An Act for an Union of the Two Kingdoms of England and Scotland | |
---|---|
Type | Union Treaty |
Context | Political union between the Kingdoms of Scotland and England to form one state known as the Kingdom of Great Britain |
Drafted | 22 April–25 April 1706[1] |
Signed | July 22, 1706 |
Location | Parliament House, Edinburgh, Scotland Palace of Westminster, London, England |
Effective | 1 May 1707 |
Negotiators | |
Signatories |
The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty[a] which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain. The treaty united the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland to be "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain".[2] At the time it was more often referred to as the Articles of Union.
The details of the Treaty were agreed on 22 July 1706, and separate Acts of Union were then passed by the parliaments of England and Scotland to put the agreed Articles into effect. The Treaty of Union was eventually passed in the Parliament of Scotland following months of intense debate, with 110 voting in favour for the treaty to 67 against. The passing of the vote has been described as a vote "to end Scotland's independence".[3]
The political union took effect on 1 May 1707, with the Lord Chancellor of Scotland James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater, closing the Parliament of Scotland with the words "there’s ane end of ane auld sang" whilst the church bells of St Giles' Cathedral played the tune Why should I feel so sad on my wedding day?.[4]
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).