ABSTRACT
The prelude to and the results of the Revolution of 1688–9 accentuated the religious divisions of Presbyterian, Roman Catholic and Episcopalian. The divisions between the Jacobites and the supporters in Scotland of the new Dutch king likewise persisted. The geographical division in Scotland between the Highlands and the Lowlands was linked to the political and religious ruptures and, in turn, led to great personal differences between the two areas. The work was inspired and conducted by Sir John Sinclair, first President of the Board of Agriculture; in May 1790, when a lay member of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, he prevailed upon parish ministers to act as agents of an inquiry into the general state of Scotland. The Advocates’ Library was of too great a value to Scotland not to merit a new building, let alone the number of books and valuable historical manuscripts it contained which were beginning to exceed existing accommodation.
