The secret plot to end Scottish independence

How did the union of England and Scotland come to fruition? And what did famous writer Daniel Defoe have to do with it? In this episode of the History Extra podcast, Mark Marausky joins Isabel King to explore how complicated the process of union was and the ways in which espionage played a key role in ending Scottish independence. Hello, Mark. Thank you for joining me today.

To kick us off, please can you set the scene for those who might not be as familiar with this time period? What is the historical context leading up to the debate over union that your book centres around? Thanks, Isabel, and thanks for having me. Look, it's it's a long history, the Anglo-Scottish relations. go way back.

And I don't cover all of that, but the the basic background to what I'm talking about probably begins in 1603, when James VI of Scotland becomes James I of something that resembles Great Britain. So England and Scotland have what is, to all intents and purposes, a regnal union. And Scotland maintains its parliament, England maintains its parliament, there's certain aspects that are governed separately, but they share a monarch and foreign policy is conducted through London. James wanted to have a combined parliament.

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