The problem of the succession Flashcards
What was produced the 11th April of 1689
Claim of right :
— offered the crown to William and Mary on condition that they agreed to overturn the abuses of James Vll’s reign — especially the treatment of Presbyterians
What was produced on 13th April of 1689
Articles of grievance :
— this aimed to end the monarch’s control over the Scottish parliament by making what could be discussed completely free
What was William Orange’s theory?
He though that by giving posts to powerful noblemen, such as dukes of Argyll, Atholl and Queensberry, that they could a deliver a pro-government majority in parliament through personal following and networks
What happened in the Scottish Parliament ?
The aristocrats were divided by bitter personal rivalries which made it very difficult to govern effectively.
It was also increasingly difficult to extract agreement from the Scottish parliament about how to finance the administration of the country
Court party
This party traditionally supported the policies of the monarch
Country party
Supporters of this feat that Scotland was being treated badly by William of Orange
What does Devine argue?
“The simmering discontent have way to strident criticism that Scotland’s miseries were all rooted in the Regal union of 1603” many Scots felt that Scotland wasn’t benefiting from a shared monarch. This is because the monarch’s foreign policies always seemed to favour England, regardless of the detrimental impact it would have in Scotland. Many felt that Scotland would be better off with a separate monarchy
Why was succession an issue in 1701?
William and Mary didn’t have children, so there was no direct heir to the throne in the event of their deaths.
- The line of succession suggested that Mary’s sister Anne would inherit the throne.
- Anne was a Protestant and a Stuart monarch, so her inheritance to the throne was not contentious
Problem of succession after Anne’s death
Until 1700, it was assumed that her son would inherit the throne after her death, William, Duke of Gloucester
- The English were determined not to let the throne go to Edward James Stuart, ‘the old pretender’, so sought to settle the throne upon Sophia, the electress of Hanover
Act of settlement 1701
This piece of legislation settled the English throne of the house of Hanover after Anne’s death if she died childless. The English assumed Scotland would follow suit, but didn’t even bother to ask them
Queen Anne being anti-Scottish
Although she was to be Queen of Scot’s, she was actually very anti-Scottish in her attitudes
- she told the English parliament “ I know my heart to be entirely English”
-she had only spent a few months in Scotland 1681 as a girl of 6 and had little knowledge of her Scottish subjects whom she referred to as “unreasonable” and “strange people”
Undermining of Scotland’s sovereignty after succession of Queen Anne
Although the Scottish parliament should have been summoned within 20 days of the new monarch under a law, they didn’t until 7 June 1702, 90 days after William’s death
- Scots felt that their sovereignty was being ignored
- to make matters worse, the English parliament had already entered the war of the Spanish succession and the monarch’s ministers in England proclaimed Scotland was also at war
