Description: This is the first full scholarly study of state formation and the exercise of state power in Scotland. It sets the Scottish state in a British and European context, revealing that Scotland -- like larger and better-known states -- developed a more integrated governmental system in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is an important and controversial contribution to the history of Scotland.
Review Quotes: "[O]ffers a lively, intelligent, at times eccentric, but always entertaining overview not just of its historical subject but also of the debates generated by three successive waves of scholars who have brought modern techniques to the analysis of this resource-rich historical field."--American Historical Review
"Well-written, insightful...[A] wide-ranging, well-argued, and convincing account of the establishment of a centralized state in Scotland."--Sixteenth Century Journal"A stimulating book."--CHOICE