Issue 2 - Impact of Immigrants into Scotland

Question 1

How was Scotland a desirable location for Irish immigrants? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 1

-Only 13 miles between Scotland and Ireland
-Boat fare cost 6 pence
-2.1/8 million people left due to starvation and disease

Question 2

Where would Irish Catholics reside? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 2

-Glasgow’s Gorbals,
-Airdrie
-Coatbridge
-Motherwell

Most immigrants moved between 1841-1851 to be closer to each other

Cowgate and Grassmarket areas of Edinburgh became known as ‘Little Dublin’

Question 3

Where would the majority of Irish Catholics live?
How many people would stay in one room in Edinburgh? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 3

Cheap accommodations, which felt like a big improvement compared to Ireland’s conditions. Not unusual for up to 16 people to stay in one room in Edinburgh where there was no sewerage or running water. Disease was therefore common.

Question 4

While jobs would be easy to get in Scotland, what were some obstacles? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 4

-Likely to be less skilled/educated because of discrimination back home
-More likely to take on difficult work and work for longer for less money

Question 5

What types of jobs did Irish Catholics take on? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 5

-Railways
-Canals
-Construction
Became known as a navvy/paddy
-Small scale retail
-Selling food
-Second hand clothes
-Spirits

Question 6

Irish Catholics experienced hostility within the workplace. How did they? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 6

-Some workplaces put ‘Catholics need not apply’, highlighting that it was still a struggle for IC’s to assimilate into their new home.

They assimilated better in the Highlands, however, ie Mallaig was predominantly Catholic already, so faced hostility.

Question 7

Irish Catholics were usually called strike breakers? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 7

While Scots striked for better conditions, Irish worked instead which caused tension and led to anti-Catholic riots in Airdrie (1835), and Greenock (1855)

Question 8

By 1900, Both Catholic and Protestant Irish accounted for how many members in the Miners Union? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 8

In 1900, 75% of IC and IP’s made up the members of the Lanarkshire Miners Union

Question 9

What groups did Irish Immigrants join, and what did they tend to do? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 9

Glasgow Friendly Association of Cotton Spinners, promoting better work conditions for workers in West Scotland.

Question 10

Catholic priests helped new Catholic arrivals settle, what did they do? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 10

-Write letters home and fin accommodation
-Church became a place of comfort and the centre of Catholic church

Question 11

The church had social events, what are some examples? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 11

-Dances
-Fetes
-Celebrated St Patricks day
Held so people could socialise within their own religion

Question 12

How would the church offer practical help? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 12

Bishop Murdoch organised a soup kitchen in 1847 that fed over 400 people daily. Money was given to the church to give to the poor.

Catholic Orphan Institution 1883 took in children who’s parents died from Typhus.

Question 13

Why were Catholic schools set up? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 13

To help Catholic children access a good education. Catholic schools in Dundee doubled from 1860 and 1870.

Question 14

How many Catholic students were admitted to Glasgow University in 1880? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 14

6/250,000

Question 15

Many Irish Catholics were racially targeted after the reinstatement of the Catholic church in England in 1850. Who are some men who openly opposed the Church? (Irish Catholics)

Answer 15

-John Sayers Orr

-Robert Knox
-Thomas Carlyle
-George Coombe
^these 3 men spread anti Catholic rhetoric and convinced many that Catholics were 2nd class citizens to Scots.

Question 16

What areas were Irish Protestants most skilled in? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 16

Cotton and textile idustry

Question 17

Why were work opportunities better for Irish Protestants rather than Irish Catholics? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 17

They had received much better education and had more skills due to facing less discrimination.

Question 18

Where did Irish Protestants usually settle? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 18

Areas where the weaving trade was strong, such as Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, and Glasgow.

Question 19

What types of jobs would Irish Protestants work as? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 19

-Farm labourers in South West Scotland
-Mining/Ironworks in Airdrie in Lanarkshire
-Collieries of West Lothian
-Shipbuilding industry in Govan in Glasgow

Question 20

How much better was the pay in Scotland than compared to Ireland? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 20

Semi skilled jobs commanded up to 50% better pay than the same work in Ireland.

Firms like William Baird and Co employed mainly Protestant workforce in Coatbridge and advertised vacancies in Belfast newspapers to encourage Protestant Irish applicants.

Question 21

Many applied to jobs in Scotland while still in Ireland, why? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 21

They were persuaded by the promise of cheap housing, employers would allocate housing to new workers and some companies would provide school places for their kids.

Question 22

What is a key area of employment for Protestant Irish workers? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 22

-Handloom weavers in Dundee, demand for Jute could not be met by Scottish workers so Dundee businesses advertised in Ulster.
-Women and children in spinning mills and women in weaving. In 1851, half the linen workers in Dundee were born in Ireland.

Question 23

Orange Orders became prominent in Scotland from the 1870s, what would they do? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 23

-Began in 1795
-Lodges became locations for important events like weddings or funerals
-Number of lodges increased in Protestant Irish area
-Ie, there were 12 lodges in Coatbridge by mid 1880s, and 16 in Greenock by 1897.

Question 24

Orangemen would gather at what date?
+ What would their marches be about? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 24

-July 12th
-Marches would celebrate Protestant identity, sang anti Catholic songs like “Kick the Pope”

Question 25

Sectarian unrest was evident in Glasgow. What is an example of this? (Irish Protestant)

Answer 25

1835, in Airdrie, a Protestant march ended in the wreckage of a Catholic chapel, house and school, showing that clashes between Catholic and Protestant people were commonplace.

Question 26

What year was the first Jewish man registered in Scotland? (Jewish)

Answer 26

1691

Question 27

Where did many Jewish people emigrate from? (Jewish)

Answer 27

-Germany
-Holland
-Political refugees from Russia

Question 28

How long has there been discrimination in against Jewish people? (Jewish)

Answer 28

In Russia, it had been going on since 1772 when Russia took over part of Poland. When the Russian emperor, Alexander II was assassinated, the government blamed this on the Jewish community. A wave of more than 200 pogroms occurred, for example the Kishinev pogrom killed 49, destroyed 700 houses and 600 businesses.

Question 29

How many pogroms occurred in Ukraine between 1881 - 1920? (Jewish)

Answer 29

1300 pogroms, which left half a million people homeless and resulted in the deaths of up to a quarter of a million Jewish men and women. Many fled to parts of Russia or Europe, but people mainly fled to Scotland.

Question 30

Which areas of Scotland did Jewish people usually reside in? (Jewish)

Answer 30

Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.
-1901 there were 6,500 Jewish people in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, increased steadily to 15,000 in 1939.
-Most settled in cheap areas where there was already a Jewish community, however 2nd and 3rd generation Jewish people managed to make enough money to move to better off suburban areas like Queen’s Park or Langside.

Question 31

Which Scottish city had the 3rd largest Jewish community by 1939? (Jewish)

Answer 31

Glasgow became the 3rd largest Jewish community in Europe by 1939.

Question 32

What was the language spoken by Jewish people? (Jewish)

Answer 32

Both Yiddish and English, shop signs would be in both languages and Jewish children were expected to be bilingual.

Question 33

What was a popular Jewish newspaper in Glasgow? (Jewish)

Answer 33

The Jewish Times (Die Idishe Zeitung)

Question 34

Why was Yiddish removed from the Jewish Curriculum? (Jewish)

Answer 34

In 1908, Yiddish was removed from the Jewish curriculum because many felt assimilation was far more important.

Question 35

How was tension created within the Jewish community? (Jewish)

Answer 35

-New Russian Jews were poorly educated and not well accepted by German Jews who had emigrated before 1880.
-Rich Jewish people tried to control the poorer Jewish people to prevent them from damaging the Jewish reputation

Question 36

Jewish charities based themselves on self respect and independence. What is an example of this? (Jewish)

Answer 36

John Lewis, who lived in Glasgow, was helped to pay his taxes while in jail. However he and his family were deported using funds from the Jewish community.

Question 37

What areas would Jewish people usually work at? (Jewish)

Answer 37

-Bakeries, butchers, tailors, were often owned by Jewish people
-1/10 were hawkers and pedlars (travelling salesman)
-Highly involved in the cigarette industry, ie Jacob Kamusch, a cigarette entrepreneur said that by 1903 more than 200 Jewish men and women worked in his factory as hand rollers.

Question 38

What did Abraham Goldberg do? (Jewish)

Answer 38

established A. Goldberg and Sons, which became a very large department store in Scotland, 1989 the company had an estimate value of £32 million.

Question 39

Why were synagogues built? (Jewish)

Answer 39

So Jewish people could continue to practice their faith, with Garnethill Synagogue opened in 1881 in Glasgow, and by 1881 800 Jewish people were linked to this synagogue, which became a thriving community.

Question 40

Who was Benno Schotz? (Jewish)

Answer 40

A sculptor who was appointed ‘Sculptor in Ordinary’ for Scotland, a member of the royal household.

Question 41

What was the Education Act 1870? (Jewish)

Answer 41

Obliged state schools to teach during religious instruction classes

Question 42

What was the Talmud Torahs? (Jewish)

Answer 42

Private Jewish schools which taught Hebrew grammar, composition, religious instruction and history. Allowed Jewish children to keep their Jewish identity while also assimilating successfully.

Question 43

In 1936, how many students that attended Glasgow University were Jewish? (Jewish)

Answer 43

Almost 3%, and studied things like medicine, art, law and science. This was important as it allowed for more opportunity and better paid employment.

Question 44

What did the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council do? (Jewish)

Answer 44

-Sought to campaign for Jewish rights
-After 1918, some groups became more vocal about anti Semitism
-Closely tied to the Labour party
-Shows Jewish people were able to be politically active and advance their own ideas and views.

Question 45

In 1881 how many Italians were living in Scotland? (Italian)

Answer 45

328, with roughly 4500 in 1914. Seemingly whole villages would move from Italy to Scotland, for example, Barga in Italy became known as the most Scottish town in Tuscany, as 50% of residents had Scottish family.

Question 46

Post 1890, chain migration became more common. What is an example of this? (Italian)

Answer 46

Barga migrants settled in Paisley mainly, and in 1910 a wealthy business owner called Leopoldo Giuliani owned 20 fish and chip cafes.

Question 47

What areas would Italians usually work at? (Italian)

Answer 47

Catering and cafe culture, for example mainly running ice cream shops, cafes and chip shops. In 1903 there were 89 Italian takeaways and by 1995 there was 337.

Question 48

What ice cream parlour is still popular today? (Italian)

Answer 48

Nardini’s in Largs, which proved popular as it had an impressive art deco tearoom that attracted Scots.

By 1939 it is fair to say that Italian cafes were at the heart of Scottish culture.

Question 49

What other areas would Italians work in? (Italian)

Answer 49

Shipbuilding and coal mining
These jobs were physically demanding, and worked for longer hours and many stayed with members of their own community.

Question 50

Edinburgh was home to the Scottish Enlightenment, which did what? (Italian)

Answer 50

Created a legacy of huge demand for cultural pleasures, in particular Italian painting, music and interior decor.
-Many worked as travelling singers, musicians, street performers and mosaic workers.
-Some. known as image boys sold religious crafts from door to door.
-Hairdressers and barbers were opened up too, with a college opening in 1928 specialising in this.

Question 51

Italians experienced a lot of hostility in the 1920s, yet brought their nationalist spirit to Scotland. What is an example of this?(Italian)

Answer 51

The Casa D’Italia, located in Queens Park Circus opened in 1935. This was a social club which opened language classes and ran orchestral and drama productions.

Question 52

Why did Lithuanians come to Scotland?(Lithuanian)

Answer 52

-Make a living
-Escape military conscription
-Escape persecution

Between 1860 and 1914 somewhere between 1/3 and 1/4 of the population of Lithuania chose to migrate.

Question 53

How did Lithuanians make a living? (Lithuanian)

Answer 53

-Worked predominantly in agriculture, however individuals were being pushed off land due to shortage of farms and farm land.

Question 54

What is military conscription? (Lithuanian)

Answer 54

The compulsory enrolment of individuals into the armed forces, for Lithuanians it was mandatory for men over 21 and there was no time limit.

Question 55

What was the ‘Forty Years of Darkness’? (Lithuanian)

Answer 55

When Russia clamped down on Lithuania after some attempted rebellion in 1863.

Question 56

Why was Scotland a more popular place for Lithuanians to migrate (Lithuanian)

Answer 56

Because it was cheaper, the passage to Leith was £1, whereas the passage to the USA was £5. They settled in places like Coatbridge, Bellshill, and Newtown Grande in Midlothian. By 1914 there was roughly 7000 Lithuanians in Scotland.

Question 57

Which heavy industries would Lithuanians work in? (Lithuanian)

Answer 57

-William Baird and Co and Merry Cunninghame recruited Lithuanians in 1870s.
-Between 5000 and 6000 Lithuanians worked in coal mines in Coatbridge by 1914.
-Lithuanian women worked in Carfin Brickworks, making bricks from clay.

Question 58

What would William Baird and Co provide their employees with? (Lithuanian)

Answer 58

Housing, with families, friends or significant others coming to join once they had enough money.

Question 59

What was community like for the Lithuanians? (Lithuanian)

Answer 59

Community was very close. In these areas people would speak Lithuanian and open their own shops like tailors and shoemakers. In Bellshill, they had their own co-operative food store, insurance company and welfare club, this area became known as ‘Little Lithuania’.

Question 60

Where would Lithuanian’s go to practice their faith? (Lithuanian)

Answer 60

The Catholic church, establishing the Casmir Society which printed books about Catholicism in Lithuanian. The church played a big part in Lithuanian’s experience in Scotland.

Question 61

Women were said to be the conduits of culture. How so? (Lithuanian)

Answer 61

-They told folk stories
-Sang songs
-Passed down traditions
-In 1929, the Lithuanian Catholic Women’s Society was opened, which promoted Lithuanian national culture.
-Dances and singing events were organised, highlighting a strong sense of community.

Question 62

What was the first Lithuanian newspaper? (Lithuanian)

Answer 62

The Vaidilute (Vestal) , published in 1899 in Glasgow. It was replaced by Laika in 1905.

Question 63

What was the social life of Lithuanians like? (Lithuanian)

Answer 63

There was Lithuanian orchestra, choirs and drama productions. Societies organised dances and cultural events. Lithuanian Festival was hosted in Glasgow’s City Halls.

Question 64

What did most labouring backgrounds mean for Lithuanians? (Lithuanian)

Answer 64

They did not speak English, which meant they couldn’t fully assimilate. This led to confusion at work, such as when trying to communicate about minework, many Lithuanian’s misinterpreted the ‘digging’ gestures for farmwork.