Act of Security

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The Act of Security ( Act for the security of the kingdom , German "Sicherheitsgesetz") was a Scottish law from 1704. It was passed by the Scottish Parliament in response to the English Act of Settlement from 1701.

Queen Anne's last heir, William, Duke of Gloucester , had died of smallpox on July 29, 1700 . A Protestant successor therefore had to be found. The English parliament agreed on the Hanoverian Electress Sophie von der Pfalz , the granddaughter of King James I , but without consulting the Scottish Parliament (the two countries had been linked in personal union since 1603 ).

In response, the Scottish Parliament passed a bill in 1703: Should Anne die with no descendants, the Scottish Parliament would elect a Protestant successor from among the descendants of the Scottish kings. Only if certain economic, political and religious conditions were met would it also accept the English successor. However, the Queen's Commissioner (equivalent to a Governor General ) rejected the proposal. In 1704, however, the Act of Security came into force even without the consent of the royal representative, after the Scottish Parliament threatened to no longer levy taxes and to withdraw the Scottish army from the War of the Spanish Succession .

The English Parliament, fearing that an independent Scotland would revive the Auld Alliance with France , responded with the Alien Act in 1705 . This law made it possible to impose significant restrictions on trade with Scotland, to declare Scots foreigners and thus to restrict their right to own property in England. Ultimately, Scotland had no choice but to approve the Act of Union 1707 , which merged England and Scotland into the United Kingdom .

Web links

Wikisource: Act of Security 1704  - Sources and full texts (English)