Why did both the parliaments of Scotland and England vote themselves out of existence in 1707 in order to create a new ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain’? From an English perspective, there was always a strong feeling that this union did not create a new kingdom and that it certainly did not create a new nation. The union of 1707 from this perspective represented extending the advantages of Englishness to a less fortunate people. There were some Scots who saw it that way as well. Economic disaster had struck the nation. The Scottish Parliament in 1695 had approved a charter for an international...