Jura Majestatis, or The Rights of Sovereignty: The Privy Council and Government Administration in Scotland, 1689-1708

Abstract

This thesis has two main aims. It is firstly an administrative history of the Scottish Privy Council in its final years, from the Revolution of 1689 until its demise in 1708 following the Anglo-Scottish parliamentary union. Secondly, and through the prism of the first, it is a study of religion and politics in Scotland during this tumultuous and complex period of history which has often escaped sustained interrogation. Except for Derek Patrick’s authoritative doctoral thesis in 2002, the last full-length political history of the 1690s in Scotland was Patrick Riley’s trenchant, but deeply researched and valuable, analysis from 1979. In the time which has elapsed since its publication little has changed on this front with historians preferring to focus on the Revolution moment or union. Indeed, in 2003 Clare Jackson lamented the lack of any detailed study of politics in 1690s Scotland. And, more recently, Amy Blakeway and Laura Stewart have noted that post-Revolution Scotland in terms of government and politics has suffered a ‘strange neglect’. Also, despite the recent increase in scholarly interest into the church and religion after 1689, the Privy Council’s role in church government has never been fully scrutinised. It is therefore high time for such a study to be undertaken in earnest, and by integrating the council’s role in church and civil government after the Revolution, a fuller picture of Scottish government will become clear. The thesis will begin by introducing the historical and historiographical context of the Scottish Privy Council and the Williamite Revolution which began in Scotland in 1689. It also aims to define the term sovereignty – which is a key theme – especially with reference to the contemporary idea of jura majestatis, or the rights of sovereignty, which explained that there were separate realms of sovereign authority wielded by different institutions. In this sense, the council held executive power within jura majestatis and exercised sovereign authority as the crown-in-council. The first chapter will assess the constitutional settlement of 1689 to 1691 through a close analysis of the Privy Council’s political and religious functions and policies in that period. In the second chapter, the council’s role in civil government in the 1690s will be the focus, with particular attention paid to intergovernmental relations. Thirdly, the thesis will turn to the consolidation of the church settlement, its ongoing negotiation, and campaigns for an alternative throughout the 1690s. The council’s relationship with the Kirk was tested at several points here but it remained a linchpin of church government, which at times embodied a conciliar Erastianism which provoked the ire of some in church circles, but which was praised by others. A changing relationship with the Protestant churches and different policy approaches under Queen Anne brought new challenges and the continuation of others. Chapter four assesses the impact of Anne’s accession on the relationship between Kirk and council and sketches the implications for religious minorities such as Episcopalians, Quakers, and Catholics. Following this, the fifth and penultimate chapter will investigate how the council responded to new political challenges in the early eighteenth century. These included the fallout from the failed Darien venture, the 1702-3 elections campaign, the Worcester affair, monetary matters, internal administrative issues, and growing tension between the Scottish and English administrations. Finally, chapter 6 acts as an epilogue which looks into the council’s residual executive powers from around 1706, before turning to its role in the debates for and after the union of 1707 until its inauspicious abolition in May 1708. The thesis aims to provoke a fundamental re-assessment of both the Privy Council in early modern Scotland and the impact of the Scottish Revolution of 1689 on politico-religious ideas, practices, and institutions.