Scotland in 1914

What you will learn:  Scotland’s population before  Some problems.  Population movement in the 19 th century and start of 20 th century.

Scotland on the Eve of the Great War  By 1900, population of about 4.5 million.  By 1911, 45.6% live in central industrial areas.  1 in every 3 Scots lived in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee or Aberdeen.  Industrial areas of western lowlands were the dynamic areas of development.

Problems  Huge overcrowding.  1901 – almost 70% in Glasgow living in 1- or 2- roomed houses. (90% shared toilet with another family)  Poor levels of sanitation, ventilation and light.  Mortality rate for Glaswegians living in 1-2 rooms was 3-4 times higher that for those in bigger houses.  In % of English population lived in 1-2 roomed houses; in Scotland it was 47.7%.

Population movement  Migration from countryside – number of people who worked in farming by 1900 had fallen to 11%.  Emigration:  over half a million left for the USA, Canada and Australasia.  Immigration  Irish immigration.  Catholic population of Glasgow increased by 100,000 between 1875 and  Also immigrants from Italy and Lithuania around 1900.

An outing of West of Scotland Lithuanians at Balloch, c Copyright North Lanarkshire Museums, from

Changes in the Highlands  Major changes in 19 th century, either naturally or forced by landowners.  Tourist industry that wanted ‘Balmoralism’.  Highlanders moved to lowland cities or abroad to Canada, New Zealand etc.  Napier Report stated that Highlanders lived in state of misery – turned public opinion in favour of Highlanders.  Crofters’ Act 1886 ended forced evictions.

Task  Using textbook pages 1-4, complete questions 1-13 under the heading Scotland in 1914 in your workbooklet.

Scottish economy, politics and identity on the eve of the Great War

What you will learn:

Your task:  In your group you will use the textbook to research and prepare a presentation on one of the following topics:  The Scottish Economy in (pp.4-10)  Scottish Politics in (pp.10-14)  Scottish identity and martial traditions. (pp )

Timescale  The rest of this period and next period to prepare your presentations.  Presentation will be made on...

Success criteria...?

What you should have covered... Scottish Economy in 1914

 Scottish economy, and especially central belt booming.  Importance of international trade.  Reliance on imported food.  Development of foreign competition and some Scottish businesses building factories abroad.  Owners reluctance to spend profit on new technology.  Global nature of Scottish economy.

Coal  Fastest growing industry  More than 150,000 miners in  Falling behind times by  Impact of new industries like oil, gas, electricity.  Lack of investment in new technology – 4/5 tonnes cut using picks and shovels in 1913.

Iron and Steel  Resources of iron ore running out.  Demand for steel created boomtowns like Airdrie and Coatbridge.  By 1911 Scottish steel towns producing over 1 million tonnes a year.  Importance of Parkhead forge.  Provided armour plate for Royal Navy.

Shipbuilding  st ocean-going steel-hulled ship launched on Clyde.  By 1914 almost 20% of world’s shipping built on the Clyde.  Important provider for the Royal Navy.

Fishing  Impact of the railways.  Trawling established in Aberdeen by 1880s.  Main catch was herring.  Fisherwomen would travel to ports to gut fish and pack into barrels for export.  Boats crews followed shoals of herring around coast.

Textiles  In decline but still a major employer.  Example of jute as reliant on international trade.  In Dundee, over 70 jute mills employed tens of thousands of people.  Foreign competition.  Cotton industry in Paisley.  By 1896 J and P Coats controlled most of world’s thread industry.  Connected growth of sewing machine industry.

Highlands  Some industry – whisky making, Harris Tweed and aluminium – but did not benefit most Highland population.  Real issue remained the ‘Land Question’.

Summary  Economy looked healthy but heavy industries were interlinked and relied on each other’s success.  Also reliant on international trade.  Economy would suffer if trade was disrupted and export markets lost.

What you should have covered... Scottish Politics in 1914

The Liberals  Dominant force in Scottish politics.  1910 election won 57 of 70 Scottish seats. Unionists and Conservatives won 10 between them and Labour won 3  Liberals seemed to challenge power of privileged aristocracy and big businessmen.  Also benefitted politically from opposition to landowners – importance of the ‘land question’.

Liberals cont.  Rise of New Liberal ideas – argued state intervention needed to help people deal with social problems.  Argued for minimum wage, old age pensions, unemployment and sickness benefits and promised to tackle housing crisis by weakening power of landlords.  Impact of the ‘Young Scots’ – combined patriotism with social reform.  Young Scots Society had 2500 members by 1910.

Unionism  Unionists supported union of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales.  1886 Liberal Prime Minister Gladstone proposed home rule for Ireland – issue caused splits in the Party.

Lack of support for other parties.  Conservative associated with big landowners and landlords.  By end of 19 th century Conservatives wanted to protect farming and some other industries by putting up tarriff barriers. Not popular in Scotland because:  Scottish farmers not so dependent on wheat prices as in South of England.  Urban population did not want food prices to rise.  Scottish industry heavily dependent on international trade.

Labour Party  Set up by Keir Hardie.  Previous cooperation with Liberal Party, but Hardie wanted Labour to be independent from other Parties. Scottish Labour Party born  Working class party, campaigning for better health and safety in mining industry, 8-hour working day, votes and political rights for women, home rule for Scotland.

Importance of Labour Party in Scotland before  Failed to make any big impression.  3 Scottish MPs in  1914 had only 8 candidates in national election.

What you should have covered... Scottish identity and martial tradition

Scotland within Britain  Most Scots thought of themselves as British.  Happy to be part of Britain and Empire.  Shared in nationalist pride of British Empire.  Importance of Balmoralism and Highlandism.

Martial Traditions  Soldiers seen as brave, loyal and trustworthy.  Importance of clan tradition – male clan members valued for fighting skills.  the Highlands produced more than 20 regiments for the British Army  Image of brave Scottish soldier defending the Empire put forward in paintings, plays, biographies, regimental histories and children’s comics.

Martial Race Ideology  Firmly believed by military leaders in mid-19 th Century.  Belief that certain races or groups of people were naturally more warlike or aggressive in battle and possessed qualities such as courage, loyalty, strength and willingness to work.  The Scottish Highland Warrior was believed to fit the bill!

The Power of the Tartan  Romantic image of kilted Highland soldier encouraged by:  Publication of supposedly ancient poems.  Stories of Sir Walter Scott.  Queen Victoria’s approval and patronage of Highlands.

Tradition, recruitment and casualties  Recruitment focus on heroism and past deeds of Highlanders.  Pressure not to let down ancestors and family traditions.  By end of war, over a quarter of the 557,000 Scots who joined up had been killed or injured.  Rest of British army, death rate had been 11%.  Scottish casualty rate of 26% put them behind only Serbia and Turkey in terms of countries who suffered most.