Publisher's Synopsis
At the beginning of the seventeenth century Scotland had a relatively small standing army as the Union of the Crowns in 1603 had eliminated any military threat from England. Many men wishing to follow military careers went abroad: Ireland, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, and the Americas. Scottish regiments fought alongside English ones against common enemies. As the Union of 1707 increasingly provided opportunities under the British Crown for Scottish soldiers, the appeal of service in. continental armies declined. -- adapted from Introduction.
