On This Day in Tech History

The entity we know as the UK today was formed on May 1, 1707, when Scotland and England signed the Act of Union. The Act of Union was a law passed by the British Parliament in 1707 that merged the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England into one sovereign state, known as the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Act was designed to strengthen the security and economic interests of both nations and allowed for greater consolidation of power and resources within the new united kingdom. The Act of Union had significant political and cultural implications, as it abolished the Scottish Parliament and transferred political power to Westminster, effectively ending centuries of Scottish independence. The Act of Union paved the way for the creation of the modern-day United Kingdom, which eventually included Ireland in 1801.