I
(Jan. 1, 1801) Legislative agreement uniting Great Britain and Ireland under the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
After the unsuccessful Irish revolt of 1798, the British prime minister,
II
(May 1, 1707) Treaty that effected the union of England (and Wales) and Scotland under the name of Great Britain.
The union benefited England's need for political safeguards against a possible {{link=Jacobite">Jacobite restoration through Scotland, and it gave Scotland economic security by freedom of trade with England. Under the treaty, initiated by Queen Anne , the two kingdoms adopted the Protestant succession, preserved Scots law and the law courts, and agreed to uniform taxation.