Scotland under the Commonwealth

Scotland under the Commonwealth is the history of the Kingdom of Scotland between the declaration that the kingdom was part of the Commonwealth of England in February 1652, and the Restoration of the monarchy with Scotland regaining its position as an independent kingdom, in June 1660.

After the

Having supported Parliament in the First

Six days after the victory at Worcester, a committee of the English

Under the terms of the union Scotland received thirty seats in the enlarged Westminster parliament, ten from the burghs and twenty from the shires. There were only five Scottish members out of 140 in the Barebones parliament and only twenty-one were sent to the Protector's first parliament (1654–55). It was not until the Protector's second parliament (1656–57) that thirty were sent. For Richard Cromwell's parliament in 1658–59, of the thirty elected, only eleven were Scots, and, of the remainder, ten were army officers.[5] The Scots in Westminster were treated with general xenophobia, and, when not ignored, they faced repeated motions to exclude them.^[6] One Englishman described them as "a wooden leg tied to a natural body".^[5]

Administration

Under the Tender of Union, the Scottish Parliament was removed, along with the monarchy, and no institution could meet except with the sanction of the Westminster parliament.

From late 1651, passes were needed to move from one area of the country to another. The ownership of firearms was restricted, necessitating a licence.[3] In the Highlands the administration fell back on the ancient expedient of making clan chiefs responsible for the conduct of their followers.^[3] The security of the regime depended on an armed force of never less than 10,000 men. Citadels were built at Ayr, Perth and Leith and 20 smaller forts were built as far away as Orkney and Stornoway. Control of the Highlands was secured by strongpoints at Inverlocky and Inverness. These were built at a massive cost of money and manpower. The citadel at Inverness, begun in 1652 and using stone shipped from as far away as Aberdeen, had cost £50,000 in 1655, when it was still unfinished. Inverlocky had a garrison of 1,000 and from 1654 became the centre for a new administrative region of Lochaber, made up of three of the most remote and lawless shires.^[3]

The Scottish legal system was effectively suspended after the English occupation. All courts that derived from "Charles Stuart", including

In 1653–55 there was a major Royalist rising in the Highlands led by

Although it gained recruits, the rising began to suffer from internal divisions, particularly between the Highlanders who made up the bulk of the forces and the Lowland nobles and officers who were their commanders. In early 1654, nine months into the revolt, Middleton, a Lowland officer and a veteran of the Battle of Worcester, arrived with a commission to command from Charles II.[11] Despite objections from his followers, Glencairn surrendered control over his forces, which had now reached 3,500 foot and 1,500 horse. That evening Sir George Munro, Middleton's aide insulted Glencairn's forces and the result was a duel in which Munro was wounded. Glencairn was arrested. He would eventually be released and retire from the conflict. A series of other disputes and duels undermined the leadership of the campaign for the remainder of the rising.^[12]

Middleton adopted a strategy of raid and harrying. Although successful in distracting the Commonwealth forces and causing disruption, it soon began to prove counter-productive, as growing unpopularity led to a drying up of recruitment.^[12] With his return to Scotland after his brief naval command against the Dutch, Monck began a campaign against the rising, making forced marches of between 12 and 20 miles a day in difficult terrain.^[11] On 19 July 1654 a force from Monck's command under Thomas Morgan caught Middleton's army at Dalnaspidal. In the resulting battle the royalists were scattered and a wounded Middleton was forced to escape to the Highlands.^[12] The end of the Dutch War meant there was no possibility of foreign aid and government reinforcements were now available to combat the rising. As a result, the Royalist military effort petered out.^[11] Eventually, Glencairn surrendered to Monck and Middleton escaped to the continent to join the court in exile.^[12]

The rising forced a change of policy by the regime, which instead of attempting to replace the landholding classes now looked for a reconciliation with former Royalists and Engagers. This resulted in the Act of Grace and Pardon, proclaimed in Edinburgh on 5 May 1654. Instead of a blanket forfeiture among those implicated in resistance, it named 24 persons (mainly from the nobility) whose lands would be seized, and 73 other landholders who could retain their estates after paying a fine. Even then most of those names were treated with leniency and fines were remitted for confiscations, or were reduced, and some were abandoned.^[14]

Religion

The

The terms of the union promised that the Gospel would be preached and promised freedom of religion. The regime accepted Presbyterianism as a valid system, but did not accept that it was the only legitimate form of church organisation. The result was that, although civil penalties no longer backed up its pronouncements, Kirk sessions and synods functioned much as before. The administration tended to favour the Protesters, largely because the Resolutioners were more inclined to desire a restoration of the monarchy and because the General Assembly, where they predominated, claimed independence from the state.^[16] The act of holding public prayers for the success of Glencairn's insurrection led in 1653, to the largely Resolutioner members of the Assembly being marched out of Edinburgh by an armed guard.^[7] There were no more assemblies in the period of the Commonwealth and the Resolutioners met in informal "consultations" of clergy. The universities, largely seen as a training school for clergy, were relatively well funded and came under the control of the Protestors, with Patrick Gillespie being made Principal at Glasgow.^[16]

Toleration did not extend to Episcopalians and Catholics, but if they did not call attention to themselves they were largely left alone.^[16] It did extend to sectaries, but the only independent group to establish itself in Scotland in this period were a small number of Quakers.^[17] In general the period of the Commonwealth was looked back on as one where Protestantism flourished. Ministers, now largely barred from politics, spent more time with their flocks and placed an emphasis on preaching that emulated the sectaries.^[16] One Presbyterian noted that "there were more souls converted to Christ in that short period of time than in any season since the Reformation".^[18]

Economy and taxation

Under the Commonwealth, the country was relatively highly taxed, but gained access to English markets.^[19] Under Charles I Scotland had paid about £17,000 sterling a year in taxes. In 1656 the civil list alone cost £25,000. The sum of £10,000 a month from the county assessment was demanded by the Cromwellian regime, which Scotland failed to fully supply and it was reduced to 6,000 a year in 1657. The total was never less than £90,000 a year.^[20] In addition the country contributed about £35,000 in excise a year.^[21] Despite this, there was an annual deficit of £130,000, which was covered by English revenues.^[20]

Scotland had suffered considerable economic disruption during the period of the civil wars, caused by loss of manpower to a dozen armies, free quarter (the billeting of troops on civilians without payment), plunder and heavy taxation. A number of merchants, particularly moneylenders, were ruined by the wars. The east-coast towns had probably lost about one fifth of their population from the outbreak of bubonic plague that occurred in 1645. This was slow to recover and in 1651 rents in Edinburgh had to be reduced by a third.^[22] The free trade that was the major economic incentive of the union was not all beneficial, as Scotland now had to compete with the more highly developed English merchant fleet. The economy began to revive after 1650, but the prosperity was not spread evenly across the country. While Glasgow and Aberdeen prospered, Dundee and the Fife ports continued to decline. The financing of military building and the spending of wages by so many soldiers did benefit some. New industries included glass production at Leith and Cromwell's troops are traditionally credited with bringing north both the knitting of socks and the planting of kale. The good order imposed by the armed presence encouraged trade and manufacture. Alexander Burnet, later Archbishop of St. Andrews, commented that, "we always reckoned those eight years of usurpation a time of great peace and prosperity".^[23]

Symbols

The creation of the union led to revival of the

After the death of Cromwell in 1658, Monck remained aloof from the political manoeuvring in London that led to the brief establishment of a regime under the protector's son Richard Cromwell and after its fall the subsequent contest for power between the army leaders. When this proved incapable of producing a stable government in 1659 Monk opened negotiations with Charles II and began a slow march south with his army. After reaching London he restored the English Long Parliament that had existed at the beginning of the civil wars. This body, having received some assurances from Charles II, voted for a restoration of the monarchy in England and then dissolved itself. This created a de facto restoration of the monarchy in Scotland, but without any safeguards as to the constitutional position in the country. Scottish notables were in a weak position in negotiations with the crown as to what the settlement would be.^[26]

In the event Scotland regained its independent system of law, its parliament and its kirk, but also the