Sanjay Subrahmanyam suggests that ‘once one leaves behind the antiseptic realm of theoretical economic models, and enters into an historical world of flesh and blood, merchants appear not as faceless facilitators, but as a social reality’. The merchants active in Franco-Scottish commerce during the long seventeenth century certainly were not faceless facilitators, but were individuals who participated in networks and communities whose actions influenced economic policy and shaped early modern trading patterns. Deeper understanding of the actions of these commercial agents forces a reconsideration of the specific Franco-Scottish relationship, but the conclusions drawn within each of the preceding chapters contribute to wider debates regarding warfare, legislation, and British and European dynamics in the early modern period. Crucially, modern responses to conflict cannot be applied to the seventeenth-century experience. The early modern world was indeed a ‘multi-cogged machine of interconnected national and local economies that performed well despite frequent political realignments’. The wars of the seventeenth century may have shaped the arena in which commerce took place, but they did not dictate merchants' activities.

Fundamental to all of the issues discussed in this book is the continuation of the Auld Alliance. Contrary to accepted historiography, the Auld Alliance was not ‘shattered’ in 1560, nor did the events of 1603, 1654 or 1707 extinguish this historic association. Throughout the early modern period Scotland and Scottish commercial agents continued to enjoy their ‘special relationship’ with France, which was continually confirmed by overtures from both sides seeking its formal re-establishment.