The Scots and the Union
Then and Now
2nd Edition
Published on 14. April 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
480 pages
978-0-7486-8027-6 (ISBN)
Description
An updated edition on the 1707 Union between Scotland and England in a modern context
The Scots and the Union: Then and Now is a refreshed, revised and extended edition of The Scots and the Union, which appeared in 2006. It was acclaimed then as a path-breaking, game-changing account of the making of the United Kingdom, and the Scots' part in this. Winner of the Saltire Society's prestigious Scottish History Book of the Year prize, it successfully challenged accounts of the process that alleged that the union was brought about by English bullying and the venality of Scottish politicians 'bought and sold for English gold'.
This new edition not only provides readers with an essential explanation of why and how Scotland became part of the United Kingdom, but brings the historical debate into a vigorous present with an additional section. An explanation is provided as to why the union is less strong in 2014 than it was in the 1950s and also why, in comparison with citizens in some other smaller European nations which have become independent states in recent times, large numbers of Scots seem reluctant to see the end of Britain.
This new edition is the key background text for anyone wishing to explore how we got to the position where we are once again debating union issues and opinions, lending historical weight and context to the arguments for and against union.
Key Features:
Updated in the light of new research Challenges dominant view that the Scots were 'bought and sold for English gold'New chapter expands the debate into the presentAdds historical dimension to the current debate about the unionKey background reading for anyone interested in 2014 referendum
The Scots and the Union: Then and Now is a refreshed, revised and extended edition of The Scots and the Union, which appeared in 2006. It was acclaimed then as a path-breaking, game-changing account of the making of the United Kingdom, and the Scots' part in this. Winner of the Saltire Society's prestigious Scottish History Book of the Year prize, it successfully challenged accounts of the process that alleged that the union was brought about by English bullying and the venality of Scottish politicians 'bought and sold for English gold'.
This new edition not only provides readers with an essential explanation of why and how Scotland became part of the United Kingdom, but brings the historical debate into a vigorous present with an additional section. An explanation is provided as to why the union is less strong in 2014 than it was in the 1950s and also why, in comparison with citizens in some other smaller European nations which have become independent states in recent times, large numbers of Scots seem reluctant to see the end of Britain.
This new edition is the key background text for anyone wishing to explore how we got to the position where we are once again debating union issues and opinions, lending historical weight and context to the arguments for and against union.
Key Features:
Updated in the light of new research Challenges dominant view that the Scots were 'bought and sold for English gold'New chapter expands the debate into the presentAdds historical dimension to the current debate about the unionKey background reading for anyone interested in 2014 referendum
Reviews / Votes
A masterly study, distinguished by painstaking research, broad and deep contextualisation, careful analysis and pellucid argument. * Alvin Jackson, University of Edinburgh * Chris Whatley has changed the terms of debate on the making of the Union. Updated to take account of the forthcoming referendum on independence, Whatley's classic is a vital corrective to the enduring myths associated with 1707. * Colin Kidd, University of St Andrews * A major reinterpretation of the Union underpinned by a great deal of original research. -- Times Literary supplement * History: The Journal of the Historical Association * The publication of this book marks an important historiographical development for a mature understanding and appreciation of the events and issues relating to the 1707 union. It can now be regarded as the leading work on 1707... Our understanding of 1707 has been taken to a new level. ... Whatley's book should be compulsory reading for all MSPs and media commentators, irrespective of their own political party allegiances and viewpoints, and for anyone who has an interest in Scottish history. -- John R. Young * Scottish Review of Books * An important and finely argued book. Everyone who seriously wants to understand how and why modern Scotland came into being should read it. * T. C. Smout, Historiographer Royal in Scotland * Whatley's careful research, spliced with fascinating detail, reveals the sophisticated politics used by these Scots and reclaims them as patriots. It is a magnificent study of the politics of the time. ... Whatley has done the history of the period a great service, stripping away the myths and revealing sophisticated people making sophisticated decisions. -- Ruaridh Nicoll * The Observer * The book's careful weighing of the evidence, standing back and thinking about the silences and the biases of the past, pays dividends. The Scots and the Union offers the most complete and nuanced account of the state of the Scottish economy in the period between the Revolution of 1688 and the Union of 1707... -- John Morrill FBA * Times Higher Education * Scholarly, judicious and readable, The Scots and the Union convincingly demythologises the history of the event that was to change the course of Scottish history. Christopher Whatley's account of the political world that gave birth to the Union will make uncomfortable reading for some. But it will provide many more with the sort of history they have been waiting for, for a very long time. For future historians, the history of the Union starts here. -- Nicholas Phillipson, School of History and Classics, Edinburgh University This is an important and finely argued book. It brings an infusion of new evidence to bear on the old question of the causes of the Union of 1707. From it emerges a fresh interpretation of the birth of Great Britain, controversial but fairminded, solidly supported by scholarship. Everyone who seriously wants to understand how and why modern Scotland came into being should read it. -- T. C. Smout, Historiographer Royal in ScotlandMore details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
862 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7486-8027-6 (9780748680276)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
04/2014
Edinburgh University Press
€0.00
Available for download
E-Book
04/2014
Edinburgh University Press
€28.49
Available for download
Person
Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press's History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee's history he has co-edited and written several books on the city.
Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press's History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee's history he has co-edited and written several books on the city.
Christopher A. Whatley OBE, FRSE, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee. He is the author of the award-winning The Scots and the Union (EUP, 2006 and 2014), and co-edited Edinburgh University Press's History of Everyday Life in Scotland series. Long interested in Dundee's history he has co-edited and written several books on the city.
Content
Note on style and abbreviations; Acknowledgements; Preface; Introduction: contrasting and changing receptions of the union of 1707; 1. Issues, debates and aims; 2. Scotland under the union of the crowns to the Revolution of 1688-9: searching for the roots of union; 3. Roots of union: ambition and achievement and the aftermath of the Revolution; 4. The 1690s: a nation in crisis; 5.'The most neglected if not opprest State in Europe'? Confrontations
and the search for compromise, 1700-5; 6. Digging Scotland out: Parliament and the reconstruction of the pathway towards union, 1705-6; 7. Paving the way: the union commissioners and the hearts and minds of the people; 8. 'An affair of the greatest concern and import': the union Parliament and the Scottish nation; 9. Union in the balance, union accomplished; 10. Union now; Appendices; Select Bibliography; Index.
and the search for compromise, 1700-5; 6. Digging Scotland out: Parliament and the reconstruction of the pathway towards union, 1705-6; 7. Paving the way: the union commissioners and the hearts and minds of the people; 8. 'An affair of the greatest concern and import': the union Parliament and the Scottish nation; 9. Union in the balance, union accomplished; 10. Union now; Appendices; Select Bibliography; Index.