Issue 1 - Migration of Scots Flashcards
Push & Pull Factors
1
Q
The Potato Blight
A
- 1846
- Potato Crop Failed causing a Famine
- Put over 150,000 lives at risk
- E.g. The Island of Barra
- Most Highland Scots lived off the land and heavily relied on the potato crop to survive
- Many were forced to move to avoid starvation
Push Factor
Internal & External
2
Q
The Highland Clearances
A
- Landowners had rented out land to crofters who worked it to produce enough food to survive on
- However, new methods of farming came into use such as profitable sheep farming
- This made landlords move their tenants off the land so that they could make more money
- 70,000-150,000 Highland Scots were cleared during this period
- They evicted people from their homes and land
- E.g. Strathconon 1850 and Barra 1851
- Sometimes using brutal methods
- E.g. Patrick Sellar carried out clearances and used methods such as burning crofts, setting fire to houses and destroying fences
- Many Highlanders were forced to move to the cities or abroad as a result
Push Factor
Internal/External
3
Q
Demand for Cattle Decline
A
- Angus cattle were first imported into New Zealand in 1863 and began breeding
- Since the, foreign competition from places like New Zealand grew
- This resulted in Cattle farmers osing their income and possible their homes
- This forced families to move in order to find employment
Push Factor
Internal/External
4
Q
Living Conditions in the Highlands
A
- Living conditions were attrocious
- Lived in ‘blackhouses’ which had stone walls, no windows and no chimneys
- Walls were black with sout
- Animals also lived inside meaning diseases such as typhus spread easily
- This forced Highlanders to move to find healthier accomodation
Push Factor
Internal/External
5
Q
Mechanisation
A
- Early 19th century
- Threshing machines began to cut down the amount of time and manpower required to harvest crops
- By 1870, most hay and grain were harvested in this way
- This meant Scots working on farms were no longer needed
- This forced them to leave to find employment
Push Factor
Internal/External
6
Q
Improved Transport
In Scotland
A
- Railway boom in the 1840s
- Made it easier for Scots to move around the country
- More frequent trains and new routes around the country
Pull Factor
Internal
7
Q
Improved Transport
Out of Scotland
A
- The invention of the steamship made travel abroad easier, quicker and cheaper
- In the 1850s, it took over six weeks to cross the Atlantic
- By 1914, it only took one week
Pull Factor
External
8
Q
Education
A
- Many Scots in rural areas were poorly educated in the early 19th century
- The Education Act of 1872 gave everyone in Scotland between the ages of 5 and 13 the right to free education
- It was often easier to access schools in larger towns and cities in the Lowlands which caused many to migrate.
Pull Factor
Internal
9
Q
Bright Lights of the City
A
- In the rural lowlands, Scots often lived in basic conditions and lacked the varied social life that people enjoyed in the cities
- Many left their poor living conditions in the hope of enjoying city life
- This included football games e.g. Rangers and Celtic
- Music Halls e.g. Aberdeen Music Hall
- Cinemas and Theatres e.g. His Majesty’s Aberdeen
Pull Factor
Internal
10
Q
Decline of Industry
A
- Scotland’s fishing industry went into decline after the war
- Boats had been badly damaged
- Fuel costs were rising and foreing markets were no longer buying Scottish fish
- This forced many to migrate to look for other employment
Push Factor
Internal/External
11
Q
Decline in Demand for Skilled Workers
A
- There were many handweavers across Scotland
- E.g. in Calton, which was a community in Lanarkshire was home to a community of handweavers in the 18th century
- Many skilled workers in rural areas like Kirbrachan such as weavers lost their trade due to clothing factories being built in industrial centres such as Glasgow
Push Factor
12
Q
Employment Opportunities
A
- Between 1830 and 1911, many left rural lowlands as the population doubled meaning there were not enough jobs
- Rural workers quickly heard that they could earn around 50% more in industrial and urban centres in industries like cotton, iron, coal or manufacturing
Pull Factor
External
13
Q
Employment Opportunities
In Scotland
A
- Many temporarily migrated from the Highlands as crofters looked for work in between harvest seasons to support their incomes
- They did a variety of jobs such as working as Navvies in the railway construction boom in the late 1840s and working on farms in the Lowlands
- Temporary migration become more permanent for many due to the effects of the potato famine and the Highland Clearances
Pull Factor
Internal
14
Q
Employment Opportunities
Abroad
A
- There were many new opportunities for Scots to be employed in skilled jobs throughout the British Empire
- Many of the first to migirate from Scotand were highly skilled
- E.g. craftsmen, who knew that they could get higher wages in countries abroad.
Pull Factor
External
15
Q
Government Coercion
A
- The 1851 Emigration Act made emigration more accessible by providing them with financial help
- Landlords, such as the Duke of Sutherland often financed emigration schemes to help crofters move abroad
Pull Factor
External
16
Q
Opportunities
A
- Some countries offered Scots the chance to own their own and, something that was difficult for them to do at home due to the clearances
- e.g. Dominion Lands Act
- DLA was passed by Canada which gave new emigrants 160 acres of land free of charge provided that they lived and worked there.
Pull Factor
External
17
Q
Agency Influence
A
- Many emigrated because they were convinced to do so by emigration agents
- They provided information and advice about the opportunity of emigration
- E.g. The Canada Pacific Railway hired agents to tour Scotland and the UK giving lectures about how accessible Canada had become
Pull Factor
External
18
Q
Publications
A
- Journals, newspaper articles and guides increased awareness of emigration destinations and work
- E.g. The Scots Magazine
- As literacy rates increased, more Scots were abe to read these adverts
- They advertised ship sailing information, details of assisted passagers, and open letters from succcesful emigrants
- This encouraged emigration as it provided facts and stories about others who had been successful
Pull Factor
External
19
Q
Letters Home
A
- Many Scots that had already migrated wrote letters home informing them about the better life they were experiencing.
- E.g. A family who had moved to Nova Scotia had found work in the shipbuilding industry
- This encouraged many to migrate as they were comforted by the success of other migrants.
Pull Factor
External
20
Q
Cultural Links
A
- Societies and organisations were formed to encourage and support emigrating Scots
- e.g. The New Zealand Association formed in 1837
- e.g. The St Andrew’s Society of Montreal was formed in 1834 and hosted St Andrew’s Day Dinners
- They encouraged Scottish emigration as it comforted Scots to know that they could stay connected with their heritage and culture
External
21
Q
Help from Charities
A
- The Highlands and Islands Emigration Society was set up in 1852
- It paid for travel for Highland crofters and their families including 5,000 who went to Australia
- Charities were set up to assist emigration for children
- E.g. Thomas Bernardo’s charity sent over 100,000 children to Canada
Pull Factor
External
22
Q
Imprisonment
A
- Until 1867, Australia was used as a penal colony (Prison Island) by Britain
- People who had committed crimes could be given the punishment of transportation
- This was where they were forced to go to Australia
Push Factor
External
23
Q
Gold in Australia
A
- The first official discovery of gold in Australia was in 1823 in New South Wales
- Many Scots were drawn by the promise of discovering their own fortune
- This was seen as a way to get rich quick
- Scots left to mine gold in Australia
- Approximately 100,000 Scots arrived in Australia between 1850 and 1860
- E.g. William Campbell from Perthshire was the first to find gold in Clunes Victoria in 1850
Pull Factor
External
24
Q
Decline of the Kelp Industry
A
- The collection of seaweed and the manufacture of kelp was it its height around 1815
- Minerals extracted from the seaweed were used for things like the manufacture of soap and glass
- However, the industry declined in Scotland due to competition from alternative sources abroad, e.g. Spain
- This had been a significant source of income to the crofters who collected the seaweed and pair their rent with it
- This impacted people particurally in the Outer Hebrides
Push Factor
25
Better Climate
* Countries overseas offered a warm and pleasant climate
* This contrasted with the wet weather, hardships and poor living of the Highlands which many Scots wanted to escape from
* E.g. Average temperature in Queensland Australia was 29 degrees vs the 8 degree temperatures in Glasgow Scotland
| Pull
## Footnote
External
26
Subdivision of Land
* Overpopulation in some areas in the Highlands led to subdivisions of holdings meaning that crofts and land were often split up
* This resulted in there not being enough land to support a family or pay rent
* This forced people to move to the Lowlands or Emigrate
* For example, if a crofter had three children, his croft would be divided between them. When they then have their own children, there eventually is not enough land to support them
* E.g. On Tiree
| Push Factor
27
Balmoralism
| (Tourist Income Potential)
* Royal approval encouraged tourists to travel to the Highlands to take part in deer hunting and grouse shooting
* This offered more profit for landowners
* E.g. The Balmoral Estate
* This forced highlanders off the land as it was more profitable for landowners to make money through means of tourism
| Push Factor
28
Army/Forces
* Many men were recruited into the Army
* This resulted in many being posted overseas in various Empire countries
* E.g. Many Scottish Soldiers and Senior Ranking Officials were posted to India to rule the country
* Six of the governor-generals and viceroys to rule India were Scottish
| Pull Factor
29
