ABSTRACT
The Reformation has been seen as the most significant watershed in early-modern Scottish history. The political dimensions were complex but a significant element was rejection of the long-established association with France. French assistance had been vital in countering English attacks in the 1540s but the price was French domination. In 1558 the marriage between the young Queen Mary and the Dauphin seemed likely to many Scots ‘to lead to Scotland becoming a mere appendage of France. The Reformers, by firmly rejecting the religion of Rome, reorientated Scotland’s political links away from France and the ‘auld alliance’, drawing Scotland much closer to England. The Scottish Reformation was only accomplished with English assistance and the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 marked the start of a long period of increasing convergence of interests between the two countries. Economic and social trends were slower to follow political changes. Trade and cultural contacts with France continued to be significant to Scotland. Nevertheless, contacts with England grew steadily more important in the century and a half after the Reformation, underpinned by economic and social changes which slowly brought the two countries closer together.
