University of Glasgow.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Politics and Communications in post-Revolution Scotland
Oppositional opinion politics
The government and public opinion
Public discourse on the Union, 1699-1705
Public discourse on the Union treaty
Addresses against the treaty
Crowds and collective resistance to the treaty
Conclusions: public opinion and the making of the Union of 1707
Bibliography
Index
- Volume
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: pbk ISBN 9781843836513
Description
The Anglo-Scottish union crisis is used to demonstrate the growing influence of popular opinion in this period.
The common perception of the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707 as a "political job", stitched up by a corrupt Scottish elite behind closed doors, is robustly challenged in this study, which shows how public debate and the mobilisationof popular opinion shaped the union crisis from beginning to end. It considers how the Country party sought to influence political outcomes by aggressively encouraging the public expression of oppositional opinion in pamphlets, petitions and crowds, from the Darien crisis of 1699-1701 to the parliamentary debates on incorporation in 1706-7. It also examines the government's changing response to these adversarial activities and its growing acceptance of theneed to court Scottish public opinion. This book explores the meaning, legitimacy and power of public opinion in early modern politics and revises our understanding of how an incorporating British union came to be made in 1707. It is a significant contribution to the political, social and cultural history of a period and an event that remains contentious to this day.
Dr KARIN BOWIE lectures in History at the University of Glasgow.
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