Dr James Fraser - Acts of Union - University of Aberdeen

Introduction
Articles of Union
The Stuart Vision of Union
James VI & I
Castlemaine's Embassy
Protestant Parliaments & Unions
William of Orange
The Union of 1707
Queen Anne and George, Prince of Denmark
The Debate over Union
The Impact of Union
Impact of the articles
Lecture Notes
Competing Unions
Stuart Unionism
James VIII & III
Basket hilt sword
Hanoverian Unionism
King's, Marischal and the Question of Union
Maces of King’s College and Marischal College
Aberdeen Jacobitism
Sibyl Europæa
Aberdeen Unionism
Dr James Fraser
Securing Union
Acknowledgements

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Dr James Fraser (1645-1731)
Librarian to Charles II, James VII & II, William & Mary, Queen Anne; Secretary & Registrar of Chelsea Hospital; major benefactor of King's College library
Artist unknown, 1726

King's College alumnus James Fraser (MA 1664) achieved renown in London as a procurer of books for the libraries of the aristocracy and the royal family. A political pragmatist, his service to the monarchy continued unbroken through the period of transition from the Stuarts to William & Mary, and then to Queen Anne. Fraser's acceptance of the 1707 Union and the Hanoverian regime was to bring an intellectual dividend to King's College, particularly in the wake of the 1715 rising. King's commemorated Fraser's donation of rare books and funding for buildings, including reconstruction of the library, by awarding him an honorary doctorate and commissioning this portrait, which was painted in London.