Several important – and surprising – conclusions emerge from this study of the Scottish unionist tradition. In the first place, it should be clear that the subject under investigation is not the singular phenomenon of unionism, but the various unionisms in which Scots have historically articulated their wish for some form of association with England. Scottish unionist political thought is not reducible to an unambiguous ideological position shared by all unionists. Nor, for that matter, is Scottish nationalism easily reduced to a basic core doctrine of national independence. Indeed, one of the most curious findings of this study is that, for the most part, Scottish political argument has long been conducted in the vast yet variegated terrain which constitutes the middle ground between the extremes of anglicising unionism and anglophobic nationalism. While there is a huge gulf between the most extreme forms of unionism and nationalism, the most influential forms of unionism have been tinged with nationalist considerations, while the mainstream of nationalism has tended to favour some form of wider association with England, whether in a looser union, a federated empire or as a partner within the European Union. At the heart of this study is an awareness of the ways in which political unionism co-existed in Scotland with certain forms of Scottish national consciousness, most particularly a decidedly non-Anglican, sometimes defiantly anti-Anglican, Scots presbyterian churchmanship.