A landmark account that reveals the long history behind the current Catalan and Scottish independence movements A distinguished historian of Spain and Europe provides an enlightening account of the development of nationalist and separatist movements in contemporary Catalonia and Scotland. This first sustained comparative study uncovers the similarities and the contrasts between the Scottish and Catalan experiences across a five-hundred-year period, beginning with the royal marriages that brought about union with their more powerful neighbors, England and Castile respectively, and following the story through the centuries from the end of the Middle Ages until today’s dramatic events. J. H. Elliott examines the political, economic, social, cultural, and emotional factors that divide Scots and Catalans from the larger nations to which their fortunes were joined. He offers new insights into the highly topical subject of the character and development of European nationalism, the nature of separatism, and the sense of grievance underlying the secessionist aspirations that led to the Scottish referendum of 2014, the illegal Catalan referendum of October 2017, and the resulting proclamation of an independent Catalan republic.

This book traces the background to the Treaty of Union of 1707, explains why it happened and assesses its impact on Scottish society, including the bitter struggle with the Jacobites for acceptance of the union in the two decades that followed its inaugur

A new series of the Scottish antiquary established 1886.

A provocative new account of Scotland's history across a century of revolution and political instability. This edition in the New History of Scotland series radically updates Rosalind Mitchison's Lordship to Patronage (1983), covering Scotland's history, 1625-1745. Union, war, conquest, revolution, attempted invasions, and armed rebellions: this was an eventful time even by the standards of Scotland's turbulent history. At the same time, traditional notions of kinship and community came under strain as profound economic changes reshaped social relations and created new opportunities. Laura A. M. Stewart and Janay Nugent explore the creative volatility of the Anglo-Scottish relationship within a European and transatlantic context. Scotland's integration into the burgeoning British imperial state proved easier for some than others; it also drew Scots into the global slave trade. This is an accessible and stimulating account of a contentious period, knowledge of which is crucial for an understanding of British history and the politics of today. Key features: - modernised edition in classic series - provides an accessible guide to recent scholarly debates - relates Scotland's political, socio-economic, and cultural development to the formation of the British imperial state, European and transatlantic migration, and the expansion of global trade - encourages students and general readers to consider a wholistic view of early modern Scotland including community, household, gender and age of all social ranks Laura A.M. Stewart is professor of early modern British history at the University of York. Janay Nugent is Associate Professor of History at the University of Lethbridge in Canada.

A major survey of Scotland's dominant ideology over the past three centuries by one of its leading historians.

A major interpretation of the 1707 Act of Union and the making of the United Kingdom.

A new, revised edition of this invaluable guide to the background to and causes of the Union of 1707 which, outside Parliament in Edinburgh, was deeply unpopular in Scotland. Extended and re-written in the light of re-establishment of a Scottish Parliament in 1999, the book takes the reader through the maze of competing arguments about why Scots gave up their Parliament in the first place. Professor Whatley's account is dispassionate but also lucid, highly readable and frank in its assessments. Importantly, the book views the Union not only from the Scottish perspective, but also from that of England. It also considers the context of Europe, where political unions were by no means unusual by the early eighteenth century.

An exciting account of the origins of the modern world Who formed the first literate society? Who invented our modern ideas of democracy and free market capitalism? The Scots. As historian and author Arthur Herman reveals, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Scotland made crucial contributions to science, philosophy, literature, education, medicine, commerce, and politics—contributions that have formed and nurtured the modern West ever since. Herman has charted a fascinating journey across the centuries of Scottish history. Here is the untold story of how John Knox and the Church of Scotland laid the foundation for our modern idea of democracy; how the Scottish Enlightenment helped to inspire both the American Revolution and the U.S. Constitution; and how thousands of Scottish immigrants left their homes to create the American frontier, the Australian outback, and the British Empire in India and Hong Kong. How the Scots Invented the Modern World reveals how Scottish genius for creating the basic ideas and institutions of modern life stamped the lives of a series of remarkable historical figures, from James Watt and Adam Smith to Andrew Carnegie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and how Scottish heroes continue to inspire our contemporary culture, from William “Braveheart” Wallace to James Bond. And no one who takes this incredible historical trek will ever view the Scots—or the modern West—in the same way again.

'Deserves to be read by everyone interested in the future of the United Kingdom' Andrew Marr, The Sunday Times There can be no relationship in Europe's history more creative, significant, vexed and uneasy than that between Scotland and England. From the Middle Ages onwards the island of Britain has been shaped by the unique dynamic between Edinburgh and London, exchanging inhabitants, monarchs, money and ideas, sometimes in a spirit of friendship and at others in a spirit of murderous dislike. Tom Devine's seminal new book explores this extraordinary history in all its ambiguity, from the seventeenth century to the present. When not undermining each other with invading armies, both Scotland and England have broadly benefitted from each other's presence - indeed for long periods of time nobody questioned the union which joined them. But as Devine makes clear, it has for the most part been a relationship based on consent, not force, on mutual advantage, rather than antagonism - and it has always held the possibility of a political parting of the ways. With the United Kingdom under a level of scrutiny unmatched since the eighteenth century Independence or Union is the essential guide.

This book is a history of Scottish Nationalism and the responses of politicians to it. It is based on new primary research, which sheds light on the distinctive evolution of the Scottish political system.