1701 - 1729

1701
Captain Kidd, born at Greenock, is hanged for piracy and murder.

1702
When William III dies, he is succeeded by his sister-in-law Anne, who will be the last monarch of the House of Stuart.

1703
A clause sponsored by Scottish patriot Andrew Fletcher in the Scottish Act of Security encourages the English Parliament to go ahead with its plans to pass the Act of Union with Scotland four years later.

1707
On May 1st, the United Kingdom is created when England and Scotland are united under the Union Jack. The Scottish Parliament is abolished in favor of seats at Westminster. Scotland is to keep its legal system and the Presbyterian Kirk.

1711
Alexander Selkirk arrives back in Britain after five years living alone on an island in the Pacific. His description of his lonely life, published in 1712, will be made famous when adapted by Daniel Defoe as "Robinson Crusoe".

1712
Upon the re-introduction of the infamous penal laws against his clan, Robert MacGregor takes the name of Campbell and begins his career as brigand and highwayman, later to be romantically embellished by Sir Walter Scott as "Rob Roy," a fighter for justice against the English.

1715
The collapse of a rebellion led by the Earl of Mar once again means a flight to France by a Scottish king; this time it is the turn of James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, and a defeat for the Jacobite cause.

1718
The Highlanders are defeated at Glenshiel in support of an abortive raid by Spanish troops.

1719
Colin Maclaurin is admitted to the Royal Society of London. One year later he is to publish his "Organic Geometry, with the Description of the Universal Linear Curves" in which he develops several theories similar to those of Isaac Newton.

1723
The Scottish lairds form the Society of Improvers in the Knowledge of Agriculture in Scotland, mainly to find methods to cultivate vast wastelands and highlands, certainly not to improve the lives of the crofters.

1725
A method of making plaster of Paris impressions by William Ged makes the use of metal printing plates possible and thus cheapens the cost of letterpress printing.

A disarming act forbids Highlanders from carrying arms in public, a long-held practice.

1726
A full faculty of Medicine is created at Edinburgh University with chairs in Botany, Medicine, Anatomy, Chemistry and Midwifery.

1727
Birth of Neil Gow, one of Scotland's most revered musicians, composer of reels, strathspeys, jigs and hornpipes, who will create a tradition of fiddling that has lasted until today.

1728
Birth of Robert Adam, the great neo-classical architect, whose designs will have great influence in both Britain and the American Colonies as well as upon furniture makers Hepplewhite and Sheridan.

1729
The Edinburgh Infirmary is opened, far ahead of its time in its enlightened treatment of the sick. English replaces Latin as the language used in the lecture room.