What was the Act of Union 1707?
The Acts of Union of 1707 joined the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into a single state, the Kingdom of Great Britain, with one parliament in Westminster. They took effect on 1 May 1707.
England and Scotland had shared the same monarch since 1603, when James VI of Scotland became James I of England. However, they remained separate kingdoms with their own parliaments.
The Acts were passed by both the English and Scottish parliaments. Scotland's economy had suffered after the failure of the Darien scheme, a costly attempt to set up a colony in Panama.
What changed
The Scottish Parliament was dissolved, and Scottish members joined the Parliament of Great Britain in London. Scotland kept its own legal system, education system and Presbyterian church.
The union was unpopular with many Scots at the time, and there were protests in Edinburgh.
In 1801, another Act of Union joined Great Britain with Ireland, creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
A Scottish Parliament was reestablished in 1999 through devolution. In 2014, Scotland voted to remain in the UK in an independence referendum.