The Involuntary Union

Coercion created the Union and sustains it

The 1705 Alien Act passed by the English parliament was economic blackmail that threatened to cut off exports to England and confiscate English land owned by Scots unless they recognised the Hanoverian succession. There was also the small matter of English troops at Scotland’s border and the English fleet in the Firth of Forth. The signatories to the Treaty of Union, signed in secret to avoid the people’s rage, were bribed and many fled for their lives to England.

The treaty terms were heavily skewed in England’s favour. In 1706, Scotland had 20% of the population of England and Wales but was allocated fewer than 8% of parliamentary seats. After the union, Scotland endured English military occupation for decades. The English Crown, the monarch and parliament, supplanted the Scottish Crown, the People, despite the 1689 Claim of Right, a precondition of the treaty, guaranteeing the inviolability of the Scottish Crown. 

Today, Scots are just 8% of the UK population. Between 3-4 million were forced into emigration, the largest depopulation in western Europe. Our languages have been removed, our culture denigrated and our history hidden. Our industrial base was destroyed, and our vast resources stolen by the larger ‘partner’ in this union. Our land and seas have been polluted by nuclear weapons and waste and we were forced from the Single Market against our will. Our major institutions are headed by people from England, not native Scots. 

Freeports are now being imposed, tax havens for corporations to facilitate the plunder of Scotland. These were aided and abetted by the Scottish colonial administration and don’t have the consent or support of the People.  

Leah Gunn Barrett

04/08/23