1705 in Scotland
Events from the year 1705 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Incumbents
- Monarch – Anne
- Secretary of State –
- * until March: John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe jointly with James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Seafield
- * March–June: John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe jointly with William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale
- * June–September: William Johnstone, 1st Marquess of Annandale jointly with Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun
- * from September: Hugh Campbell, 3rd Earl of Loudoun, jointly with John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar
Law officers
Judiciary
- Lord President of the Court of Session – Lord North Berwick
- Lord Justice General – Lord Tarbat
- Lord Justice Clerk – Lord Whitelaw, then Lord Ormiston
Events
- 30 January – Janet Cornfoot is killed by a mob, and Thomas Brown is starved to death, for accusations of witchcraft at Pittenweem subsequently exposed as perjuries.
- 14–19 February – date of first Edinburgh Courant newspaper published, by printer James Watson.
- March – the Parliament of England passes the Alien Act in response to the Parliament of Scotland's Act of Security 1704; it is repealed in December without taking effect.
- 11 April – English captain Thomas Green and two of his crew are hanged at Leith for alleged piracy on the Malabar Coast.
- 20 July – Act of the Parliament of Scotland for the promotion of salmon, white and herring fishing.
- September – negotiations for a Treaty of Union with England are resumed. At about this time, the independent pro-Union group around John Hay, 2nd Marquess of Tweeddale, is first nicknamed the Squadrone Volante.
- Lord Archibald Campbell appointed Lord High Treasurer of Scotland.
Births
- 2 March – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, judge and politician
- 5 May – John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, noble and military leader
Deaths
Date unknown- Alexander Arbuthnot, politician