Anglo-Scottish migration and the Making of Great Britain, 1603-1762The University of Manchester

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'Anglo-Scottish migration and the Making of Great Britain, 1603-1762' will investigate migration between England and Scotland in the early modern period. Although studies of British external migration in this period have been developed, this has seldom included a focus on movement within Britain. Consequently, the long-term effects of this movement for the development of the British state or a British identity in a period characterised by a changing Anglo-Scottish political relationship have not been considered in any detail.The research undertaken by the network will focus on the period from the union of the crowns in 1603, through the union of the English and Scottish parliaments in 1707, and into the mid-eighteenth century, by which time the British state was secure and a form of British identity had arguably emerged. At either end of this period stands James VI and I, a Scottish king who became king of Great Britain, and Lord Bute, a Scottish politician who became prime minister of Great Britain. The research generated by the network will ask questions regarding the origins of individual and groups of Scots who settled in England in the early modern period, and explore their experiences of this movement. It will identify the catalysts for this migration taking place and its consequences both for the composite nations of England and Scotland, and for Great Britain as a coherent state. The network will consider this primarily from an historical perspective, but will incorporate scholars of related disciplines and will ask questions with relevance to contemporary society (see Academic Beneficiaries/Impact Summary).In the upper levels of society there is significant evidence of Scots at the royal court, in government, holding military and colonial offices, and integrating within aristocratic circles. Below this strata the picture is less clear. This network will penetrate beyond existing, vague notions regarding the experiences of Scottish doctors and soldiers, to uncover the stories of ordinary Scots who made their way to England and whose lives became part of the glue that created Great Britain. The experiences and perception of individuals who left their homes in Scotland and made new lives for themselves in England must be placed alongside our analysis of state formation and national identity. Why did they leave; where did they go; what skills did they bring with them; what resistance did they encounter; to what extent did they create new identities? These are just some of the questions that will be considered by the network, and we will answer them by using a range of theoretical approaches, embracing both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. This research will include an attempt to consider the number of Scots who settled in England, to analyse their occupational classification, and to assess regional variation, but will also assess their motives and relate selected narratives.One central question that will be addressed is the extent to which this migration might be considered to be successful. The working thesis is that Scots did not have a difficult time in England, that they mixed at all levels in the host society, and that neither was the legitimacy of their own identity seriously challenged, or any impediment put in the way of their integration into local communities. Scots could choose to remain distinctively Scottish, or they could assimilate and become English, or indeed British. That thesis needs to be tested with greater empirical data, particularly outside elite society. But if it is correct, we need a more refined explanation than some indistinct notions of similar language and religion and a united monarchy. We may also be able to construct a model of 'successful' migration with a view to feeding into discussion of migration policy.