The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

which sat from the early sixteenth century. Initially it was only attended by the clergy and nobles, but the

burgh commissioners A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other c ...

were later added. The Convention of Estates differed from Parliament in that it could be summoned by the King for the limited purpose of raising taxation, but could not pass other legislation. Like its predecessor

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

it played an important role in political and legislative affairs in Scotland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. During the

Glorious Revolution in Scotland The Glorious Revolution in Scotland refers to the Scottish element of the 1688 Glorious Revolution, in which James VII was replaced by his daughter Mary II and her husband William III of Orange, William II as joint monarchs of Kingdom of Scotla ...

, the Scottish Privy Council summoned the

Convention of Estates of 1689 The 1689 Convention of Estates sat between 16 March 1689 and 5 June 1689 to determine the settlement of the Scottish throne, following the deposition of James VII in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. The Convention of the Estates of Scotland was a si ...

to determine the throne of Scotland. It offered it to William and Mary, adopting the Articles of Grievances and

Claim of Right Act 1689 The Claim of Right (c. 28) is an Act passed by the Convention of the Estates, a sister body to the Parliament of Scotland (or Three Estates), in April 1689. It is one of the key documents of United Kingdom constitutional law and Scottish const ...

, and transformed itself into a full parliament.

See also

References

Further reading