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New Horizons

Follow Scotland through a period of change.

Although the 17th century saw conflict and disruption, it was also a time of new ideas and attitudes. Scotland was moving into a modern age.

The rise of the new middle class

At the start of this gallery, you'll see Alexander Kincaid's engraving of the Huntly funeral procession, a guide to the order of ceremony for the funeral of a 17th century nobleman that illustrates medieval ideas of the importance of land and family.

But times were changing. A new middle class began to rival traditional landowners and there was a flourishing cultural life.

Homes and gardens

Successful merchants and professional people could now adapt or build and furnish their new homes in fashionable styles. Gardens were planned and laid out, often including the increasingly popular sundial, several of which are displayed.

New thinking

Artists and craftsmen, scientists and intellectuals, merchants and politicians, all responded to the challenge of new ideas. Some of the advances in science are explored in this gallery, with a particular emphasis on cartography. Scotland was one of the best mapped countries of the 17th century world, thanks partly to the pioneering activities of Timothy Pont (Case 3).

Science and calculations

This new interest in measuring and science meant people needed devices to help with daily arithmatic or scientific calculations. Here you'll see examples of such tools, including a set of Napier's bones. These engraved bones, created by the Scottish mathematician and astronomer John Napier, could be used to convert multiplication and division into simpler problems of addition and subtraction. An interactive explains how, and lets you try for yourself.

The Darien scheme

However, not everything was a success story. A keenness to benefit from trading opportunities in America and Africa led to the Darien scheme, an attempt to set up a Scottish colony in Central America (Case 4). Its failure was a bitter disappointment, and had political as well as economic consequences.

Changing times

The end of the century intensified debate about the future of government in Scotland. Just over 100 years after the country ceased to have a separate monarchy, the Scottish parliament also ceased to exist (Case 5).