Scotsman Archive: Anglo-Scottish relations, 22 February, 1950

A treaty that has determined the relations of two countries for nearly 250 years has a prima facie claim to be regarded as a good settlement. Thorough-going Scottish Nationalists may denounce the Treaty of 1707 as a surrender of Scotland's independence, but a dispassionate scrutiny of the making, the terms, and the consequences of the Treaty indicates that this sweeping verdict is unjustified. A contrary view has been taken by most historians.

In the current debate on Scottish government the settlement of 1707 is frequently referred to, often without a clear idea of what was then achieved or of the circumstances which determined the Treaty. Yet there is no inconsistency in urging a moderate degree of devolution for Scotland, and at the same time, in regarding the 1707 Union as a statesmanlike solution for problems that then existed.

It is equally wrong to denigrate the treaty-makers of 1707 and to maintain that their achievement is sacrosanct.

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