The 8 Mark Essay

Here are some common titles from this topic with some ideas about how to answer them ...

Why had so many Irish migrated to Scotland by 1900?

Population

Poverty

Potatoes

Protestants

Salaries

Short journey

Population: This had doubled in Ireland in the first 40 years of the 1800s. Land was divided up among families again and again. Most families had only a small area of land to feed themselves. This encouraged Irish people to try their luck in Scotland.

Poverty: The doubling of the population also increased poverty. Many landowners were absentees and wanted to increase the value of their lands. Families who could not pay their rent were evicted.

Potatoes: The ability to grow potatoes was the only thing which allowed poor Irish farmers to feed their families. The Potato Blight arrived in the 1840s and destroyed the potato crop. The British government did hardly anything to help and the Irish had no choice but to leave.

Protestants: Most poor Irish were Catholic. Irish and British Protestants ran Ireland and got the best jobs or any jobs which were going. Another reason why the Irish left.

Salaries: Wages were higher in Scotland. Industry was developing also and so there was a good chance of the whole family earning a wage. Many employers welcomed the Irish because they could be used as cheap labour.

Short journey: Scotland was close to Ireland. This made the journey short and cheap. Going to Scotland for work was not new. It had been happening for generations.


Why were Scots emigrants welcomed in many countries?

Skills
Culture
Education
Language and numbers
Individuals

Skills: Scotland was one of the first countries to go through an industrial revolution. Industries like coal mining, steel making, railway building and ship building developed first in Scotland and the rest of Britain. This gave Scots a head start in the skills and know-how needed to set up and operate these industries. Scots workers were in great demand because of these special skills which they brought to their new countries.

Culture: Scots brought their culture with them. People in other countries were interested in Scottish culture such as the kilt, bagpipes etc. People in other countries also knew about Scotland through the poetry of Robert Burns and the books of Walter Scott (Rob Roy) and Robert Louis Stevenson (Kidnapped). Theatre stars such as Harry Lauder made Scottish culture appealing to a huge audience. So Scots had a ready made "introduction" when they went to other countries.

Education: Scotland has always had a reputation for the quality of it's education. In the middle ages, Scotland had 3 universities. After the Protestant Reformation, education was important so that everyone could read the Bible. During the 18th century "Enlightenment" Scotland was famous for its thinkers like Adam Smith and David Hume. Even poor farmers like Robert Burns were well educated. When Scots went to their new countries, they set up schools and colleges. This benefited the local people as well as the Scots. Education was a key reason why Scots were welcome.

Language and numbers: Large numbers of Scots left Scotland but not as many as left other countries such as Ireland, Germany or even Russia. The Scots were small in number compared to these emigrants. Scots also spoke English and this helped them to "blend in" more easily in their new countries. These facts made the Scots less "threatening" to the people who already lived in countries such as the USA, Canada etc.

Individuals: Some individual Scots became famous in their new countries. People like Andrew Carnegie (USA), John Dunmore Lang (Australia), Alexander Mackenzie (Canada) all had huge reputations in their new countries. This gave Scots migrants a great boost compared to other immigrant groups who did not have these "role models".

Explain why many Scots left to go overseas between the 1830s and 1930s.

A good way to organise this essay is to divide it into 3.

• Reasons to do with Highland emigration
• Reasons to do with Lowland emigration
• Other reasons

Highland

Clearances - landowners got rid of people and replaced them with sheep and deer.
Hunger - Highlanders relied on potatoes just like the Irish. Potato blight hit the Highlands too.
Poverty - the Highlands had poor weather and poor soil. It was difficult to scratch a living.
Tradition - Highlanders had been emigrating since the 1700s. Places like Canada and Australia were well known to Highlanders and they had little fear of emigrating there.

Lowlands

Skills - many lowlanders had good skills in engineering and other trades. They knew they could get work in their new countries.
Wages - were often low in Scotland's industries. Lowland Scots knew they could get more money in countries where their skills were in demand.
Unemployment - was often high in Scotland and was very high indeed in the 1920s and 1930s.

Other

Convicts - were forced to emigrate to Australia. They had no choice.
Orphans - were sent to Canada and Australia by charities like Barnardo's

12. How did Scottish emigration affect Scotland?

Harry Lauder (left) and Charlie Chaplin (right). Two of the highest paid entertainers in the world in the early 20th century. Chaplin was a movie star but Lauder was a star of the music hall. He toured the USA, Canada, Australia in his trade mark highland dress and crooked cane.

1. Scotland now has a tradition of emigration? Our population has been falling and we need to reverse this!


2. Scottish culture and values have been spread across the world. Millions of Canadians, Australians Americans, Africans etc have Scottish roots.


3. The kilt, tartan, sentimental songs about Scotland are symbols of Scottish identity partly because they were used by emigrants as a mark of their Scottishness abroad.

Click here to listen to the Proclaimers singing "Letter from America"

and here are the lyrics ...

When you go will you send back
A letter from america?
Take a look up the railtrack
From miami to canada
Broke off from my work the other day
I spent the evening thinking about
All the blood that flowed away
Across the ocean to the second chance
I wonder how it got on when it reached the promised land?

I’ve looked at the ocean
Tried hard to imagine
The way you felt the day you sailed
From wester ross to nova scotia
We should have held you
We should have told you
But you know our sense of timing
We always wait too long
Lochaber no more
Sutherland no more
Lewis no more
Skye no more...... etc
I wonder my blood
Will you ever return
To help us kick the life back
To a dying mutual friend
Do we not love her?
Do we not say we love her?
Do we have to roam the world
To prove how much it hurts?
Bathgate no more
Linwood no more
Methil no more
Irvine no more.

11. What impact did the Scots have in their new countries?

Angus McMillan from Skye has been accused of the murder of Aborigines in the Australian state of Victoria.

James Ramsay MacDonald was born in Lossiemouth. He never knew his father who was a farm labourer. His mother was a servant. He emigrated to England and became involved in trade unions and the Labour Party. He was Britain's first Labour Prime Minister in 1924.

Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline but his family emigrated to the USA. Carnegie made millions in the US steel industry and in railroads. He was famous for giving his money away for libraries and other community purposes. He famously said "The man who dies rich dies ashamed."

1. Scots migrants were usually keen to educate their children. They set up schools and colleges.



2. They took their Protestant and sometimes the Catholic religion.



3. Many Scots became important politicians in countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.



4. Andrew Carnegie from Dunfermline was the world’s richest man in 1906. He gave all his money away to good causes.



5. Don’t forget the Scots in England! E.g. Ramsay Macdonald became the leader of the Labour Party.

BUT …

Scots were not angels! Scots were often guilty of treating Native American Indians badly. The same happened in Australia where Scots sometimes attacked Aborigines. From "The Scotsman":

A SCOTTISH pioneer revered as one of Australia's foremost explorers faces being erased from maps amid accusations that he was responsible for the cold-blooded murder of hundreds of aborigines.

The aborigines are calling for the electoral district of McMillan in the southern state of Victoria to be renamed out of respect for the men, women and children they say were slaughtered by Angus McMillan and his 'Highland Brigade' in the massacre of Warrigal Creek.

The 1843 massacre was one of several attributed to McMillan, originally from Glenbrittle, Skye, and his band of Scottish settlers, who styled themselves the 'Highland Brigade'. They are accused of carrying out a genocidal campaign against the aborigines for a decade.

10. Why were the Scots often successful abroad?

Statue of Robert Burns in New York's Central Park

1. They could speak English . This was a big help in Canada, USA, Australia etc.
   Scots were mostly Protestant and White. This gave them an advantage over other groups at a time when racist attitudes were still common.




2. They were often well educated. (Just like you!)




3. They arrived in fairly small numbers compared to other groups of migrants. This made them less threatening.




4. Migrating in quite small numbers meant that the Scots could “network” more easily.




5. Scots had a good reputation in certain trades e.g. engineering (Think of Scottie in Star Trek!)




6. Scottish culture was popular in other nations due to Robert Burns, Walter Scott etc. This made Scots popular too.

9. What made the Scots leave for New Lands? (Pull factors)

1. British colonies abroad tried to attract settlers. They paid agents who toured Scotland.


2. Companies sometimes recruited Scots for particular trades e.g. railway engineering, stone masons, shepherds.


3. Transport became much easier and cheaper in the 20th Century (Think TITANIC!)


4. Some went to convert Africans and others to Christianity.

8. What made the Scots leave for new lands? (Push factors)

1. Emigration has been going on since the 1700s. Many Scots, especially Highlanders, thought that emigration was a natural thing to do. Many of them also had family contacts in Canada, the USA etc.


2. Poverty, especially in the Highlands where farm land could not produce much food for the growing population.


3. A potato blight in the 1840s caused terrible poverty and suffering just as in Ireland.


4. Scots were sent to Australia as convicts.


5. Highland landowners often evicted poor tenants to modernise the farming methods. Sheep were brought in instead. In some parts of the Highlands, sporting estates were created where rich people could hunt deer. The tenants were cleared away.


6. Some landowners paid the fares of their tenants to emigrate rather than pay high taxes to the poor law.


7. In the industrial areas of Scotland, unemployment was sometimes very high. Especially after WW1.


8. Landowners and charities sometimes paid for groups of Scots to emigrate.
   

7. What helped the Irish to mix with the native Scots?

Glasgow born John Wheatley was from an Irish background. He became active in the Labour party and was elected an MP. He was especially interested in improving housing conditions. When the Labour Party formed a government in 1924, an act of Parliament was passed which allowed local councils to build good quality council houses for rent. Thousands of Scots benefited from the Wheatley Act.

1. Love is the answer! Scottish boys and Irish girls (or vice versa) met and married.


2. Irish people were often very active in political parties. Both native Scots and Irish immgrants benefited together from this.


3. Irish people were often active in trade unions and politics. This was also good for both groups.


4. After 1918, the government took over the Catholic schools which had been set up and began to pay for their upkeep. This gave the Irish community more confidence that they were being treated fairly.


5. Religion became less important in the 20th century. Fewer people went to church and religious divisions were less important.