The Revolution in Scotland
The 1688 Revolution in Scotland moved in a very different, much more assertive direction than that in England.
Glossary
- Veto
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The power to prevent something taking place, even when many other people or organisations have approved it.
- Presbyterian
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Form of Protestant church in which local churches are governed by elected 'elders' who in turn send representatives to regional and national governing bodies. There are no ministers or bishops.
- Episcopal, episcopacy
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A branch of the Christian church where the chief authority is exercised by bishops and through parish ministers or clergy.
Family Tree
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Family tree of the English and Scottish royal dynasties.
• © Crown copyright 2008: The National Archives of Scotland
The Scottish Parliament took initiatives to free itself from royal control and assumed the right to discuss and pass any law - subject to royal veto - that it wished. This set a new pattern for politics in Scotland during the 1690s centring on the Edinburgh Parliament, and made it less essential for Scotland to seek direction in its affairs from England. It also helped pave the way towards the union of 1707. How had this happened?
The Convention of Estates in Edinburgh
When James II/VII was deposed in 1688 a number of problems arose. In January 1689 over a hundred Scottish peers and gentlemen gathered at Whitehall in London to ask William to summon the 'Convention of Estates' - a meeting of the Scottish Parliament - to address its grievances. The Convention met in Edinburgh in March. It contained a significant and well-organised Presbyterian group who supported William.
For the first time since the 1640s, the Scottish Parliament was able to act as a major political arena and not under the control of the Lords of the Articles, the king's committee.
The Claim of Right
The Convention issued the 'Claim of Right' declaring that James VII, 'being a professed papist' (i.e. Catholic), had 'forfeited' his right to the Scottish crown on account of his illegal actions as king, and that no future Scottish monarch could be a Catholic. The use of the word 'forfeited' was significant. It implied a concept of kingship that was based on an implicit 'contract' between king and people, whereby if the king misused his powers, he could be legitimately deposed. The English 'Declaration of Rights' had not been so radical, stating that James had merely 'abdicated' his throne.
Like the English 'Declaration of Rights', the Scottish 'Claim of Right' contained a statement of the principles on which the future government of Scotland was to be based. Its most significant demands were for the abolition of episcopacy and the regular meeting of parliament. A separate document, the 'Articles of Grievances', called for the abolition of 'the Lords of the Articles', the committee through which kings of Scotland had previously been able to manage and control the Scottish Parliament.
William III becomes William II in Scotland
A formal offer of the Scottish crown was accepted by William and Mary on 11 May 1689 (William becoming 'William II' in Scotland), although it was not made conditional on his acceptance of the 'Claim of Right' or the 'Articles of Grievances'. But William soon found himself in conflict with the Scottish Parliament when he tried to show a conciliatory hand towards ex-King James's supporters and refused to abolish the 'Lords of the Articles'. Angered at its opposition, he dissolved Parliament on 2 August without having obtained essential funding for military and other expenditure.
The next few months revealed the strength of James' supporters, the Jacobites, in the Highlands, who continued to resist William's forces. William realised that he needed whatever support he could secure. Thus when he reconvened the Scottish Parliament in April 1690 he was determined to win over Presbyterian opinion. He agreed to abolish the Lords of the Articles, and on 7 June agreed to legislation establishing the Presbyterian Kirk as Scotland's national church. This did little, however, to appease the Episcopalians, many of whom were nobles and gentry, who remained outside the new religious settlement, and who were showing early inclinations to give active support to the Jacobite cause.
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