Issue 1 - worsening relations with England

Question 1

Navigations Acts (1660 - 1670s)

Answer 1

• Passed by the English Parliament
• Stated that goods and produce being brought into England must be carried either in English ships, or in ships from the country that was trading with England.
• This meant that Scots were being treated as foreign merchants and Scottish trade was under attack by the English.
• These laws were unpopular because they caused economic hardship within Scotland.
• Navigation acts also prevented Scotland from trading with English colonies in North America.

Question 2

Scotlands economic problems

Answer 2

• The Navigations Acts hindered Scottish trade.
• In the last 3rd of the 17th century the “little ice age” happened which provided the most severe weather - it was colder and wetter. This was disastrous for the farming industry.
• The “ill years” between 1695 and 1699 resulted in many famine - related deaths and marked increase in emigration to Ulster, leading to an estimated fall in Scotlands population by 15%.
• Scotlands economy was also suffering from debt - possible one quarter of all landed estates were sold between 1660 and 1710 as a result of bankruptcy.
• Scottish trade was declining as old European trades were being changed by the aggressive protectionist police’s of European countries and the Scots did not have the economic or military power to respond.
• There was a shortage in coined money as Scotland had no access to gold or silver.
• Scottish trade suffered from restrictions put in place after the Glorious revolution: King William prohibited Scots from exporting woollen cloth and fish to France after 1689 because England was involved in the 9 year war with France. Scots suffered from higher tariffs which were put on goods they exported e.g linen producers trading to England were faced with a substantial increase in duties.

Question 3

Darien scheme and it’s failure

Answer 3

Reason 1 - unsuitability of Darien for colonisation
- Darien was full of killer diseases (e.g typhoid and yellow fever) and Scot’s settlers had no immunity to these diseases as they were unheard of in Scotland.
- There were sand - flies, poisonous snakes, plant diseases and even crop-eating crabs
- The unsuitability of the land for farming meant that by spring 1699, the Scottish settlers were experiencing food shortages.

Reason 2 - poor planning
- The scheme was solely funded by Scotland and this meant that when it failed, the economic impacts on Scotland were massive.
- William Patterson never visited Darien and he did not make an attempt to see if the land was suitable for settlement
- William Paterson also failed to consider the close proximity of the Darien Isthmus to the Spanish to the Spanish Empire; he did not consider the likelihood that the Spanish would be unhappy at the Scots setting up a colony.

Reason 3 - the actions of King William and the England
- King William forbade English merchants and the English colonies from offering any support to the Scot’s at Darien, which meant that the settlers could not obtain vital supplies and provisions.
- English parliament protested to King William about the threat to English trade by the company of Scotland
- William banned English and Dutch investment in the Darien scheme which forced the Company to seek funding from Scotland alone.

Question 4

Company of Scotland set up (1695)

Answer 4

• William Paterson encouraged the Scottish Parliament to set up the Company of Scotland by an Act of Parliament. Their main venture proposed was that they would set up a trading post on the Darlene Isthmus.
• In December 1695, the English Parliament protested to William of Orange about the threat that Darien would pose to English trade. This resulted in William banning Dutch and English investment in the Company.

Question 5

Act of security (1703)

Answer 5

• Passed by the Scottish Parliament
• This stated that the Scottish Parliament had the right to decide on Queen Anne’s successor and that England and Scotland could not have the same sovereign in the future unless the London parliament granted the Scot’s “free communication of trade… and the liberty of plantations”.

Question 6

Wine act (1703)

Answer 6

• Passed by the Scottish Parliament
• Stated that Scots could legally import French wine even though England was at war with France in the war of the Spanish succession.

Question 7

Wool act (1704)

Answer 7

• Attempted to strengthen Scottish trade at the expense of England by allowing the export and prohibiting the import of wool.
• English saw this as an aggressive attack against their trade.

Question 8

Alien act (1705)

Answer 8

• Passed by the English Parliament
• Stated that Scots would be treated as foreigners by the English if they didn’t agree to union.

Question 9

Act of annet peace and war (1703)

Answer 9

• Passed by the Scottish Parliament
• Gave the Scottish Parliament the right to declare war and make peace independent of the English Parliament if Scotland and England continued to share a monarch after the death of Queen Anne.