This work investigates the economic landscape of Scotland during the decades preceding the 1707 Act of Union to determine the viability of the nation's commercial infrastructure. T. C. Smout, a prominent economic historian, utilizes archival customs records, port books, and merchant correspondence to reconstruct the patterns of Scottish trade. He argues that the Scottish economy was characterized by a struggle for market access and a reliance on traditional European trade routes, which ultimately influenced the political decision to pursue union with England.

Historians regard this text as a foundational study for understanding the economic motivations behind the 1707 Union. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the extensive reliance on primary statistical data.