Identity within the Union State, 1800-1900

Radicalism peaked in Scotland in the 1790s, and would continue to rumble into the 1820s, and beyond that, into Chartism and suffrage disputes. Coming out of the eighteenth century, the Scots found common cause as Britons facing down the upheavals of American independence, war with France, the United Irishmen's challenge to British rule, and union with Ireland. Tales of great men, especially military men, marked Scotland's impact in its Empire role. The regiments and the (often brutal) successes of the Scottish soldier were strong narratives at home. Similarly, accounts of Scottish overseas missionaries coupled firmly nation and Empire across the genders. These were identities of the Union state. In John M. Mackenzie's terms, the British Empire, for the Scots, reflected English institutions imbued with a Scottish ethos. This article explores identity within the Union state during the years 1800–1900, focusing on parliamentary reform and political identity, nationalism within the Union state, and the establishment of the Scottish Home Rule Association in 1886.