Broadside entitled 'A List Of the Names of the SCOTS Members, which are to sit in the British Parliament'

This list contains a number of very famous Scottish politicans, including the Duke of Queensferry, Earl of Seafield, Marquis of Montrose, Earl of Sutherland, and the Marquis of Tweeddale. A note below the title states, 'As they were Chosen in Parliament February the 13. 1707'. The name of the publisher is not included. Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them. This is a very historic broadside, since it records the names of the Scottish MPs who sat in the first ever British Parliament, following the Act of Union in 1707. In theory, the Act of Union dissolved both the Scottish and English nations, to create the nation state of Great Britain. However, the Treaty of Union was a highly controversial piece of legislation, and many of the politicians included on this list were considered to be thoroughly corrupt, and motivated by greed. Robert Burns famously wrote about the people included on this list in his famous poem, 'Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation'.

Collection

Popular Print in Scotland, 1650-1850

Inventory Number

4502023

Title

Broadside entitled 'A List Of the Names of the SCOTS Members, which are to sit in the British Parliament'

Object Type

PhysicalObject

Measurements

- 173 x 284mm