Hamilton's correspondence is dense and varied. Unlike the Leven and Melville Papers during the Revolution it is not all neatly published in one place or in one collection but scattered. The analysis on this collection is incomplete but telling. William Douglas-Hamilton was an important figure in the late seventeenth century serving in high office under both Charles II and James II. Despite his many honors, Hamilton was one of the first noblemen in Scotland to reach out to the later King William and Queen Mary. Under the Williamite administration he served as both the High Commissioner for the Scottish Parliament and the President of the Privy Council. Anne Shukman has argued that Hamilton was an experienced and wily politician who sat on vitally important committees, including those for preparing acts and granting supply. Hamilton was also willing to remain staunchly loyal to the monarch no matter who he or she was.1 He also presided over the Convention of Estates in Scotland, that was summoned at his request, and eventually offered the Scottish crown (which James had according to the Claim of Right "forefaulted") to William and Mary in March 1689.
His correspondence's physical manuscript lives at the National Records for Scotland National Records for Scotland under the designator GD406/1. Within the greater GD406 or Papers of the Douglas Hamilton Family, Dukes of Hamilton and Brandon lie more correspondence in different pockets, including printed collections outside of the National Records. The collection contains 317 letters, 7 intercepted letters, warrants, orders, accounts, proclamations etc, between the years of 1688 and 1692. Hamilton’s position as President of the Privy Council and High Commissioner meant that he operated at the interplay of politics and security and, together with the Treasury and Secretary of State, he provides an important locus point for the this investigation.
Hamilton's networks were dense. Much of his correspondence flowed through his secretary David Crawford. Which isn't that surprising given Crawford handled much of Hamilton’s day-by-day business including any requests for money or work that flowed through the Hamilton House.
As previously noted, node centrality offers an important glance into a person's centrality in a social or letter network. In any type of network, there are people who occupy positions with oversized influence based on their status or position between others. In Hamilton's personal network, unsurprisingly, he has the greatest centrality with a measure of 79, he is then followed by his son Arran who has a measure of 44, his secretary David Crawford has a degree centrality of 38, then these three men are followed by Lady Gerard (33), an Unknown sender (27), and the Duchess of Hamilton (17). Hamilton's high degree of centrality is directly related to his visibility as a public figure and his influence as both a landowner and High Commissioner of Parliament.
The papers included here constitute both state and personal papers. That is why there are distinct hubs outside of state relationships with the monarch and the privy council. This is a hetereogenerous material set with letters, memorandums, petitions, proclamations but it is primarly letters. The hubs highlight in eight places between Hamilton, his secretary Crawford, his son Arran, his wife the Duchess of Hamilton, John Clark, Lady Gerard, Madam Harcourt, and an Unknown sender.