The thesis examines individual Scottish soldiers and Scottish regiments abroad in the second half of the seventeenth century, with particular focus on Scottish military service in France and the Netherlands, c.1660-92. The study contends that privately contracted units, of the sort common in the period of the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), evolved into regular standing regiments by the end of the seventeenth century. This process is visible in the altered conditions experienced by professional Scottish officers and ordinary soldiers who served abroad in this period. This study proposes that Britain's foreign policy was primarily affected by that of her two most potent neighbours: France and the Netherlands profoundly affected the attitude of the Stuart monarchs towards their subjects fighting abroad. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)