Fletcher, Andrew

Fletcher, Andrew, 1655–1716, Scottish politician, known as Fletcher of Saltoun. An opponent of the policies of the duke of Lauderdale and the duke of York (later James II) in Scotland, he fled to Holland in 1682. He joined the rebellion (1685) of the duke of Monmouth but abandoned it as a result of a private quarrel. Returning to Scotland at the time of the Glorious Revolution (1688), Fletcher and others formed a party to work for greater independence for Scotland. They were responsible for the Act of Security (1704), which provided that at the death of Queen Anne the Scottish Parliament would nominate a separate monarch unless Scotland's civil and religious liberties were guaranteed. After the passage of the Act of Union (1707), which he vehemently opposed, Fletcher devoted himself to agricultural experiments and to writing on Scottish affairs.