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This book offers a comprehensive history of the Scottish economy over the last three centuries. Written by leading scholars in the field, it presents research in an accessible style to all those interested in understanding the historical context of modern Scotland. Fresh interpretations are revealed on such key and controversial issues as the impact of the Union of 1707, the Clearances, the rise and fall of Scottish heavy industry, and the recent transformation of the modern economy. The distinctive features of the Scottish economic system are stressed, but these are also analysed within a British and international context. The focus of the volume is both broad and detailed with full treatment of agriculture, finance, industry, and the service sector as well as the impact of momentous economic changes on the lives of the people and the massive new role in the twentieth century of the state in economic affairs. At a time of intense debate on the present and future condition of Scotland under a devolved parliament and executive, this book provides the background and the long-run perspectives on the challenges and opportunities facing the nation.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the past, present and future prospects of the Anglo-Scottish Union. Its contributors do not shy away from the controversies surrounding the Union. Their research serves as an introduction to some key aspects of the Anglo-Scottish relationship between 1707 and 2007. The book covers: why the Union took place; the growing acceptance of the Union in the eighteenth century; the impact of Scots' central role in the British Empire; the politics of unionism; the challenge of nationalism; Thatcherism and the Union; and devolution and prospects for the future. It considers the entire 300-year experience of union — from its origins in the early eighteenth century to the historic parliamentary victory of the SNP in May 2007.

This book, which has a Preface by Scotland’s leading historian, Sir Tom Devine, is a comparative study of the economic, social and political development of Norway and Scotland, mainly since about 1800. The authors are from Scotland, Norway, Denmark, England and Finland. It starts with an overview of the histories of the two countries, which were closely intertwined between the 8^th and 17^th Centuries, and the economic, social and political relationships between them. It includes specific chapters dealing with the comparative development of political institutions and democracy, agriculture and land ownership, industry, local government, money and banking, the welfare state, education, outdoor activities and recreation and religion. There are additional chapters on the impacts of the two World Wars on political relations between Scotland and Norway, on core issue in the comparison of social developments in the two countries, and on the theories that may help us to understand to diverse development paths of Norway and Scotland. The content and focus of the book is unique and original, and joins historians, economists, political scientists, anthropologists, geographers and sociologists in an important example of comparative analysis covering the long term. It is intended to provide analysis that will be helpful for debates on the future of Scotland after Brexit, whether within or outside the United Kingdom, for example on the monetary and banking questions, the welfare state, early childhood education, land and resource ownership, North Sea oil and gas, local government and decentralisation, agriculture and rural development, religion, and external relations, among others.

From the seventeenth century to the current day, more than 2.5 million Scots have sought new lives elsewhere. This book of essays examines the impact since 1600 of out-migration from Scotland upon the homeland, on the migrants themselves, on the destinations in which they settled, and upon their descendants and ‘affinity’ Scots. It does so through a focus on themes of slavery, cross-cultural encounters, economics, war, tourism, and the modern diaspora since 1945 in diverse destinations encompassing Europe, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Hong Kong, Guyana and the British World more broadly.