The Treaty of Union was ratified - On this day in history

On 16 January 1707 the Scottish and Westminster parliaments ratified the Treaty of Union. The act passed in the Scottish parliament by 110 votes to 67, amid a background of resistance, with crowds burning copies of the treaty on the streets of Edinburgh and attacking the buildings of the Scottish parliament. So worried were the authorities about the public reaction, that the Scottish documents were sent south with a military escort.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain was subsequently formed on 1 May 1707, when the two parliaments and two royal titles were combined. Queen Anne was Britain's first monarch and Scotland sent 45 men to the new House of Commons.