Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun
| Andrew Fletcher | |
|---|---|
Andrew Fletcher
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| Commissioner for Haddingtonshire | |
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In office 22 September 1702 – 1707 Serving with John Lauder William Nesbitt of Dirletoune John Cockburne of Ormistoune |
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| Monarch | Queen Anne |
| Commissioner for Haddingtonshire | |
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In office 1681–1683 |
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| Commissioner for Haddingtonshire | |
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In office 1678–1680 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 1655 Saltoun, East Lothian, Kingdom of Scotland |
| Died | September 1716 (aged 61) London, Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Political party | Country Party |
| Parents | Sir Robert Fletcher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
Duke of Monmouth (1685) William of Orange (1688) |
| Battles/wars |
Monmouth Rebellion Great Turkish War Glorious Revolution |
Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun (1655 – September 1716) was a Scottish writer and politician, remembered as an advocate for the non-incorporation of Scotland, and an opponent of the 1707 Act of Union between Scotland and England. Fletcher became an exile after being accused of promoting insurrection. He was appointed the cavalry commander of the Monmouth Rebellion, but shortly after landing in England he killed another leading figure. He again went into exile, this time as a fugitive and with his estates forfeit. He returned with William of Orange, becoming Commissioner of the old Parliament of Scotland.
Fletcher was a defender of the Darién scheme, although suspicious of the effect of conventional commerce on traditional virtues. He also deplored the effect of London's relative size, which he said would inevitably draw an accelerating proportion of wealth and decision making to the south-east corner of Britain.
Andrew Fletcher was the son and heir of Sir Robert Fletcher (1625–1664), and was born at Saltoun in East Lothian. Educated by Gilbert Burnet, the future Bishop of Salisbury, who was then minister at Saltoun, he completed his education in mainland Europe. Fletcher was elected, as the Commissioner for Haddingtonshire, to the Scottish Parliament in 1678. At this time, Charles II's representative in Scotland was John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale. The Duke had taxation powers in Scotland, and maintained a standing army there in the name of the King. Fletcher bitterly opposed the Duke, whose actions only strengthened Fletcher's distrust of the royal government in Scotland, as well as all hereditary power. In 1681, Fletcher was re-elected to the Scottish Parliament as member for Haddingtonshire. The year before, Lauderdale had been replaced by the Duke of Albany. At this time, Fletcher was a member of the opposition Country Party in the Scottish Parliament, where he resolutely opposed any arbitrary actions on the part of the Church or state.
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