Scotland in 1914

Success Criteria: You will be able to: –Describe the social, political and economic situation in Scotland in 1914.

We need to understand what Scotland was like just before WW1. We will study Scottish society using the headings below: Population Economy Politics Scottish identity Martial traditions

1. Population In 1900 Scotland had a population of about 4.5 million – not that much different from today. Most of the population lived in or near the four main cities – Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen. Scotland was becoming an urbanised society. In 1850, one Scot in five lived in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee or Aberdeen. By 1900, it was one in every three.

Scottish cities faced a huge overcrowding problem. The 1901 census showed almost 70% of people in Glasgow lived in one or two roomed houses and 90% of those people shared a toilet with another family. Visitors to Scotland marvelled at the country’s growing wealth but were appalled by living conditions in the cities.

Emigration – between 1904 and 1913 over half a million people left Scotland, mostly for the USA, Canada and Australia. About 1 in 3 eventually returned home. Immigration – Irish immigration was important up until 1914, especially in west central Scotland. The Catholic population increased by 100,000 between 1875 and Immigrants also came from Italy and Lithuania in large numbers around 1900.

Highlands The nineteenth century had seen big changes in the Highlands. Arguments still rage about the cause of these changes. Some believe that change was forced on the Highlands by landowners trying to increase their income, while others blamed the growth of a tourist industry that wanted empty spaces with ruined houses, romantic castles, deer on the hills etc. Tourists wanted ‘Balmoralism’, so called after Queen Victoria’s highland estate.

Highlanders moved to either lowland cities or abroad to Canada, New Zealand and other parts of the Empire. For those who stayed, life was very hard. Crofters became angry and this erupted in the 1880s. There were violent protests in Lewis and Skye. The Napier Commission reported that many Highlanders were living in misery and poverty. Crofter’s Act 1886 – stopped forced evictions and ended the right of landowners to charge whatever they wanted for rent. The ‘land question’ remained unsolved and would return to haunt the government.

Economy Around 1900, central Scotland was booming – led the world in the production of coal, iron, steel, shipbuilding and engineering.

COAL Scotland’s fastest growing industry between 1880 and – over 150,000 miners. But by 1914 – new industries such as oil, gas production and electricity would soon cut demand for coal. Mine owners were slow to invest in new, more efficient technology.

Iron and Steel By 1900 new technology had made possible the mass production of steel. Previously, Scotland had specialised in iron production but resources of iron were running out. Demand for steel created boomtowns such as Airdrie, Coatbridge, Mossend and Wishaw. The naval race with Germany, in the build up to the war, provided a huge boost to these industries.

Shipbuilding By 1914 almost 20% of the world’s shipping was built on the Clyde. Royal Navy important to its success. The building of HMS Dreadnought in 1905 started a naval race with Germany that secured the fortunes of the shipyards at least until the end of the war. But what would happen when the war ended? By 1914 it was clear that the world was buying less from Scotland. This was a concern, as shipbuilding depended heavily on international trade, carrying Scottish exports around the world.

Fishing The spread of railways allowed fresh fish to be transported across Britain with the result that many fishing ports, such as Eyemouth, began to prosper. But there were concerns about what would happen when the export markets in Eastern Europe vanished.

Textiles Although textile production was in decline by 1900, it was still a major employer. In Dundee over seventy jute mills employed tens of thousands of people, especially women.

The Highlands Although some industry was growing in the Highlands – whisky making, Harris Tweed and aluminium – there was no huge benefit to most of the Highland population. Distilleries employed few people. Scotland produced 1/3 of the world’s aluminium before WW1.

Politics Liberals The Liberals dominated Scottish politics before The other parties – Conservatives, Labour and Unionists – posed no real threat to them. In 1910, the Liberals won 57 out of 70 Scottish seats.

Why were the Liberals popular? Claimed to represent the best interests of working and middle class men. Against big landowners – won them votes in the Highlands. Liberal social reforms – helping people who were poor through no fault of their own.

Unionists Supported the union of Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales and were opposed to any attempt to break it up. In the 1880s, Liberal PM Gladstone proposed that Ireland should have Home Rule, which meant that Ireland should rule itself. The party split, with many of the older, more traditional, Liberals breaking away to form the Liberal Unionists. Liberal Unionists and Conservatives joined together to create the Scottish Unionist Party in 1912.

Conservatives – why unpopular? Associated with the big landowners and landlords in the towns, who were seen to be making huge profits from rents charged for poor quality housing. Supported a policy called protection – unpopular in Scotland. Protection meant putting up tariff barriers to protect British farming against foreign competition. The effect would be to make food from abroad more expensive.

Labour The Labour Party was very new and untested in The Party failed to make any big impression before WW1, with only 3 Scottish MPs amongst the 42 British MPs in 1910.

Scottish Identity How did Scots see themselves within the union of the UK? Many Scots thought of themselves as British and were happy to be part of Britain and its empire. There was almost no support for Scottish nationalism and the Scottish National Party did not exist.

Martial Traditions Before, during and after WW1 Scottish soldiers were praised for their martial traditions. They were seen as brave, loyal and trustworthy; men who could be relied on to fight to the end for their friends, their regiment and their country.

From the middle of the 18 th century the British government was keen to recruit Highlanders into the British army. The ‘kiltie’ soldier = brave heroes. As the empire grew, so did the need for soldiers. Highland landowners were only too happy to take advantage of government incentives to recruit men from their estates. When war broke out in 1914 the recruitment drive often made young Scottish men feel pressurised into believing they should not let down their ancestors and Scotland’s martial, or military, traditions.

Can I…? Describe the social, political and economic situation in Scotland in 1914?