Claim: The late 17th century was a difficult period for Scotland which included the 1690s, Scotland's coldest decade in the past 750 years, and its economy was relatively small, its range of exports very limited and it was in a weak position in relation to England.
Evidence: The late 17th century was a difficult period for Scotland, as it was for much of Europe; the years 1695-97 saw catastrophic famine in present-day Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway and Sweden, plus an estimated two million deaths in France and Northern Italy. The 1690s were Scotland's coldest decade in the past 750 years as documented in tree ring records. Scotland's economy was relatively small, its range of exports very limited and it was in a weak position in relation to England, its powerful neighbor (with which it was in personal union, but not yet in political union).