The Formation of the British State: England, Scotland, and the Union 1603 - 1707

by Brian P. Levack

Between the Union of the Crowns in 1603 and the Union of Parliaments in 1707, numerous proposals were made to strengthen relations between England and Scotland. Here, Brian P. Levack draws on a large body of pamphlet literature, state papers, and parliamentary records to explore the 17th- and early 18th-century schemes to unite the political, legal, religious, economic, and social elements of the two countries. An important contribution to English and Scottish history, The Formation of the British State sheds new light on how the British state acquired many of the features it still possesses today, and why it differed significantly from both the English and the Scottish states out of which it was formed.

268 pages, Hardcover

First published December 10, 1987

About the author

Brian Levack is John E. Green Regents Professor in History and Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. The winner of several teaching awards, Levack offers a wide variety of courses on early modern British and European history, legal history, and the history of witchcraft. For eight years he served as the chair of his department. His books include The Civil Lawyers in England, 1603-1641: A Political Study(1973), The Formation of the British State: England, Scotland and the Union, 1603-1707(1987); The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe (3rd edition, 2006), which has been translated into eight languages; and Witch-Hunting in Scotland: Law, Politics, and Religion(2008). His newest book is The Devil Within: Possessions and Exorcism in the Christian West.