Forging the State: European State Formation and the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707

by Andrew MacKillop (Editor), Micheál Ó Siochrú (Editor)

The 1707 Union which united Scotland and England has been understood in a number of ways, ranging from the Whig paradigm of inevitable progress, as an exercise in geopolitical security, a crisis in Scottish concepts of national sovereignty and as a mutually beneficial realignment of Anglo-Scottish relations for the purposes of imperial expansion. This volume seeks to complement these perspectives by situating the Union in the broad context of European state formation, and by exploring comparable political economic and cultural efforts at unification elsewhere on the Continent. It concludes by suggesting that in many ways the British Union was a very 'European' event which was built upon processes of amalgamation and international rivalry, as well as intellectual and cultural developments common to the Continent as a whole.

210 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Andrew MacKillop is a Scottish economist who initiated energy-related study courses at two London colleges before starting Europe's first alternative energy company (CTT Ltd.) in 1973. From 1974 to 1977 he was consultant to several Canadian and Australian State, Federal and other agencies. Through 1979-80 he served Papua New Guinea energy agencies, ending as advisor to the Minister for National Planning and Development.