The Education Act 1696 was an Act of the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

(1696 c.26) that ordered locally funded, Church-supervised schools to be established in every

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. It was passed by the Parliament at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 8 September 1696 in the reign of

Mary II Mary II (30 April 166228 December 1694) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, co-reigning with her husband, William III & II, from 1689 until her death in 1694. Mary was the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and his first wife ...

and William II. The Act for settling of schools stated that for every parish without a school and paid schoolmaster * a school will be founded and a schoolmaster appointed with the advice of the

heritor A heritor was a privileged person in a parish in Scots law. In its original acceptation, it signified the proprietor of a heritable subject, but, in the law relating to parish government, the term was confined to such proprietors of lands or house ...

s and the parish minister. * to this end, the heritors of every congregation will meet, and provide ** a suitable house for the school. ** an annual salary for the schoolmaster, between 100-200

merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...

. ** a new tax on heritors and life-renters to pay for these. ** for the tenants of heritors, they must pay half of the taxable amount on the land that they use to their heritors. * if a majority of the heritors cannot agree, then any 5 members of the

commissioners of supply Commissioners of Supply were local administrative bodies in Scotland from 1667 to 1930. Originally established in each sheriffdom to collect tax, they later took on much of the responsibility for the local government of the counties of Scotland. ...

are empowered to do it and assess the new tax. * if the new tax is not paid, the debt is doubled,

letters of horning Letters of horning ''(Scots law)'': a document (i.e., letters) issued by civil authorities that publicly denounce a person as an outlaw. The document was issued against persons who had not paid their debts. Historically, the documents would be a ...

are issued, and further actions will be taken; and if the tax is still not paid, the debt is repeatedly redoubled until it has been paid. * if the Parliament passes a suspension of this act, it will be discussed summarily, without the usual Parliamentary formalities. * life-renters owe the new tax on their rented land, just as if they owned the land. * it is lawful for any person to petition the

, sheriff, or other judge competent for redress of any perceived inequality, if done within a year and a day. * vacant stipends (money due or collected, but never spent) may be redirected towards realising this act, except regarding the

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

, where a 1690 act had already re-directed vacant stipends to this same purpose. * the sheriff is empowered to apply vacant stipends towards the realisation of this act. * except where they conflict with this act, no previous legal efforts for establishing and maintaining schools are changed. The ongoing

Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

power struggle had been decided, so school supervision henceforth would be by presbyteries (as per the Presbyterian view; the Episcopalian view was supervision by

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s). This act had the same purpose as similar acts in 1633 and 1646, and was in fact a repeat of the Education Act 1646, with little but the wording changed to reflect the more modern (i.e. 50 years later) times. The act was effective in establishing schools and fostering education throughout the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

areas of Scotland, and would remain the basis for Scottish education until the reforms of 1872, although a later act (in 1803, 43 Geo. III c. 54) would increase the schoolmaster's salary and modernise the language. The act was not effective elsewhere, as it was used only as a tool in an effort to wipe out

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

(the obliteration of the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

language was a stated goal of the Act of Privy Council dated 10 December 1616). That government policy towards the Highlanders was not different at the time of this act is exemplified by the contemporary "Act and remit in favour of the synod of Argyll" of 12 July 1695, which authorised military action to collect assessments made for the "erecting of English schools for rooting out of the Irish language, and other pious uses".

Notes

{{Law, state=collapsed 1696 in law Acts of the Parliament of Scotland 1696 in Scotland School Establishment Acts History of education in Scotland 17th century in education

See also

Notes