explain why ww1 had such a significant impact on the scottish economy

Question 1

industry’s which had thrived during the war went into decline post-war because of a lack of demand which greatly impacted the economy

Answer 1

shipbuilding for example went into decline as there was no longer demand for war ships
between 1920-1929 employment in scottish shipbuilding declined by 90%
and between 1921-23 tonnage built on the clyde declined from 510,000-170,000

Question 2

during the war foreign competitors in asia for example had become more efficient and profitable

Answer 2

there was little market left for scotland after the war which impacted the economy

Jute mills in dundee for example were in desperate need of repair and investment in order to make them competitive after the war and at the same time trade restrictions previously implace on foreign competitors were lifted further impacting the economy

Question 3

competition from other developing industry’s also caused decline

Answer 3

coal mining for example saw post war competition from the developing oil, gas and electric industry’s which cut demand for coal within peoples homes

the number of coal miners in Scotland fell from 150,000 in 1913 - 80,000 in 1923

Question 4

withdrawal of government support after the war caused economic decline

Answer 4

after businesses were returned to their pre-war owners they resumed old fashioned ways of working which were no match for the new industrial world

many wartime factories shut down - the huge HM sight at Gretna was paroled into lots in an attempt to sell it off

Question 5

poor management of businesses caused economy to decline post-war

Answer 5

many got away with underpaying workers whilst increasing work hours to try and increase profits which onl resulted in strikes causing more economic misery

a general strike took place in scotland in 1926 which included shipyard workers and coal miners

Question 6

prior to the war scottish industry and subsequent economy was dependent on international trade

Answer 6

the scottish fishing industry exported 2.5 million barrels of herring to germany, russia and eastern europe in 1907 for example

however, post war old export markets with germany and russia had gone forever

Question 7

post war economic decline was also triggered by the mass unemployment faced by scotlands skilled workers

Answer 7

unemployment in scotland was consistently higher than the united kingdom as a whole after the war

by 1922 there were over 80,000 scots unemployed in glasgow alone

Question 8

the land issue in the highlands also resulted in economic decline

Answer 8

ex-servicemen returning from the war were in need of work and the government had promised them farm land (however there was not enough to go round and the profits made on agricultural goods were falling) the government couldn’t acquire enough land for everyone

by the end of the 1920’s the problem of land ownership, overcrowding and poverty had still not been resolved in the highlands