Parliament of Scotland

The article on the body established in 1999 is at Scottish Parliament.

The Seventeenth Century

In the second half of the sixteenth century, Parliament began to legislate on more and more matters and there was a marked increase in the amount of legislation it produced. During the reign of James VI, the Lords of the Articles came more under the influence of the crown. By 1612, they sometimes seem to have been appointed by the Crown rather than Parliament, and as a result the independence of parliament was perceived by contemporaries to have been eroded. This decline was reversed in the Covenanting period (1638-1651), when the Scottish Parliament took control of the executive, effectively wresting sovereignty from the King and setting many precedents for the constitutional changes undertaken in England soon afterwards. The Covenanting regime fell in 1651 after Scotland was invaded by Oliver Cromwell whose Commonwealth government imposed a brief Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union in 1657.

Related Topics:
James VI - 1612 - 1638 - 1651 - Oliver Cromwell - Commonwealth - 1657

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During this period, Parliament gained the only permanent home it ever had. King Charles I ordered the construction of Parliament Hall, which was completed in 1639.

Related Topics:
Charles I - Parliament Hall - 1639

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The Scottish Parliament returned after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660. He renewed attempts to impose Episcopalian Anglican worship on Scotland, provoking rebellions by Covenanters such as the Cameronians who were repressed in the "Killing Times" in attempts to stamp out Presbyterianism. He was succeeded in 1685 by his Roman Catholic brother, James VII of Scotland & II of England, who continued the family disdain for democracy, their motto being a Deo rex, a rege lex (the king comes from God, the law comes from the king). In England and Scotland James attempted to impose religious toleration, which helped the Catholic minority but offended others.

Related Topics:
Charles II - 1660 - Episcopalian - Covenanter - Cameronians - Killing Times - Presbyterian - 1685 - Roman Catholic - James VII of Scotland & II of England

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William of Orange lobbied to have James replaced by William's wife Mary who was James' daughter and next in line to the throne. Matters came to a head in November 1688 when William arrived in England and James fled to France: in February 1689 the Glorious Revolution formally changed England's monarch. Scotland was slow to accept William, who summoned a Convention of the Estates which met on 14 March 1689 in Edinburgh and considered a conciliatory letter from William and a haughty one from James. Forces of Cameronians as well as Clan Campbell highlanders led by the Earl of Argyll had come to bolster William's support. On James' side cavalry led by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee attended at the start but withdrew four days later when support for William became evident. The convention set out its terms and William and Mary were proclaimed at Edinburgh on April 11 1689, then had their coronation in London in May. Those disputing this settlement became known as Jacobites.

Related Topics:
William of Orange - Mary - 1688 - 1689 - Glorious Revolution - 14 March - Edinburgh - Cameronians - Clan Campbell - Earl of Argyll - John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee - April 11 - Jacobites

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The Scottish Parliament gradually came to exert considerable influence over the Crown—removing the clergy's right to attend in 1689 and finally abolishing the Lords of the Articles in 1690. Parliament's strength was such that the Crown turned to corruption and political management to undermine its autonomy. Nonetheless, the period from 1690 to 1707 was one in which political "parties" and alliances were formed within parliament in a maturing atmosphere of rigorous debate. The disputes over the English Act of Settlement 1701, the Scottish Act of Security, and the English Alien Act 1705 showed that both sides were prepared to take considered yet considerable risks in their relationships.

Related Topics:
1689 - 1690 - 1707 - Act of Settlement 1701 - Act of Security - Alien Act 1705

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