In this fresh and challenging look at the origins of the United Kingdom, Michael Fry focuses on the years which led up to the Union of 1707, setting the political history of Scotland and England against the backdrop of war in Europe and the emergence of imperialism. He rejects the long-held assumption that the economy was of overwhelming importance in the Scots' acceptance of the terms of the Treaty, showing how they were able to exploit English ignorance of and indifference to Scotland to steer the settlement in their own favour. The implications of this have influenced the dynamics of the Union ever since, and are only being fully worked out in our own time.