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The Act of Union 1707

How the parliaments of England and Scotland combined to create the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The crowns of England and Scotland had been united since 1603 under James VI and I, but each kingdom kept its own parliament. The Act of Union 1707 abolished both and created a single Parliament of Great Britain at Westminster, sitting for the new Kingdom of Great Britain. Scottish law, the Church of Scotland and the Scottish education system were preserved as separate institutions.

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A century later the Acts of Union 1800 added Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Irish parliament was abolished and Irish MPs took seats at Westminster. After most of Ireland left the union in 1922, the country took its current name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

You may be asked which year the Act of Union with Scotland was signed (1707), or which year Ireland joined the union (1800).

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