Account_for_the_Development_of_Scottish_Manufacturing_in_the_Period_1770-1850.

Account for the development of Scottish manufacturing in the period 1770-1850. by kirsty mccausland. This essay will look at the development of the manufacturing industry in Scotland between the years 1770-1850. it will look at the reasons, changes and factors associated with the developments that account for this in Scotland. The reasons this is an interesting subject is the speed, size and timing of this development was different, compared to any other European country, apart for fellow British state England. However the size of Scotland makes it even more remarkable that such a small nation would become a world leader in manufacturing at this time. First of all there has to be a market and demand for the products, this is paramount in encouraging people to start manufacturing. The main manufacturing industries in Scotland during this period were that of linen, cotton and textile manufacturing. Due to the increase of the home population1.5 million c1750 to 2.89 million c1850 the market at home was increasing. There was more demand for cotton and linen for clothing. The middle classes grew in percentage of population, making more demand for fashion, textiles for furniture and the decoration of there houses i.e. carpets, linoleum and curtains. There was also a large demand from Europe and England for these items. During war times, especially the Napoleonic wars, the demand for linen, cotton and wool from the state was great. They needed these products for clothing and uniforms for soldiers, to make tents, medical supplies and the likes. However these markets were pretty small compared to the markets of north America and the Caribbean. At certain points in this period 90% of all manufactured goods were being exported to there. From around 1800 Scotland also developed trade links with south America, Asia and Australasia which increased the demand even further. However no other markets ever came close to the markets with north America and the Caribbean. After markets and demand you need the resources to be able to produce the amount of goods and materials needed to fill that demand. Scotland had some good natural resources. The climate was good for growing flax that is used to make linen. In fact Scotland had been weaving and spinning this linen for hundreds of years, just never in a commercial or mass productive basis. Scotland also had a good supply of lime-free water, which is needed for the bleaching of wool. The water was especially good around Renfrewshire and Dunbartonshire, particularly at the vale of leven thanks to loch lomond. After the union of 1707 Scotland also had free reign and access to all the colonies of the British empire. The resources available from the colonies was vast, especially the supply of raw cotton from the Caribbean. The cotton industry became Scotland largest export. Growing from 39 cotton mills in 1795 to 192 cotton mills by 1839. (1) Scotland also had plenty of people available to fill the labour demands created by all the new jobs available due to the growth in the industries. Thanks to the rise in population labour supply was not really a problem, except on two occasions. The first was that men were not keen to work in the mills or factories due to the long hours and the discipline needed for these jobs. Men were used to working only as much as they needed too as farmers and being there own bosses. This problem was solved by employing women and children, and by the cheap labour of Irish immigrant workers. By c1841 there was around 126,000 Irish first or second generations living in Scotland. The second problem was a lack of skilled workers in the Scottish workforce. This was tackled by importing skilled workers from England and Europe. Especially from Holland. These workers were also used to train up the local workforce. Scotland’s other great national resource was the river Clyde. Due to Scotland’s vast involvement in the tobacco trade the Clyde already had many ports. It also already had many established sailing routes to most places in the world. The Clyde was also considered to be a safe and easy body of water to navigate and was a favoured destination of ships captains. There was also plenty of ships available for importing and exporting. After resources there has to be an available amount of capital to build and sustain these manufacturing industries. By 1770 Scotland already had a large banking industry, the three largest banks were the royal bank of Scotland, bank of Scotland and the British linen company. These and other banks meant businessmen and merchants could get credit accounts, loans and mortgages. However it is questionable how big a part the banks actually played in the manufacturing industry due to the larger chartered banks preferred policy of lending to commerce rather than trade and industry applicants. Glasgow also had a good few wealthy merchants who had made vast fortunes during the tobacco boom. These men were now looking to invest there profits somewhere else. The textile industry came along at the perfect time for this. The nobility of Scotland also invested in the industry, they were more willing to take risks with there money than the nobility of other countries at this time. The main reason for this was because they wanted to become as rich, if not richer, than there English counterparts. Then you had the landed class of Scotland who were also willing to invest and use their land to build mills and set out fields for bleaching. The main reasons for this was probably that the majority of manufacturing was still done rurally and this was also a good addition to their portfolios. However the main and probably the most impressive investors were the simple spinners and weavers who kept re-investing there profits and became business men with vast businesses. The most famous of this breed was David dale who rose from a simple weaver to become the greatest cotton magnate of his generation. He began life as a weaver and then became a linen dealer and importer before founding the first of the great factory villages at new lanark in 1786. (2) finally there is technology and the advances made I this field between 1700-1850. at the beginning of the period Scotland was heavily reliant on foreign machinery and methods from England and European few examples are the spinning jenny invented by James Hargreaves in England in 1764, the power loom invented by Edmund Cartwright of England in 1784 and the chemical process of bleaching developed by berthollet of France. Scotland was also dependant on the skills and methods of foreign workers to start with, however the Scots were quick learners, weaving and spinning schools were started and before long the need for foreign skilled workers decreased. Scottish inventors and entrepreneurs soon took an interest in the machinery, methods and processes used in the manufacturing industry. Before long they were inventing, improving and creating machinery, methods and processes of their own. An example of these people was Charles tennant. He improved berthollet's process of bleaching wool by chlorine. In 1799 he devised the bleaching wool by chlorine of lime which was much faster and efficient than just chlorine. Charles tennant also went on to found the St rollox chemical works about this time, to produce his chlorine of lime solution. St rollox went on to become the biggest chemical works in Europe. The greatest and most influential invention was however the James watts steam engine c1775. When the steam engine was used to power the machines of the manufacturing industry, things really took off. Machines powered by steam produced much more amounts of goods than there hand and watered powered predecessors. Steam power also cut out the need for mills and factories to be located by a river, leading to vast relocation to the city’s, where access to ports was much easier and cheaper. There were also concentrated amounts of people in the city’s improving access to labour. Above all steam power increased profits, the most important part of business. The four fields looked at in this essay, market and demand, resources,capital and technology all play a major part in accounting for the development of the manufacturing industry in Scotland in the period 1770-1850.these fields are all linked and intertwined with each other. For instance if you had capital,technology and resources you would still need markets and demand to develop an industry and vice-versa. Without one of these fields the others will not work successfully. The fields looked at in this essay are the reasons for Scotland manufacturing development between 1770-1850. they include all the necessary ingredients for developing and industry then helping it to flourish. End notes (1) the transformation of Scotland by t.m. Devine, c.h. Lee and g.c. Peden p.34 (2) the transformation of Scotland by t.m. Devine, c.h. Lee and g.c. Peden p.47