Changes

==Precursor to the Industrial Revolution==

==Precursor to the Industrial Revolution==

When Scotland ratified the 1707 Act of Union, it was an economic backwater. Union gave Scotland access to England's global marketplace, triggering an economic and cultural boom transforming a land of only 1.3 million people into a modern society, and opening up a cultural and social revolution. German Sociologist [[Max Weber]] credited the Calvinist "Protestant Ethic," involving hard work and a sense of divine predestination, for the entrepreneurial spirit of the Scots. Others credit the educational system, especially its leading universities and medical faculties at Edinburgh and Glasgow. The 18th-century [[Scottish Enlightenment]], embodied by such brilliant thinkers as [[Francis Hutcheson]], [[Adam Smith]] and [[David Hume]], paved the way for the modernization of Scotland and [[Atlantic History|the entire Atlantic world]]. Hutcheson, the father of the Scottish Enlightenment, championed political liberty and the right of popular rebellion against tyranny. Smith, in his monumental ''Wealth of Nations'' (1776), advocated liberty in the sphere of commerce and the global economy. Hume developed philosophical concepts that directly influenced [[James Madison]] and [[Alexander Hamilton]] and thus the U.S. Constitution. In 19th-century Britain, the Scottish Enlightenment, as popularized by Dugald Stewart, became the basis of classical liberalism. At the University of Glasgow, [[James Watt]] perfected the crucial technology of the Industrial Revolution: the steam engine. The "democratic" camp meeting found a home in the [[Second Great Awakening]] in the United States.

When Scotland ratified the 1707 Act of Union, it was an economic backwater. Union gave Scotland access to England's global marketplace, triggering an economic and cultural boom transforming a land of only 1.3 million people into a modern society, and opening up a cultural and social revolution. German Sociologist [[Max Weber]] credited the Calvinist "Protestant Ethic," involving hard work and a sense of divine predestination, for the entrepreneurial spirit of the Scots. Others credit the educational system, especially its leading universities and medical faculties at Edinburgh and Glasgow. The 18th century [[Scottish Enlightenment]], embodied by such brilliant thinkers as [[Francis Hutcheson]], [[Adam Smith]] and [[David Hume]], paved the way for the modernization of Scotland and [[Atlantic History|the entire Atlantic world]]. Hutcheson, the father of the Scottish Enlightenment, championed political liberty and the right of popular rebellion against tyranny. Smith, in his monumental ''Wealth of Nations'' (1776), advocated liberty in the sphere of commerce and the global economy. Hume developed philosophical concepts that directly influenced [[James Madison]] and [[Alexander Hamilton]] and thus the U.S. Constitution. In 19th century Britain, the Scottish Enlightenment, as popularized by Dugald Stewart, became the basis of classical liberalism. At the University of Glasgow, [[James Watt]] perfected the crucial technology of the Industrial Revolution: the steam engine. The "democratic" camp meeting found a home in the [[Second Great Awakening]] in the United States.

In time, the union resulted in obvious economic benefits. Scottish ports, especially those on the Clyde, began to import tobacco from America, and, in order to meet the demand of the colonists for manufactured goods, Scottish industries, especially linen-manufacturing, were developed. The British monopoly of the tobacco trade came to an end with the [[American Revolution]], but Scottish industrial growth continued. Scotland strongly supported the Empire in the American Revolutionary wars, and in the wars against [[Napoleon]], laying to rest the fears of dissension.

In time, the union resulted in obvious economic benefits. Scottish ports, especially those on the Clyde, began to import tobacco from America, and, in order to meet the demand of the colonists for manufactured goods, Scottish industries, especially linen-manufacturing, were developed. The British monopoly of the tobacco trade came to an end with the [[American Revolution]], but Scottish industrial growth continued. Scotland strongly supported the Empire in the American Revolutionary wars, and in the wars against [[Napoleon]], laying to rest the fears of dissension.