issue 1

• Where Scots migrated to

  • England
  • Canada
  • USA
  • New Zealand
  • Australia
• Act of Union 1707


  • Scotland gained access to England's empire- Scotland's trade expanded. Scots gained jobs in the Empire.
• Industrial Revolution


  • Huge change. Glasgow was 2nd city, it dominated the tobacco trade. After 1850 Britain urbanised. 1872- compulsory education in Scotland- Scots were desirable.
• Reasons for the Migration of Scots

  • Agricultural Revolution - Lowlands
  • Development of Scottish Industry
  • Agricultural Revolution - Highlands
  • Social & Cultural push & pull factors
  • Improved Transport
  • Political Aspects
  • Opportunity & Coercion
• Development of Scotland's Industry

  • Scotland's economy exploded as many of her key industries such as; ship building, coal, iron and steel benefited from the expansion of the empire. This resulted in rapid population growth where the population of Scotland doubled in the space of 80 years. This then led to a number of social issues such as lack of housing.
• Key industries in Scotland

  • Textile industry, especially cotton
  • Heavy industries such as iron and engineering
  • Shipbuilding
  • Coal
  • Jute production in Dundee
  • Thread production in Paisley
  • Knitwear, tweeds and tartans in the Borders
  • Sewing machine production in Clydebank
• 1830 - 1844 iron output increased from 40,000 tons a year to 412,000. By the early 20th century it was clear that Scotland relied too much on heavy industries. With the decline in demand for ships and the rise of foreign competition the iron and coal industries were badly affected.
• Effects of Industrialisation


  • Population growth
  • Population movement
  • Decline in farming employment
  • Urbanisation
• 1831 31.2% of Scotland's people lived in towns/cities. 1930s 63.4 % of Scotland's people lived in towns/cities.
• The fast growth of towns led to: overcrowding, slums, no privacy, no play area, nowhere to relax. 1861 34 % of Scottish houses had 1 room; 37%= 2 rooms. 1 in 100 families lived in houses without any windows.
• Periods of large scale emigration from Scotland

  • 1850s - Highlands affected most
  • 1870s - foreign competition hit farming
  • Early 1900s
  • Interwar Period-economic depression of the 1920s and 1930s
• Highland Clearances


  1. Landlords encouraged some to leave by offering to pay their tenants' fares to the new lands overseas

  2. Collapse of the kelp industry

  3. Famine in the Highlands 1846

  4. Poverty
• Highlands - population growth from the late 18th century


  1. Population increase =land was divided and subdivided

  2. Each generation, got less and less land =poverty

  3. Crofters could not afford the rent - this led to reduced income for landowners

  4. Poor quality of housing and limited diet

  5. Blackhouses (West Highlands) were rough stone and turf, with heather thatch roof, without a ceiling or paved floor, and no windows or chimney

  6. Animals shared the building with the humans to keep warm
• One way Highland communities survived was by growing potatoes. In 1846 potato blight wiped out the potato crop on the west coast of Scotland, leaving 150,000 people at risk of starvation.
• Famine put pressures on landowners

  1. Financial help offered came from the landowners' pockets

  2. Many landowners e.g. MacLeod of MacLeod, went bankrupt

  3. Surviving landowners sought to make land more profitable by encouraging cattle farming to feed the growing cities, bringing in sheep, and eventually using the land for deer hunting

  4. Land had to be cleared of the existing tenants
• By the 1830s the most famous Highland Clearances were over, but problems of the Highland economy remained.
• Landowners turned to emigration

  1. Landowners paid costs and cancelled debts

  2. e.g. James Matheson- by 1856 encouraged 2200 crofters to leave Lewis

  3. Western Highlands lost 1/3 of their population by 1861

  4. Many Highlanders felt betrayed. Public opinion supported those being evicted

  5. The image of poor people being pushed off their land to make way for profit caused anger
• The Highland Clearances eventually led landowners to turn to emigration
• Landowners paid costs and cancelled debts to encourage crofters to leave
• The Western Highlands lost 1/3 of their population by 1861
• Many Highlanders felt betrayed and public opinion supported those being evicted
• The image of poor people being pushed off their land to make way for profit caused anger
• Crofters' Holdings Act of 1886


  Gave crofters greater rights by:

  • Creating an independent body to fix rents
  • Giving security to crofters who paid 'fair' rents
  • Allowing crofters to hand on their crofts through inheritance
• The agricultural revolution hit the Lowlands hard as steam power was introduced on farms in the 19th Century
• Machines replaced people, therefore many Lowlanders moved to towns and cities in search of work in the industrial factories
• Before the 1890s Highlands and rural lowlands saw similar drops in their population (9%)
• Between 1891 and 1931 the population of the Highlands fell by 26% while the rural Lowlands fell by 16% - suggests many left willingly
• Economic factors were probably the most important reason for people leaving rural areas
• The Brand Report 1902 estimated that the average Lewis family made £3 p.a. crofting and £25 p.a. from fishing
• The Russian Revolution ended export of herring - many lost their jobs
• Growing towns and cities

  Offered job opportunities and a better social life - seen as exciting
• As towns and cities expanded

  More social opportunities were available to people such as football teams, music halls and cinemas
• Mechanisation continued into the 20th century - tractor and combine harvester
• In the 20th century, the young in particular did not find country employment attractive
• It was isolated and lacked access to pubs, cinemas, dance halls and football grounds
• They heard of a brighter and better life in newspapers and on the radio
• Scottish farmers were well known for their expertise, and many moved to England to set up farms
• By 1930, 22 % of farmers in Essex, were immigrants and many of these were Scots
• Scottish universities produced high-quality graduates in medicine, who were in demand
• Canada was popular in the 1840s and leading up to WWI