Personal and legislative unions of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom
Statute of Rhuddlan (1284)
Laws in Wales Acts (1535–42)
Crown of Ireland Act (1542)
Union of the Crowns (1603)
Acts of Union (1707)
Act of Union (1801)
Government of Ireland Act (1920)
Anglo–Irish Treaty (1921)
Royal & Parliamentary Titles Act (1927)

The Union of the Crowns refers to the accession of James VI, King of Scots, to the thrones of England and Ireland, in March 1603. This followed the death of his unmarried and childless cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, the last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. It has been suggested that Dynastic union be merged into this article or section. ... United Kingdom legislation comes from a number of different sources. ... Constituent countries is a phrase used, often by official institutions, in contexts in which a number of countries make up a larger entity or grouping; thus the OECD has used the phrase in reference to the former Yugoslavia[1], the Soviet Union and European institutions such as the Council of... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Wales_2. ... The Statute of Rhuddlan was enacted on 3 March 1284 after the conquest of Wales by the English king Edward I. The Statute of Rhuddlan was issued from Rhuddlan Castle in North Wales, which was built as one of the iron ring of fortresses by Edward I, in his late... // Events War and politics King Charles II of Naples is captured in a naval battle off Naples by Roger of Lauria, admiral to King Peter III of Aragon. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Wales_2. ... The Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 were a series of parliamentary measures by which the legal system of Wales was annexed to England and the norms of English administration introduced in order to create a single state and a single legal jurisdiction, which is frequently referred to as England... Events January 18 - Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro April - Jacques Cartier discovers the Iroquois city of Stadacona, Canada (now Quebec) and in May, the even greater Huron city of Hochelaga June 24 - The Anabaptist state of Münster (see Münster Rebellion) is conquered and disbanded. ... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Crown of Ireland Act 1542 was an act of the Parliament of Ireland (33 Hen 8 c. ... Events War resumes between Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. This time Henry VIII of England is allied to the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman I are allied to the French. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Year 1603 (MDCIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... The Acts of Union were a pair of Acts of Parliament passed in 1706 and 1707 (taking effect on 1 May 1707) by, respectively, the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. ... Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Acts of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Image File history File links Union_flag_1606_(Kings_Colors). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Act of Union 1800 merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a merger of England and Wales and Scotland under the Act of Union 1707) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. ... The Union Jack, flag of the newly formed United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Lord_Lieutenant_of_Ireland. ... An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act, 1920 (this is its official short title; the formal citation is 10 & 11 Geo. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland. ... Signature page of the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Anglo-Irish Treaty, officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom and representatives of the extra-judicial Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence. ... Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Passed on April 12, 1927, the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 () was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that formed a significant landmark in the constitutional history of the UK and British Empire as a whole. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Accession in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... James VI and I King of England, Scotland and Ireland James VI of Scotland and I of England (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) was a King who ruled over England, Scotland and Ireland, and was the first Sovereign to reign in the three realms simultaneously. ... This is a list of British monarchs, that is, the monarchs on the thrones of some of the various kingdoms that have existed on, or incorporated, the island of Great Britain, namely: England (united with Wales from 1536) up to 1707; Scotland up to 1707; The Kingdom of Great Britain... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right)1 Capital Winchester, then London from 11th century. ... Year 1603 (MDCIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor (Welsh: ) was a series of five monarchs who ruled England and Ireland from 1485 until 1603. ...

The term itself, though now generally accepted, is misleading; for properly speaking this was merely a personal or dynastic union, the Crowns remaining both distinct and separate, despite James's best efforts to create a new "imperial" throne of 'Great Britain'. England and Scotland continued to be independent states, despite sharing a Monarch, until the Acts of Union in 1707 during the reign of the last monarch of the Stuart Dynasty, Queen Anne. It has been suggested that Dynastic union be merged into this article or section. ... Dynastic union refers to the union of two titles or rulerships in one ruler or titleholder. ... Throughout the Commonwealth Realms The Crown is an abstract concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total 130... Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic) Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic and Scots1 Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Monarch Queen Elizabeth II... A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. ... “King” redirects here. ... The Acts of Union were a pair of Acts of Parliament passed in 1706 and 1707 (taking effect on 1 May 1707) by, respectively, the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. ... Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Acts of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) followed Englands only joint monarchy to become Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 after the passing of both William and Mary. ...

The Thistle and the Rose

Margaret Tudor.

In August 1503 James IV, King of Scots, married Margaret Tudor, the eldest daughter of King Henry VII of England, and the spirit of the new age was celebrated by the poet William Dunbar in The Thistle and the Rose ^[1]. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (29 November 1489 – October 1541) was the eldest of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503 she married James IV, king of Scotland, thus becoming the mother of James V and... James IV (March 17, 1473-September 9, 1513) was King of Scots from 1488 to his death. ... Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (29 November 1489 – October 1541) was the eldest of the two surviving daughters of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the elder sister of Henry VIII. In 1503 she married James IV, king of Scotland, thus becoming the mother of James V and... Henry VII (January 28, 1457 – April 21, 1509), King of England, Lord of Ireland (August 22, 1485 – April 21, 1509), was the founder and first patriarch of the Tudor dynasty. ... William Dunbar (c. ...

The marriage was the outcome of the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, concluded the previous year, which, in theory at least, ended centuries of Anglo-Scottish rivalry. In many ways the most important political marriage in the history of the two realms, it merged the Stuarts with the England's Tudor line of succession, however remote the possibility of a Scottish prince ascending the English throne seemed at the time. There were, however, many on the English side concerned by the dynastic implications of the match, including some on the Privy Council. In countering these fears Henry is reputed to have said; The Treaty of Perpetual Peace was signed by James IV of Scotland and Henry VII of England in 1502. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor (Welsh: ) was a series of five monarchs who ruled England and Ireland from 1485 until 1603. ... An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ...

The peace did not last in 'perpetuity': it lasted for a mere ten years, wrecked by a young king and an old alliance. In 1513 King Henry VIII, King of England and Ireland, who had succeeded his father six years before, went to war with France. In response France invoked the terms of the Auld Alliance, her ancient bond with Scotland. James duly invaded northern England to meet defeat and death at the Battle of Flodden. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 - 28 January 1547) was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland, from 22 April 1509 until his death. ... This is a list of British monarchs, that is, the monarchs on the thrones of some of the various kingdoms that have existed on, or incorporated, the island of Great Britain, namely: England (united with Wales from 1536) up to 1707; Scotland up to 1707; The Kingdom of Great Britain... The Auld Alliance refers to a series of treaties, offensive and defensive in nature, between Scotland and France aimed specifically against an aggressive and expansionist England. ... The Battle of Flodden or Flodden Field was fought in northern England on September 9, 1513, between an invading Scots army under King James IV and an English army commanded by Thomas Howard. ...

In the decades that followed England's relations with Scotland were sometimes bad and other times worse. By the middle of Henry's reign the problems of the royal succession, which seemed so unimportant in 1503, acquired ever bigger dimensions, when the question of Tudor fertility — or the lack of it — entered directly into the political arena. The line of Margaret Tudor was specifically excluded from the English succession, though this was a question that simply refused to go away, especially when Elizabeth I became queen. Although the question of her marriage was raised time and again, it was first evaded and then forgotten with the march of time. In the last decade of her reign it was clear to all that James of Scots, the great-grandson of James IV and Margaret Tudor, was the only generally acceptable heir. For most of his adult life James, fretful and impecunious, had dreamed of a southern throne. Elizabeth I redirects here. ...

See also: Treaty of Greenwich (1543).

The Treaty of Greenwich (also known as the Treaties of Greenwich) contained two agreements both signed on July 1, 1543 in Greenwich between representatives of England and Scotland. ...

I am the Head

James VI of Scotland.

From 1601, in the last years of Elizabeth I's life, certain English politicians, notably her chief minister Sir Robert Cecil,^[2] maintained a secret correspondence with James in order to prepare in advance for a smooth succession. Cecil advised James not to press the matter of the succession upon the queen but simply to treat her with kindness and respect.^[3] The approach proved effective: "I trust that you will not doubt," Elizabeth wrote to James, "but that your last letters are so acceptably taken as my thanks cannot be lacking for the same, but yield them you in grateful sort."^[4] In March 1603, with the queen clearly dying, Cecil sent James a draft proclamation of his accession to the English throne. Strategic fortresses were put on alert, and London placed under guard. Elizabeth died in the early hours of 24 March. Within eight hours, James was proclaimed king in London, the news received without protest or disturbance.^[5] Image File history File links JamesIofEngland. ... Image File history File links JamesIofEngland. ... ] The Right Honourable Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, KG, PC (1 June 1563–24 May 1612), son of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley and half-brother of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, statesman, spymaster and minister to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Lord Salisbury is the...

On 5 April 1603, James left Edinburgh for London, promising to return every three years (a promise he never kept), and progressed slowly from town to town, in order to arrive in the capital after Elizabeth's funeral.^[6] Local lords received James with lavish hospitality along the route; and James's new subjects flocked to see him, relieved above all that the succession had triggered neither unrest nor invasion.^[7] As James entered London, he was mobbed. The crowds of people, one observer reported, were so great that "they covered the beauty of the fields; and so greedy were they to behold the King that they injured and hurt one another."^[8] James's English coronation took place on 11 July, with elaborate allegories provided by dramatic poets such as Thomas Dekker and Ben Jonson, though the festivities had to be restricted because of an outbreak of the plague.^[9] Nevertheless, all London turned out for the occasion: "The streets seemed paved with men," wrote Dekker. "Stalls instead of rich wares were set out with children, open casements filled up with women".^[10] Thomas Dekker, (c. ... For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ...

Whatever residual fears many in England may have felt at the prospect of being ruled by a Scot, James' arrival aroused a mood of high expectation. The twilight years of Elizabeth had been a disappointment; and for a nation troubled for so many years by the question of succession, the new king was a family man who already had male heirs in the wing. But James' honeymoon was of very short duration; and his initial political actions were to do much to create the rather negative tone which was to turn a successful Scottish king into a disappointing English one. The greatest and most obvious of these was the question of his exact status and title. James intended to be King of Great Britain and Ireland. His first obstacle along this imperial road was the attitude of the English Parliament.

In his first speech to his southern assembly in March 1603 James gave a clear statement of the royal manifesto;

Parliament may very well have rejected polygamy; but the marriage, if marriage it was, between the realms of England and Scotland was to be at best morganatic. James' ambitions were greeted with very little enthusiasm, as one by one MPs rushed to defend the ancient name and realm of England. All sorts of legal objections were raised: all laws would have to be renewed and all treaties renegotiated. For James, whose experience of parliaments was limited to the stage-managed and semi-feudal Scottish variety, the self-assurance — and obduracy — of the English version, which had long experience of upsetting monarchs, was an obvious shock. He decided to side-step the whole issue by unilaterally assuming the title of King of Great Britain by a Proclamation concerning the Kings Majesties Stile on 20 October 1604 announcing that he did "assume to Our selfe by the cleerenesse of our Right, The Name and Stile of KING OF GREAT BRITTAINE, FRANCE, AND IRELAND, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, &c." .^[11] This only deepened the offence. Even in Scotland there was little real enthusiasm for the project, though the two parliaments were eventually prodded into taking the whole matter 'under consideration'. Consider it they did for several years, never drawing the desired conclusion. October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 – Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ...

The First and Oldest Empire

Coat of arms of Great Britain in 1603

In Scotland the incorporating union desired by James met with the same lack of zeal that it did in England, but for different reasons. Whatever pleasure there was in seeing a Scottish king succeeding to the crown of England, rather than the danger for centuries past of an English king seizing the crown of Scotland, there were early signs that many saw the risk of the 'lesser being drawn by the greater', as Henry VII once predicted. The obvious example before Scottish eyes was the case of Ireland, a kingdom in name, but — since 1601 — a subject nation in practice. John Russell, lawyer and writer, an initial enthusiast for 'the happie and blissed Unioun betuixt the tua ancienne realmes of Scotland and Ingland' was later to warn James: Image File history File links Armoiries_Grande-Bretagne_1603. ... Image File history File links Armoiries_Grande-Bretagne_1603. ... A modern coat of arms is derived from the medi val practice of painting designs onto the shield and outer clothing of knights to enable them to be identified in battle, and later in tournaments. ...

These fears were echoed by the Scottish Parliament, learning from its English cousin that the King's word was not law after all. MPs, in much the same way as those in England, were telling the king that they were 'confident' that his plans for an incorporating union would not prejudice the ancient laws and liberties of Scotland; for any such hurt would mean that 'it culd no more be a frie monarchie.'

Scottish fears can scarcely have been allayed when the king, now aware of the depths of English hostility, attempted to reassure his new subjects that the new union would be much like that between England and Wales, and that if Scotland should refuse 'he would compell their assents, having a stronger party there than the opposite party of the mutineers'. In June 1604 the two national parliaments, with obvious lack of enthusiasm, passed acts appointing commissioners to explore the possibility of a 'a more perfect union'. One cannot but sympathise with these men whose remit was to achieve the impossible — a new state that would still preserve the laws, honours, dignities, offices and liberties of each of the component kingdoms. James, in a more sober and wiser mood, closed the final session of his first parliament with a rebuke to his opponents in the House of Commons — 'Here all things suspected...He merits to be buried in the bottom of the sea that shall but think of separation, where God had made such a Union.' This article is about the country. ...

Beggarly Scots and English Monkeys

James, of course, was moving too quickly for both nations, attempting to conjure away centuries of mutual hostility virtually overnight. He scarcely improved his position as large numbers of impoverished Scottish aristocrats and other place seekers made their way to London, ready to compete for the very highest positions at the heart of government. Several years later Sir Anthony Weldon was to write that 'Scotland was too guid for those that inhabit it, and too bad for others to be at the charge of conquering it. The ayre might be wholesome, but for the stinking people that inhabit it...Thair beastis be generallie small (women excepted) of which sort there are no greater in the world.' But the most immediately wounding observation came in the comedy Eastward Ho, a collaboration between Ben Jonson, George Chapman and John Marston. In enthusing over the good life to be had in the colony of Virginia it is observed; For other persons of the same name, see Ben Johnson (disambiguation). ... This article is about George Chapman the English literary figure; see George Chapman (murderer) for the Victorian poisoner of the same name. ... John Marston (October 7, 1576 - June 25, 1634) was an English poet, playwright and satirist during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. ... This article contains a trivia section. ...

But the Scots were too happy to pay out these libels, with interest. The age-old French slander that the English had tails like monkeys was once again in circulation, joining many more original anti-English satires, so much so that in 1609 the king had an act passed, promising the direst penalties against the writers of "pasquillis, libellis, rymis, cockalanis, comedies and sicklyk occasiones whereby they slander and maligne and revile the estait and countrey of England..."

Against this cultural and political background the gentlemen of the parliamentary commission had little real prospect of making any progress along the road to a close and intimate union. As early as October 1605, well before the commissioners reported, the Venetian ambassador noted 'the question of the Union will, I am assured, be dropped; for His Majesty is now well aware that nothing can be effected, both sides displaying such obstinacy that an accommodation is impossible; and so his Majesty is resolved to abandon the question for the present, in hope that time may consume the ill-humours.' It did, but over a far longer period than James can ever have imagined. Borders of the Republic of Venice in 1796 Capital Venice Language(s) Venetian, Latin Religion Roman Catholic Government Republic Doge  - 1789–97 Ludovico Manin History  - Established 697  - Treaty of Zara June 27, 1358  - Treaty of Leoben April 17, 1797 * Traditionally, the establishment of the Republic is dated to 697. ...

Citizens and Subjects

By 1606 James' dream of an Imperial British Crown was looking sickly. The Union Commission made some limited progress, but only by setting the big picture to one side, concentrating instead on the seemingly more manageable issues like hostile border laws, trade and citizenship. The borders were to become the 'middle shires', as if history could be side-stepped by semantics. But the issues of free trade proved highly contentious, threatening powerful economic interest groups, as did the issue of equal rights before the law. It was to be, in essence, the immigration debate of the day. Fears were openly expressed in Parliament that English jobs would be threatened by all the poor people of the realm of Scotland, who will 'draw near to the Sonn, and flocking hither in such Multitudes, that death and dearth is very probable to ensue.' The exact status of the post nati, those born after the Union of March 1603, was never to be decided by Parliament. In the end the deadlock had to be broken by the courts in 1608 in Calvin's Case, involving the baby Robert Calvin, which extended property rights to the King's subjects (i.e. the Scots) in English common law.

Symbols and Substance

The first Union Flag.

The 'Scotch' design

In the end James never got his 'imperial crown', and of political necessity was obliged to accept the reality of polygamy. Denied the substance he played with the symbols, devising new coats of arms, a uniform coinage and the like. But the creation of a national flag proved just as contentious as a national crown. Various designs were tried, that which proved acceptable to one side almost inevitably offended the other. James finally proclaimed the new Union Flag on 12 April 1606, but it was greeted without a great deal of enthusiasm, especially by the Scots, who seeing a St. George's Cross superimposed upon a St. Andrew's Saltire sought to create their own 'Scotch' design which saw the reverse superimposition take place. (This design being used in Scotland until 1707). For years afterwards vessels of both nations continued to fly their respective 'flags', the royal proclamation notwithstanding. Ironically, the Union Flag only entered into common use under Cromwell's Protectorate. Image File history File links Union_flag_1606_(Kings_Colors). ... Image File history File links Union_flag_1606_(Kings_Colors). ... Flag Ratio: 1:2 The Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack; see discussion below) is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ... Image File history File links Union_Jack_1606_Scotland. ... Image File history File links Union_Jack_1606_Scotland. ... is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 27 - The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 - Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill Premier Dmitri December 26 - Shakespeares King Lear performed in court Storm buries a village of St Ismails near... The Flag of England (5:3) The Flag of England is the St Georges Cross. ... The Saltire, the flag of Scotland, a white saltire with an official Pantone 300 coloured field. ... Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Acts of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Flag Ratio: 1:2 The Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack; see discussion below) is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ...

British

James did not create a British Crown but he did, in one sense at least, create the British as a distinct group of people. In 1607 large tracts of land in Ulster fell to the crown. A new Plantation was started, made up of Protestant settlers from Scotland and England, mostly from the Border country (the "middle shires" between the Firth of Clyde and the Mersey Estuary), with a minority from Bristol and London. Over the years the settlers, surrounded by the hostile Catholic Irish, gradually cast off their separate English and Scottish roots, becoming British in the process, as a means of emphasising their 'otherness' from their Gaelic neighbours (Marshall, T., p. 31). It was the one corner of the United Kingdom where Britishness became truly meaningful as a political and cultural identity in its own right, as opposed to a gloss on older and deeper national associations. The British monarch or Sovereign is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories, and is the source of all executive, judicial and (as the Queen_in_Parliament) legislative power. ... Statistics Area: 24,481 km² Population (2006 estimate) 1,993,918 Ulster (Irish: Cúige Uladh, IPA: ) forms one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland. ... Today, a plantation is a place where people plant things, usually botanics. ... The Border country is the hilly area of Lowland Scotland on the border between Scotland and England. ... Map of the Firth of Clyde and area The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. ... The Mersey Estuary is a large estuary where the River Mersey flows into Liverpool Bay. ... This article is about the English city. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Though, over time, Britishness also took some root in England and Scotland – especially in the days of Empire – by and large people were English or Scottish first, and British second. In Northern Ireland the Protestant communities were to be British first, second and last. It was James' most enduring – and troublesome – legacy. The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

A Perfect Union?

In many ways the problems of the dynastic union between England and Scotland were little different from those engendered by similar experiments elsewhere in Europe: the case of Aragon and Castile might be compared, as does the temporary union of Sweden and Poland. Unions of this kind can be made to work, but they take time to bed down. In the end the union of Scotland and England was to be successful but it was never a marriage of equals. James promised that he would return to his ancient kingdom every three years. In the end he came back only once – in 1617 – and even then his English councillors pleaded with him to remain in London. Scotland, up to the full parliamentary Union of 1707, may have retained its institutional independence, but it lost control of vital areas of policy, most notably foreign relations, which remained the prerogative of the crown. This meant, in practice, that policy matters were inevitably tied to English rather than Scottish interests. A case in point was the Dutch Wars of Charles II, which took Scotland to war with its strongest trading partner, though no Scottish interest was served and none threatened. The failure of Scotland's attempts to establish overseas trading colonies, firstly in Nova Scotia then later in the Isthmus of Panama, (under the ill-fated Darien scheme), were also in part due to the priority given to English interests over those of Scotland by the sovereign. James' imperial crown over time diminished in size and scope, so much so that in 1616 he was to admit openly in the Star Chamber that his intention 'was always to effect union by uniting Scotland to England, and not England to Scotland.' Years later Queen Anne, the first true British monarch, was to describe the Scots as 'a strange people' and told her first parliament that she knew her heart 'to be entirely English.' It was to be George III – a scion of the German House of Hanover – who recaptured something of the old spirit of King James of 1603 when he declared his pride 'in the name of Briton.' Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit(Latin) One defends and the other conquers Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Regional Municipality Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Mayann E. Francis - Premier Rodney MacDonald (PC) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 11 - Senate seats 10 Confederation July 1, 1867 (1st) Area... The Isthmus of Panama. ... The Darien scheme was an unsuccessful attempt by the Kingdom of Scotland to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama. ... The Star Chamber (Latin Camera stellata) was an English court of law at the royal Palace of Westminster that sat between 1487 and 1641, when the court itself was abolished. ... The term Queen Anne, when applied to a style of furniture or architecture, refers to the only British monarch of the name, Anne, who reigned between 1702 and 1714. ... George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738–29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain, and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... The House of Hanover (the Hanoverians) is a German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, the Kingdom of Hanover and the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. ...

Notes

1. ^ William Dunbar: The Complete Works. Online at the University of Rochester.
2. ^ James described Cecil as "king there in effect". Croft, p 48.
3. ^ Cecil wrote that James should "secure the heart of the highest, to whose sex and quality nothing is so improper as either needless expostulations or over much curiosity in her own actions, the first showing unquietness in yourself, the second challenging some untimely interest in hers; both which are best forborne." Willson, pp 154–155.
4. ^ Willson, p 155.
5. ^ Croft, p 49; Willson, p 158.
6. ^ Croft, p 49.
7. ^ Croft, p 50.
8. ^ Stewart, p 169.
9. ^ Stewart, p 172.
10. ^ Stewart, p 173.
11. ^ Proclamation styling James I King of Great Britain on 20 October 1604

October 20 is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 14 – Hampton Court conference with James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of Puritans September 20 – Capture of Ostend by Spanish forces under Ambrosio Spinola after a three year siege. ...

References and further reading

• Brown, Keith M. (1994). "The vanishing emperor: British kingship and its decline, 1603-1707", in in Roger A. Mason (ed.),: Scots and Britons: Scottish Political Thought and the Union of 1603. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-42034-2. 
• Croft, Pauline (2003). King James. Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-61395-3.
• Ferguson, William (1977). Scotland's Relations with England: A Survey to 1707. Edinburgh: J. Donald. ISBN 0-85976-022-7. 
• Galloway, Bruce (1986). The Union of England and Scotland, 1603-1608. Edinburgh: J. Donald. ISBN 0-85976-143-6. 
• Lee, Maurice, Jr. (2003). The "Inevitable" Union and Other Essays on Early Modern Scotland. East Linton, East Lothian: Tuckwell Press. ISBN 1-86232-107-8. 
• Marshall, T. (July 2005). "United We Stand?". BBC History magazine. 
• Mason, Roger A. (ed.) (1987). Scotland and England, 1286-1815. Edinburgh: J. Donald. ISBN 0-85976-177-0. 
• Stewart, Alan (2003). The Cradle King: A Life of James VI and I. London: Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0-7011-6984-2. 
• Willson, David Harris ([1956] 1963 ed). King James VI & 1. London: Jonathan Cape Ltd. ISBN 0-224-60572-0.
• Wormald, Jenny (1994). "The Union of 1603", in Scots and Britons, op cit.

External links

• Union of the Crowns 400th anniversary educational website
• Ulster-Scots Agency: 1603 — The Union of the Crowns (.doc format)