The Auld Alliance between Scotland and France may never have been dissolved and could still be in place today, according to a new academic study.
The 13th-century Alliance committed both countries to help the other in times of crisis and was primarily used to spark joint actions against the common enemy – England.
Historian Dr Siobhan Talbott has spent four years researching the agreement, which was signed in 1295, and cannot find any evidence to suggest that it has ever been rescinded formally.
Dr Talbott said that although it has no practical applications either for the French or the Scots today, the treaty itself could still be in existence – at least in theory – which would make it the longest and most enduring international pact in history.
The Auld Alliance was formally adopted by Scotland and France in 1295, committing each country to come to the other’s aid should the other be attacked. It also gave citizens of each country special privileges in the other.
The common enemy for a long time after it was signed was England, and both countries honoured the agreement by helping the other in actions against England in the years that followed.
By 1560, however, Scotland was converting to Protestantism and the Treaty of Edinburgh of that year has been seen by many historians as the point at which the Auld Alliance was dissolved.
Dr Talbott does not share that view – and, having been through the Treaty of Edinburgh in detail, she is convinced that there is nothing in the text to end the Alliance at that point.
“The aim of the Treaty was to remove French troops," Dr Talbott said, "there was no mention of the Auld Alliance. Some French troops were removed from Scotland and some were allowed to remain”.
She has also studied the commercial relationship between Scotland and France through the 17th and 18th centuries.
During this time, English merchants often found themselves penalised by the French. They had to pay extra duties and were prevented from selling certain products. Sometimes their goods were seized by French privateers. But Scots merchants were usually allowed to trade without restriction even after Scotland and England had come together under the Act of Union in 1707.
Dr Talbott said: “Despite the fact that Scotland and England were part of the same jurisdiction, Scottish merchants were able to trade when the English were not. Scotland and France continued to have a good commercial relationship.”
The next point at which it has been suggested that the Auld Alliance was dissolved was in 1906, after the 1904 Entente Cordiale between France and Great Britain – but there is clear documentary evidence to suggest that the French refused to dissolve the Auld Alliance at this point.
And once again, according to Dr Talbott, there is nothing in any treaty or agreement ending the Auld Alliance on the French side.
One of the implications of the Auld Alliance was that Scots had been granted the same rights as Frenchmen in France and vice versa.
The French did end this part in 1906, but they refused to make it retrospective – which means that, theoretically at least, any Scot born before 1906 would still possess the full rights of Franco-Scottish nationality in France, even today.
Charles de Gaulle, the wartime Free French leader, made a speech in Edinburgh in 1942 which gives further weight to Dr Talbott’s claims. De Gaulle described the Alliance as an active agreement, claiming it was “the oldest in the world”
The 638-year-old alliance between England and Portugal, signed in 1373, is accepted by many historians as the oldest international pact in the world – but, if the Auld Alliance has never actually been rescinded, it would now be 716 years old.
Dr Talbott said: “It’s going to be difficult to prove conclusively that Auld Alliance of 1295 is the longest in history - but there is strong evidence to suggest that this could indeed be the case.”
And she added: “I have found no evidence that it has been formally dissolved.”
Dr Talbott said the way Scots saw themselves in the 17th and 18th centuries might have a resonance today. “Scots saw their country as an independent entity throughout the 18th century," she said, "even after the Union of the Scottish and English monarchies in 1603 and the Union of their parliaments in 1707 – and other European nations regarded them like that, too.
“This might explain why Scots seem to have more of a notion of independence than the English, who appear to more readily see themselves as 'British' – and it will be interesting to see if the results of the 2011 Census and the proposed 2014 referendum on Scottish Independence reflect this.”
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