July 22, 1706

Treaty of Union

Anglo-Scottish commissioners sign provisional Articles of Union

The two delegations sat in separate rooms, negotiating by passing written papers back and forth.

22 July 1706: signatures on a draft in London

Commissioners nominated for England and Scotland signed an agreed draft of Articles of Union in London on 22 July 1706, closing negotiations that had run since 16 April.

Thirty-one commissioners had been nominated for each kingdom. They sat in separate rooms and negotiated by passing written papers between them.

What the twenty-five articles proposed

The draft provided for an incorporating union called Great Britain, with a shared Parliament, the Hanoverian Protestant succession, and reciprocal access to trade and colonial markets.

Agreement was not universal on the Scottish side. George Lockhart of Carnwath is the one Scottish commissioner the National Records educational resource identifies as opposing union.

Signed, and binding nothing

The commissioners had no authority to bind either kingdom. A House of Lords constitutional report stresses that they were expressly forbidden to conclude a treaty themselves, and signed only an agreed provisional draft.

The papers were presented to Queen Anne on 23 July, and she recommended them to the Scottish and English parliaments for approval.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

The familiar name “Treaty of Union” can imply a binding treaty signed on 22 July. A House of Lords constitutional report stresses that the commissioners were expressly forbidden to conclude a treaty themselves and signed only an agreed provisional draft.
Contemporary Britain still used Julian day-and-month reckoning. The conventional historical date is retained rather than converted to a proleptic Gregorian date.