James Anderson (5 August 1662 – 3 April 1728), Scottish antiquary and historian, was born at

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

. His father was

Patrick Anderson of Walston Patrick Anderson of Walston was a 17th-century minister and Covenanter. Early life He graduated with an M.A. from St. Andrews 1648. He came to Walston between 1 May and 1 November 1655. Legal troubles He was subsequently deprived of his po ...

, a church minister, who was for some time imprisoned on the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), ( gd, Creag nam Bathais or gd, Am Bas) is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volca ...

on the Firth of Forth in

Haddingtonshire East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

Education and career

He was educated for the law, and became a

writer to the signet The Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet is a private society of Scottish solicitors, dating back to 1594 and part of the College of Justice. Writers to the Signet originally had special privileges in relation to the drawing up of document ...

(Scottish solicitor or attorney) in 1691. His profession gave him the opportunity of gratifying his taste for the study of ancient documents; and just before the Act of Union 1707 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 ...

commissioned him to prepare for publication what remained of the public records of the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

, and in their last session voted a sum of £1940

pound Scots The pound ( Modern and Middle Scots: ''Pund'') was the currency of Scotland prior to the 1707 Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was introduced by David I ...

to defray his expenses. At this work he laboured for several years; but it was not completed at his death in 1728. The book was published posthumously in 1739, edited by

Thomas Ruddiman Thomas Ruddiman (October 167419 January 1757) was a Scottish classical scholar. Life He was born on a farm near Boyndie, three miles from Banff in Banffshire, where his father was a farmer. He was educated locally, then studied at the Univer ...

, under the title ''Selectus Diplomatum et Numismatum Scotiae Thesaurus''. Ruddiman also produced a translation into Scots. The preparation of this great national work was expensive; and soon after his death, the numerous plates, engraved by John Sturt, were sold for £530. These plates are now lost, and the book has become exceedingly scarce. Anderson was appointed in 1715

Postmaster General for Scotland The Postmaster General for Scotland, based in Edinburgh, was responsible for the postal service in the Kingdom of Scotland from approximately 1616 until the Act of Union unified Scotland and England in 1707, creating a new state called the Kin ...

, as some compensation for his labours; but in the political struggles of 1717 he was deprived of this office, and never again obtained any reward for his services. Anderson had a significant personal library which included a substantial collection of works by English historians.

Advocacy of Scottish independence

He published, during the controversy about whether Scotland was bound by the Act of Settlement 1701 or not, ''An Historical Essay showing that the Crown and Kingdom of Scotland is Imperial and Independent'' (Edinburgh, 1705), and later ''Collections relating to the History of Mary Queen of Scotland'' (in 4 vols, Edin., 1727–1728), both of which were later used extensively by his great-nephew, the historian William Robertson.

Education and career

Advocacy of Scottish independence

See also

References

Further reading