Claim: Including the fact that the kingdom had no reciprocal export trade and its once-thriving industries such as shipbuilding were in deep decline; goods that were in demand had to be bought from England for sterling, 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 kingdom had no reciprocal export trade and its once-thriving industries such as shipbuilding were in deep decline; goods that were in demand had to be bought from England for sterling. The 1690s were Scotland's coldest decade in the past 750 years as documented in tree ring records. 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. 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).