Emigration & Immigration ning/learningzone/clips/4353/

Industry and agriculture attracted men and women to leave their homes to seek work. In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, Clydeside absorbed huge numbers of Highlanders and rural Lowlanders to work in mills, mines, factories and shipyards.

Emigration ne/clips/4353/ ne/clips/4353/ Push factors and Pull factors?

In the nineteenth century almost 3/4 of emigrant Scots (around 900,000 individuals) crossed the Atlantic. Although most were bound for the United States, until 1847 more Scots went to Canada than to any other destination.

Push-pull factors Migration is often analysed in terms of the "push- pull model", which looks at the (negative) push factors which drive people to leave their countries and the (positive) pull factors which attract them to their new countries. Migration can occur as result of push and pull factors. Push factors are those which force a person to move. This can include drought, famine, lack of work, & eviction. Pull factors are those which encourage a person to move. These include work, a better standard of living, free land, a chance to start again.

Highland Clearances Landowners and crofters came into conflict – masses of people left the Highlands for Lowland Scotland, America, Canada, Australia & New Zealand Land could be more profitable from sheep farming Crofters evicted In C19th population of Highlands fell dramatically New opportunities in textile mills in the south

Table of events in Highland Clearances First clearances in Sutherland. Beginning of evictions 1820sRiots in Sutherland and Ross 1832Outbreak of cholera Famine 1840sMore evictions throughout the Highlands 1850sDeer farming becomes popular and a decline in evictions starts 1852The Highland and Island Emigration Society formed, offering ships & assistance. 1886Crofting Act makes it difficult to evict Highlanders

Tenants moved off the land to the coast to make way for sheep, (and later deer farming) Ex-farmers expected to become fishermen Many people moved off the land starved & froze to death at the site where their home had been. Starvation was everywhere. I have been increasing my sheep stock as the removal of crofters made space. The crofters could not pay their rents. The population, which was 500 is reduced to 150. … Two of the crofters are in Tobermory; all the others went to America, Australia or the south of Scotland. Estate owner Francis Clark, Herring Gutters in Stornoway

The actions of the lairds or Scottish landlords were “push factors” Some landlords actively encouraged people to emigrate. Sir James has offered to provide 1000 free passages for people and their families as may desire to emigrate, to cancel all debts due to him and to leave them their stock. James Matheson, Island of Lewis 1850s A magazine illustration from 1853 showing the loading of a ship with emigrants from the Isle of Skye, northwestern Scotland.

Irish immigration Many of the Irish who emigrated to Scotland had worked on the land. In Scotland there was no land for them. They did unskilled labour often undercutting the wages of Scottish workers. Irish labourers came to work on the land and in the mines, and to help build the canals and railways.

The rapid growth of the iron and mining industries in the Central belt attracted a huge influx of immigrants (mainly Irish and Highlanders) into the area to work in the mines, ironworks and foundries. Many of these immigrants were single men with no local ties who found it difficult to get accommodation in the hopelessly overcrowded towns. In the mid 19th century establishments known as Model Lodging Houses were built in industrial towns. This at least helped the problem. They usually consisted of a number of small cubicles in which the men slept, with a communal dining area. During the 19th century it was common for Irish labourers to work seasonally on Scottish Lowland farms. The construction of canals and later the railways employed large numbers of Irish labourers, who lived temporarily wherever work took them. Some were joined by their families and remained in Scotland.

The first permanent Irish immigrants were handloom weavers. By 1830 around one third of Glasgow's weavers were Irish. Others worked in the Lanarkshire coal mines. The failure of the Irish potato crop in brought famine to hundreds of thousands, and a large number came to Scotland. Ironically, as Scots left, Irish immigration into Scotland was increasing. More Irish people came to Scotland after the potato famine than went to England and Wales. This migration continued for decades, adding to those who were born in Scotland of Irish parents or grandparents.

Source C is evidence given to a Parliamentary Enquiry in 1836 by Alexander Carlisle who ran a spinning mill in Paisley. Source C Our mills never would have grown so rapidly if we had not had large numbers of Irish families. The work of this town requires women and children as well as men. Without the Irish, a sufficient number of workers would never have been found. The large immigration of the Irish at the harvest season also proves a great advantage to our farmers. 3. How useful is Source C for investigating the results of Irish immigration into Scotland? 3 marks

Source C is evidence given to a Parliamentary Enquiry in 1836 by Alexander Carlisle who ran a spinning mill in Paisley. Our mills never would have grown so rapidly if we had not had large numbers of Irish families. The work of this town requires women and children as well as men. Without the Irish, a sufficient number of workers would never have been found. The large immigration of the Irish at the harvest season also proves a great advantage to our farmers. 4.What evidence is there in Source C that the arrival of Irish immigrants brought benefits? What evidence is there in Source D that the arrival of Irish immigrants did not bring benefits? Source D is from “Changing Life in Scotland and Britain”. Many native Scots resented the Irish. They accused them of dragging down wages. While this was undoubtedly true, it has to be counterbalanced by saying that by 1880 they were becoming prominent in Trade Unions and were helping to push up wages. However, the arrival of large numbers of desperately poor Irish did nothing to ease the already overcrowded housing situation. Moreover, their arrival sometimes increased existing tensions over religious beliefs and practices. 5 marks

5.How far do you agree that the arrival of Irish immigrants brought benefits for all Scots? You must use evidence from the sources and your own knowledge to come to a conclusion. 4 marks