Why Did Scotland and England Unite into the Kingdom of Great Britain? Darien Scheme and More…
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2022-08-27

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Why Did Scotland and England Unite into the Kingdom of Great Britain? Darien Scheme and More…

The Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England fought each other countless times down through history, from the Scottish wars of independence to the Anglo-Scottish wars. But when and why did they eventually merge into “One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain?"

Today I’ve come to Berwick Castle close to the modern Scottish-English border, a castle that has changed hands between Scotland and England numerous times over the centuries. For an exclusive video on the history of Berwick Castle itself, and other exclusive benefits, please become a member of my Patreon page and help make videos like these possible. 

There are obviously various reasons why these two kingdoms merged, and please let me know what you think in the comments below? I’m going to focus on a few key reasons today that explain why Scotland and England merged in the 1707 Act of Union into Great Britain, although Scotland kept many aspects of its legal and religious systems after the union. Wales had already been largely controlled by English laws for hundreds of years by this point. 

The first thing to note is that a merger of the kingdoms did not come out of the blue. Although politically Scotland and England were separate until 1707, they shared the same Monarch for around 100 years prior to this. This royal link began in 1603, through the unification of the crowns, when James VI of Scotland, known as James I in England, who was King of Scotland, also became the King of England and Ireland. James soon moved his court to London, and established the Royal Postal Service between London and Edinburgh to keep in contact with the Scottish Privy Council. Although James, who was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, took the first step towards the unification of the two kingdoms, politically the two kingdoms remained separate. 

One cannot talk about the 1707 Act of Union without talking about Scotland’s failed attempt to establish a colony called New Caledonia on the Isthmus of Panama, known as the Darien Scheme. The idea was to establish an overland route that would connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allowing traders to use the New Caledonian services to move their goods onto land and across to the Pacific side of Panama. This service was intended to serve similar function to the later Panama Canal, which wasn’t built until 1914, in the sense it would facilitate trade and save ships having to take the perilous journey (especially in the 17th century) around the bottom arc of South America

Sources:

The Act of Union, Historic UK - https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Act-of-Union/ 

Robert Burns - Such A Parcel Of Rogues In A Nation, BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/works/such_a_parcel_of_rogues_in_a_nation/ 

Britannica, Act of Union https://www.britannica.com/event/Act-of-Union-Great-Britain-1707 

Why did Scotland and England unite? The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/feb/08/scotland.britishidentity 

#scotland #england #britain 

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:12 Union of the Crowns
2:04 Darien Scheme
4:17 Such a Parcel of Rogues