The Union with Scotland

The Crowns of England and Scotland were united by James 1 in 1603, but there was no political unification — the two countries had their own Parliaments and system of law. The situation was worsened by religious and commercial disputes. The Scots were Presbyterians, while the English were mainly Anglican. The English still regarded Scotland a foreign country in trading purposes, so they forbade her to trade with English colonies.

All these causes developed enmity and hostility between two countries. In 1703, the Scottish Parliament passed an Act of Security, according to it the two thrones had to be. separated after the death of Queen Anne. England replied by further trade restrictions. It was clear that Scotland would lose more from isolation than from union with England. In 1707, after long negotiations, an Act of Union was passed. The most important points of this act were:

• the two countries should form one United Kingdom of Great Britain;

• the Scottish Church and law remain untouched;

• the two countries get equal trade privileges;

• forty-five Scottish members and sixteen Scottish representative peers should attend a United Parliament.

Now the island became Great Britain with its symbolic flag, the Union Jack. Though the union was not immediately popular, both countries soon found political and economic advantages of co-operation. It was the creation of order on a new scale.

Task 2. Union Jack. You know that the Union Jack is a combination of 3 crosses:

St George's Cross (England), St Andrew's Cross (Scotland) and St Patrick's Cross (Ireland).

Colour these flags or name the colours of each flag.

Task 3. Fill in the table representing common and different institutions and symbols of England and Scotland. Put "C" for common and "D" for different:

Institution	Cor D
Parliament
Church
Law system
Language
School system
Flag
Monarch

The Accession of the House of Hanover. The Reign of George I

When Queen Anne died in 1714, the succession passed to a non-English-speaking German, the Duke of Hanover, who was a great-grandson of James I. Thus George Hanover became King George I of England and the Hanover Dynasty was started.

The accession of George I was immediately followed by the rebellion in Scotland, which aimed to restore James Edward Stuart, the son of James II. In England he was called the Old Pretender and was supported by the Tories. The Scottish rebellion in support of James was suppressed in 1716, and finally James went back to exile in France.

The Tories, who were regarded disloyal to the government, were replaced by the Whigs on the key posts in the country. The Whigs got the leading position in domestic and foreign policy and dominated in the British life till the 1760s without serious changes.

The policy of the Whigs was supported by different layers of the society — they tried to avoid foreign wars as being harmful to trade, to low the taxes and remove them from manufacturers to consumed goods. These measures provided the prosperity of English trade and the whole period was considered the golden age of agricultural labour.

King George, who showed little interest in British affaires, made no efforts to learn English, so his presence at Cabinet meetings was useless. The cabinet at that time was formed of ministers, who had to advise the King on different matters. All the ministers were equal and as the King could not preside over their sittings, they had to choose a chair. In the course of the years the situation changed — the Cabinet was formed by Primer Minister, who presided over it and chose the people he wanted for each post.

At the time of George I the Cabinet was presided over by Sir Robert Walpole, who promoted the shaping of the Cabinet system. Though Robert Walpole never took the name of Prime Minister, which he regarded as something foreign to the English constitution, he exercised most of the powers of a Prime Minister.