A happier time began to dawn on the release of James I., from his English captivity. The events of the following period are better known, and a brief notice of the most important will be sufficient. Reference may be made for details to the accounts of the particular kings. The vigorous rule of James I. had restored a tranquillity to which his kingdom hind long been unaccustomed; but strife and discord were again brought back on his assassination. One of the most calamitous features of the time, was a succession of minorities in the sovereign. James himself had succeeded when a child and a captive; .Tames II., James III., .Tames IV., James V., Mary, and James VI., nhl succeeded while under age, and all, except James IV., when little more titan infants, The courage and ability shown by almost all the Stewart princes were insufficient to repair the mischiefs done by others in the beginning of their reigns, and to abate the great curse of the country—the unlimited power and constant feuds of the nobles. The last addition to the Scottish kingdom was made in the reign of James III., when the islands of Orkney and Zeiland were made over to him as the dowry of his queen. Mar garet of Denmark. The marriage of James IV. with Margaret of England was far more important in its ultimate results, and brought about in the reign of his great-grand son that peaceful union with England which the death of the maiden 'of Norway had prevented in the 13th century. Many good laws were enacted during the reigns of the Jameses; but the wisdom of the Scottish legislature was more shown in framing them than the vigor of the government in enforcing them. Among the most important improvements of period was the establishment of universities—the first of which, that of St.. Andrews', was founded during the minority of James I.—and the institution of the college of justice in the reign of James V.
During the reign of the fifth James, religious discord added another clement to the evils with which Scotland was afflicted. The practical corruptions of the church were greater than they were almost in any other country in Europe. and one of the conse quences was. that the principles of the reformation were pushed further than elsewhere, The first great ecclesiastical struggle had hardly ceased, by the overthrow of the Roman Catholic system, when the strife began anew in the reformed communion in the shape of :t contest between Episcopacy and Presbyterianism, the former being supported by the sovereign, the latter by.the common people, the nobles throwinog their weight into either scale as it suited their policy at the time. James VI. struggled hard to establish an absolute supremacy. both in church and state, in opposition to a powerful party, which admitted no royal authority whatever in the former, and very little in the latter. After his accession to the English crown, he was apparently successful in carrying out his designs, but during the reign of his son, Charles I., the contest again broke out with increased bitterness. The nobility, whose rapacity had been checked by the sovereign, joined the popular party. The opponents of the crown bound themselves together, first by the national covenant., and afterward in alliance with the English Puritans, by the solemn league and covenant. Their efforts were completely successful, but their suc cess led to the utter overthrow of the monarchy by Cromwell.
The restoration of Charles II. was welcomed by all classes, wearied as they were of a foreign and military rule, but especially by the nobles and gently, who had learned by bitter experience that the humiliation of the sovereign was necessarily followed by the degradation of their order. Had the government of Charles 11. and James VII. been
reasonably just and moderate, it could hardly have failed in securing ger_eral support; but unfortunately it was more oppressive and more corrupt than any which Scotland had experienced since the. regencies in the minority of James VI. The natural result was the revolution, which seated William and Mary on the throne.
Hardly had the majority of the nation been successful in this, when many of them began to repent of what they had done, and Jacohitism became more popular than royalist principles had ever been when the house of Stewart was on the throne. The discontent was greatly increased by the fears entertained of Engligh influence. The state of matters grew so threatening after the accession of queen Anne, that the ruling Eng lish statesmen became satisfied that nothing short of an incorporating union between the two kingdoms could avert the danger of a disputed succession to the throne, and of a civil war. Supported by some of the ablest and most influential persons in Scot land, they were successful in carrying through their design, though it was opposed by a majority of the Scottish people. The act of union was formally ratified by the parlia meat of Scotland on Jan. 16, 1707. It subsequently received the royal assent, and came into operation on May 1, of the same year. The union continued to be unpopular in Scotland fur many years, and unpopularity increased by the corrupt means freely used to carry it through. But the discontent gradually ceased, and the ultimate consequences of the measure have been mostly beneficial to both kingdoms.
A few words may he added regarding the parliament of Scotland. That body was originally composed, like the English parliament, of three classes—the ecclesiastics (consisting of bishops, abbots, and priors), the barons, and the burgesses. The spiritual lords, doting the establishment of episecpacy after the reformation, were ctimpo:ed of bishops only. When Presbyterianism was established at the time of the covenant, and when it was formally ratified hy law at the revolution, the ecclesiastical estate ceased to have any place in parliament. The barons, orimmediate vassals of the crown, at first sat in their own right, holding peerages or not; but afterward the peers alone sat. the others sending their representatives. The burgesses were the representa tives of the burghs. All the three estates-sat to the very-last in one house, the sovereign presiding in person, or through a commissioner named It would be impossible within reasonable limits to give a complete account of the original authorities for the history of Scotland. The principal ones are tl.e following. For the period before thc accession of David I.—Venerable Bede, the Early Lives of the Saints, the Irish Annals, the brief Scottish Chronicles published by limes and Pinker ton, and the ancient English Chroniclers. For the subsequent period down to the reformation—the Chronicles of Melrose and Lanercost, the Seotichronicon of Emdun and Bower, Winton's Chronicle, Leslie's and Buchman's histories, the English Chroni clers, and the Ecclesiastical Chartularios, and the Acts of the Scottish Parliament. For the period from the reformation to the iinion—Knox's, Calderwood's, Spottiswood's Histories, Baillie's Letters, Wodrow's and Burners Histories, the Acts of Parliameht, and the State Papers. The chief modern authorities are Innes's Critical Essay on the Ancient Inhabitants of Scotland, Pinkerton's 1»gnity into the History of Scotland, Clml mers's Caledonia, Ilailes's Annals, and Tytlet's, Pobertson's, Laing's, and Burton's Historiev of Scotland, the Domestic Annals of Scotland, by R. Chambers, and Skene's Celtic Scotland.