Events from the year 1704 in 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 Anglo-Sc ...

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

–

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

* Secretary of State – ** until October:

James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry and 1st Duke of Dover (18 December 16626 July 1711) was a Scottish nobleman and a leading politician of the late 17th and the early 18th centuries. As Lord High Commissioner he was instrumental in negoti ...

, jointly with George Mackenzie, 1st Viscount Tarbat ** from October: John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe jointly with James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Seafield

Law officers

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

– Sir James Stewart *

Solicitor General for Scotland His Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland () is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots Law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and P ...

– William Carmichael

Judiciary

Lord President of the Court of Session The Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General () is the most senior judge in Scotland, the head of the judiciary, and the presiding judge of the College of Justice, the Court of Session, and the High Court of Justiciary. ...

– Lord North Berwick *

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

– Lord Tarbat *

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. The current Lord Justice Clerk is Lord Beckett, who was appointed to the position on 4 February 2025, succeeding Lady Dorr ...

– Lord Prestonhall, then Lord Whitelaw

Events

* 5 August – the

Parliament of Scotland In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

passes the

Act of Security 1704 The Act of Security 1704 (c. 3), also referred to as the Act for the Security of the Kingdom, was a response by the Parliament of Scotland to the Parliament of England's Act of Settlement 1701. Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne's last su ...

in response to the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catho ...

, allowing the Scottish Parliament to select its own successor to the monarch. * 10 September –

Lower Largo Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links. Largo is an ancient fishing village in the parish of Largo, ...

-born sailor

Alexander Selkirk Alexander Selkirk (167613 December 1721) was a Scottish privateer and Royal Navy officer who spent four years and four months as a castaway (1704–1709) after being marooned by his captain, initially at his request, on an uninhabited island ...

chooses to be marooned from a privateer ship in the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands () are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...

. * 20 September –

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

is erected a

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

Births

* 30 April – Jean Adam, poet (died

1765 Events January–March * January 23 – Prince Joseph of Austria marries Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria in Vienna. * January 29 – One week before his death, Mir Jafar, who had been enthroned as the Nawab of Bengal and ...

) * 7 September – John Hope, 2nd Earl of Hopetoun (died

1781 Events January–March * January – William Pitt the Younger, later Prime Minister of Great Britain, enters Parliament of Great Britain, Parliament, aged 21. * January 1 – Industrial Revolution: The Iron Bridge opens ...

) Date unknown * William Hamilton, Jacobite poet (died 1754) *

William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock William Boyd, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock (12 May 170518 August 1746), was a Scottish peer who joined the 1745 Jacobite Rising, was captured at Culloden and subsequently executed for treason on Tower Hill. His family were supporters of the governmen ...

(died

1746 Events January–March * January 8 – The Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart occupies Stirling, Scotland. * January 17 – Battle of Falkirk Muir: British Government forces are defeated by Jacobite forces. * February ...

) *

Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore (1704 – 18 January 1753) was a Scottish nobleman, and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1735, when he resigned upon succeeding to the peerage as Earl of Strathmore. Lyon was ba ...

(died

1753 Events January–March * January 3 – King Binnya Dala of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom orders the burning of Ava, the former capital of the Kingdom of Burma. * January 29 – After a month's absence, Elizabeth Canning return ...

)

Deaths

* 4 January – Sir Alexander Munro of Bearcrofts (year of birth unknown) * 6 March –

George Seton, 4th Earl of Winton George Seton, 4th Earl of Winton (c. 1641 – 6 March 1704) was a Scotland, Scottish Cavalier, Royalist, Privy Councillor, and Sheriff of Haddingtonshire. He was the son of George Seton, Lord Seton, George Seton, Master of Winton, and Lady Henr ...

(born c. 1641) * 13 June –

Arthur Rose Arthur Rose (also found as Ross; 1634–1704) was a Scottish Minister of the Church of Scotland, minister, Archbishop of St Andrews, and, informally, the first Episcopal Primate of Scotland, after the fall of the Restoration Episcopate in 1689. ...

, prelate (born 1634) Date unknown * Lilias Adie, accused witch (year of birth unknown)

References

Years of the 18th century in Scotland 1700s in Scotland {{Scotland-hist-stub