Citation

Harris B. Hist. Res. 2007; 80(210): 518-544.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2281.2006.00407.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

While a great deal of work on England and Ireland in the seventeen-nineties has been published in recent decades, Scotland has attracted far less attention. This article uses a series of uniquely rich archival collections to reconstruct in detail currents of opinion and political developments in two Scottish counties, Perthshire and Angus, in this period. It presents new evidence on the scope, social depth and resilience of radicalism and loyalism, and examines the nature and limitations of political stability in this region. In doing so, it brings into question the notion of ‘massive political stability’ in Scotland in the seventeen-nineties and the sharp contrasts which are sometimes drawn between popular politics in England and Scotland in the age of the French Revolution.