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On September 18th this year, the voters of Scotland will decide in a referendum whether they want their nation henceforth to be independent of the United Kingdom, or remain within the union that has bound Britain together since the Act of Union of 1707.

In "Acts of Union and Disunion", Linda Colley, Professor of History at the University of Princeton, examines the forces that bind together the diverse peoples, customs and loyalties of the United Kingdom. And the often equally powerful movements that from time to time across the centuries threaten to pull Britain apart.

Programme 13: Europe

"At intervals these islands were politically linked to parts of Continental Europe, and ruled by monarchs who viewed their position very much in European terms. And, while the sea could deter invasions and operate as a psychological barrier, it was also a highway and a bridge. It was not just money and culture that rendered elite Britons such incorrigible European Grand Tourists in the 18th century. Nor was it simply politics that made London such a haven for Continental exiles in the 19th century. In both cases, the seas around these islands and the easy transport they afforded aided European-wide contacts and exchanges..."

Producer: Simon Elmes.