The Acts of Union Create Great Britain
England and Scotland merge into a single kingdom under one parliament at Westminster
Quick facts
- Effective date
- 1 May 1707
- New state
- Kingdom of Great Britain
- Scottish representation at Westminster
- 16 peers, 45 MPs
What happened
Following the Treaty of Union agreed in July 1706, the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England each passed an Act of Union, and on 1 May 1707 the two countries were, in the Act's own words, 'United into One Kingdom' called Great Britain, with a single Parliament sitting at Westminster. Scotland retained its own legal system and Presbyterian church establishment under separate guarantees, and gained 16 seats in the House of Lords and 45 in the House of Commons. The merged Parliament first met that October. Responsibility for governing Scotland now sat with ministers in London, an arrangement worked out haltingly over the following decades.
Why it matters
The Union created the political entity, Great Britain, in whose name the empire would be built and administered for the next two and a half centuries. Scottish merchants, soldiers, and administrators became central to imperial expansion in India, North America, and the Caribbean.
How we know
The UK Parliament's own historical record of the Act of Union sets out its text and the practical difficulties of governing the new united kingdom that followed.
Sources
- UK Parliament. Act of Union 1707: United into One Kingdom · Reputable sourceparliament.uk · The domain "parliament.uk" is on our Reputable source registry.
- legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives). Union with England Act 1707 · Primary source (author-declared)legislation.gov.uk · Cited as a "primary" source (no stronger domain match). · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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