The Difference Between the Scottish Economy and the Rest of Britain - Essay Example

Topic: In what ways and why did the character of the nineteenth-century Scottish economy and society differ from that of the rest of Britain Scotland is a country , situated in the northwest Europe, and it consists of northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland is a part of United Kingdom or U.K. It is neighbored with England from the south, and North Sea from the east, Atlantic Ocean from the north and west and North Channel and Irish Sea from the southwest. Over 790 Islands are included in Scotland, which includes Northern Isles and Hebrides etc. The country was known to be Kingdom of Scotland and was an independent state. It joined in the political union with Kingdom of England in 1st May 1707. Kingdom of England was the named as "Kingdom of Great Britain". "Treaty of England" held a year earlier, and was put into action by the "Acts of Union", which was passed by the Parliaments of both of the kingdoms. Scotland witnessed a lot of pretest across the country, due to this union1. After the union, Scotland maintained to have their separate legal system, from England, Wales and Northern Island. Not just legal system, Scotland kept its education system, and Church of Scotland separate and it is the reason that Scotland maintained its uniqueness in all these times. It helped in keeping the Scottish culture and Scottish national identity since the union2. Though, it is not a separate country now, but still they tried to maintain their national identity. Scotland has a large abundance of natural resources from fertile land, and this land is suitable and considered best for the cultivation. Other than cultivated land, it also produces minerals and there are resources of different minerals in Scotland, such as coal, zinc, iron and oil shale etc. and the reservoirs of coal seams beneath central Scotland, and in the areas of Ayrshire and Fife. These reservoirs of coal contributed a great share in the industrialization of Scotland, during the 19th century. The mining of coal was a huge employment generator in the 19th century, though it declined now, due to the cheap coal, which is imported from the other countries. The Industrial Revolution was witnessed heavily in Scotland, as the Scottish Economy is well known for its heavy industries in 19th century. The heavy industry includes the shipbuilding, coal mining and steel industries, these industries attracted a lot of people from the neighboring states and countries, who came in search of jobs and finally settled here. The growth of Scottish economy is also due to the fact that British Empire had allowed Scottish economy, to export their goods throughout the world and it was due to the presence and participation of Scottish people in the British Empire. No doubt, Scotland left behind the England and the other states at that time. The Scotland witnessed a great political and industrial change during the nineteenth century. Industrial revolution was the talk of town and Scotland was taking full advantage of it, and heavy industries were making their way not only in the country but also in the world, as the Scottish products were being exported throughout the world. These industries generated a lot of employment opportunities and hence many poor people from the neighboring countries, such as Ireland, came in search of jobs and in the same way, labour movements begin to form. This development lead the Scotland to improve the living standard of their citizens and like this, proper measures were taken, which made a base to improve the situation of poor people in the country and also few new laws were introduced, such as poor laws. Laws were passed in the parliament, which demands the betterment of the poor people in the country and they were approved by the parliament and like this, the living standard of the poor was improved, and they started living a better and safe life. Laws introduced at that era were, poor laws, sanitation and education. Though, these changes were mostly seen in the major cities and towns, but poor people took a great deal of advantage through these laws. The highlands also observed positive changes and witnessed the clearances and evicting crofters from the lands. The economic stability gave rise to the art; sport, science and these fields prosper with the approval of governments. Rich and powerful people supported and sponsored these activities and they flourished and put their impact on the society. The mineral resources such as iron and coal played an important role in the industries of Scotland. And the famous Scottish engineers and inventors of that era were Telford, Macintosh and Mcadam. Though, the Blantyre mine explosion in 1837, is a sad incident and shows that how dangerous these mines are, but still these mines played an important role in fulfilling the energy needs of heavy industries. New railways and canals were built in the nineteenth century and new infrastructure was constructed throughout the country, which helped in the economic growth of the country and also in improving the lifestyle of the people in the country. This economic growth and prosperity gave rise to the political stability and also to a number of labour movements. This shows that not only rich, but also poor and working class of the country, started gaining awareness regarding their rights and it is a step towards the better and prosper world. Weavers held a strike in the city of Glasgow and west Scotland in the year 1812. Then there was a Scottish Reform Act of 1832, which gave the right to vote to 64, 000 Scots in the elections. Chartist support was observed to be strong in nineteenth century in the whole Scotland, and also the formation of National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights was seen in 1853 and work began on the Wallace monument after six years. Scottish Labour Party was formed in the same period and the Keir Hardie founded it. The same person is the forerunner of the modern Labour Party. This shows that how the labour rights was recognized in the Scotland. Keir Hardie was the first Member of Parliament from the Labour Party in 1892. Another important event in the political scene was the formation of the Scottish Grand Committee, which was famous for the debates on Scottish issues and also another organization; Scottish Trades Union Congress was founded in 1897. Nineteenth century witnessed the migration of Irish people to Scotland. The reason they migrated to Scotland were obvious, they want to get out of their country, which was facing potato famine at that time. The reason for choosing Scotland over England was that it offers attractive employment to the Irish people in different professions. Farming was growing in Scotland, and there were a lot of jobs in digging drains building walls and buildings for not only farmers but for the rich people who own these farms. Irish people found employment opportunities in harvesting various crops too. Scottish government paid extra attention in building infrastructure including roads, bridges, canals and railways, which generated more jobs for the Irish people. Coal and iron mines need workers and industry was expanding, heavy industry as well as textile industry, as the iron and steel was creating further opportunities for the investors and industrialists. A great number of people in Scotland lived in towns and cities as compare to the past and more shops and markets were opened in the cities. These shops and markets need workers and Irish found opportunities in these places as well. There were a huge number of Irish immigrants in Scotland even before the potato famine. Education was made necessary for the Scottish people and government made it easy for the citizens to make their children educated. Universities were made in the country, which encourages higher education. There are two major cities in the Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Both cities are important on their own place and they know their worth as well. Both these cities were connected as that time and were developed as new canal and railway lines were constructed between them, which made life easier fro the people living in these cities. Edinburgh's new town was built, as most of the buildings in the old town were damaged by fire. The Charlotte Square is considered to be the basic building, which marked the birth of new town. In the same way, the building of a reservoir of drinking water was built in Glasgow, in 1859. and the city was made better after the Glasgow Improvement Act. Glasgow Improvement Act was presented to remove slum properties and to improve the health conditions. Apart from the other things, sports has also improved a lot in the nineteenth century. New sporting traditions were shaped up and new events were planned at that time. Footballs clubs were founded, such as Queen's Park, Rangers and Celtic. An international match was played at that time, which was actually between Scotland and England. This shows the usual rivalry between two countries. Scottish Football Association and Scottish Rugby Union, were also founded in the same era. An open competition of golf was also seen in those days, and like this, along with industries and art, sports also got popular in the Scotland and it shows that Scotland was prospering at a rapid rate that time. References Brown, Dauvit (2001). "Kenneth mac Alpin", in M. Lynch: The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Devine, T.M (1999). The Scottish Nation 1700-2000. Penguin Books Foster, Sally (1996). Picts, Gaels and Scots (Historic Scotland). London: Batsford. Keay, J. & Keay, J. (1994) Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland. London. HarperCollins. Munro, D (1999). Scotland Atlas and Gazetteer. Harper Collins, Peter Heather, "State Formation in Europe in the First Millennium A.D.", in Barbara Crawford (ed.), Scotland in Dark Ages Europe, (Aberdeen, 1994) Read More