Civilisation Great Britain

Introduction:
The history of Ireland from 1681 to 18th was characterised by the protestants. This was an
anglo-irish family of the Anglican church whose ancestors had settled in Ireland after its
conquest by England and took control of most of the land. Many of those were absentee
landlords based in England and others lived full time in Ireland and identified as Irish, during
this time Ireland was an autonomous kingdom with a parliament in reality however it was a
state controlled by the king of GB and supervised by his ministers in London. The great
majority of pop in Ireland was Roman catholic who were excluded from power and land
ownership under the penal laws. The second largest group were the presbyterian in Olster
owned land and businesses but could not vote and had no political power .
The period begins with the defeat by the catholic Jacobites in Ireland in 1681 and it ends with
the act of union of 1800 which annexed Ireland in a UK from the 1 of january 1801 and
dissolved the irish parliament.

I. Economic Situation
In the 18th C Ireland had been deforested of timber for export so Irish estates turned
to exporting salt beef, pork, butter.. through the port city of Cork which supported the
British navy and the West Indies. The economy was flourishing but many people were
poor in the 1740s. These inequalities were combined with a really cold winter and a
poor harvest which led directly to the famine of 1741. In the 1780s because of the
competition from NA and the Baltics they switched from salted meat to grain for
export while the peasants ate potatoes.
In the 18th C there were more peasant secret societies. These were illegal which
hoped to change the behaviour of those landlords, because they suffered from high
rent, eviction and from the payment of tithes (dîmes) to the state church. They used
violence, they tore down fences etc. The discontent grew because of the growing pop
and this accelerated during the 19th C. There were great economic disparities, less
roads in the West, you lived better in the North.

II. Irish politic

The majority of the people were peasants that had no power and were poor. There
were also protestants divided into 2 groups:
The presbyterian in Ulster in the North who lived in better condition but had no
political power.
The Anglo-Irish families who formed a small group who held power, they followed
the anglican church. They owned the majority of the farmland on which the work was
done by the peasants. Over time many of those anglo-irish who lived in Ireland
became more identified as irish nationalist because they resented the english control
of the Island. Ireland was a separate kingdom ruled by King George III. A declaration
stated that Ireland was dependent on Britain and that the British parliament had power
to make laws for ireland. The King set a policy through the viceroy of Ireland. In
practice he lived in England and the affairs of Ireland were controlled by an elite of
Irish protestants. They controlled patronage and they used political corruption. In
1767 there was a reform and a viceroy was appointed, this was George Townshend,
he lived in Dublin Castle. But he had a strong support and all the major decisions
were made in London, he got rid of stuff and … they were known as the Patriots.
They demanded more self rule and the main figure was Henry Grattan, the result was
a series of new laws that made the Irish parliament a powerful institution and
independent even still under the King and his Privy Castle. These concessions instead
of satisfying the patriots intensified their demands. This is the cause of the Irish
rebellion of 1798 which was instigated by those who were inpatient with the pace of
reform and who enjoyed French support. Britain suppressed the revolt and legislated a
complete union with Ireland in 1801 including the abolition of the Irish parliament.
a. The penal laws
Catholics were prevented from sitting in parliament and from voting,
Jacobitism in catholic Ireland had been completely defeated in the Williamite
war in Ireland in 1691. The defeat of the catholics in this war meant that those
who had taken arms had their lands confiscated but also that catholics were
excluded from political power. Not only were the catholics repressed but the
presbyterian also suffered from the penal laws, they concentrated in the
northern province of Ulster and mostly descended from Scottish settlers, they
couldn’t hold public offices, only those who belong to the church of ireland
could have power. Both catholics and presbyterian were banned from certain
professions: the law, and the army, they also have restrictions on having land.
These penal laws were strictly imposed, the protestant elite felt threatened by
the commitment of the catholics to restore the Jacobite dynasty however with
the defeat of the jacobites in 1746 many penal laws were relaxed. From 1766
catholics … and they were eager for their loyalty.
b. Henry Grattan’s parliament and the Volunteers
By the late 18 C many of the protestant elite came to see Ireland as their native
country and were angered at the neglect from London. The Patriots were led
by Henry Grattan and agitated for a more favourable trading relation with
England, they also campaigned for legislative independence for the parliament
of Ireland. Many of their demands were met 1772 when … was granted
between england and ireland, for the Patriots the constitution of 1782 in which
the irish parliament declared its independence from the UK gov was the start
of a process that would end discrimination and start a period of prosperity and
irish self government. Partly as a result of this freetrade Ireland experienced an
economic boom in the 1780s canals were built and major public buildings
were built such as the Dublin post office and the four courts. Many quays were
built and Dublin became a major centre of commerce for the Empire.
c. The united Irish land, 1798 rebellion and the act of Union
Some were attracted to the idea of the french rev of 1789. In 1791 a small
group of radicals formed the society of Irish land in Belfast. They want the
right to vote and the end of discrimination. The united irishman forged like
with the catholics known as the defenders and they wanted the military
 support of France. Their activity culminated in the Irish rebellion of 1789, the
rebellion lasted 3 months before it was suppressed, but 30K people died. This
explains why 1789 is very present in Irish memory, this was all about
republican ideals and trying to end religious discrimination. The brits response
was harsh and many suspected irish Man were executed, largely in response to
the rebellion the irish selfgov was abolished all together from the 1 of january
1801 by the act of union of 1800. They were persuaded to vote for their
abolition out of fear of another rebellion. Of course there were bribes in the
parliament, including from the left lieutenant of Ireland. The catholic church
was promised an emancipation if the catholic bishop was on their side they
would be emancipated.

III.
Some historians argue that there were two cultures existing side by side in 18C
Ireland which had little contact with each other, one was catholic and gaelic and the
other anglo-irish and protestant. In the long 18C there still aws a vibrant irish
literature, many irish language poets clung to a romantic attachment to the jacobite
cause while some wrote empress of the United IrishMen in the 1790s. Some anglo-
irish writers were Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver’s travels. There was also
Burk, he was a political thinker and he was extremely influential in conservatism, he
was a philosopher in intellectual circles in Ireland, England etc. This was also the time
of the finest urban architecture especially in cities like Dublin and Limerick.

To conclude this period in Irish history has been called the long peace and indeed for
nearly a 100 years there was little political violence in ireland. In contrast to the
previous 200 years however the period 1691 to 1801 began and ended in violence. At
the end of the period the dominance of the protestant elite that had ruled the country
for 100 years was being challenged by an increasingly assertive catholic population
and this dominance was ended by the acts of union of 1800 that created the UK from
january 1801. The violence of the 1790s ended the hopes of many radical
presbyterians then abandoned their alliance with catholics and radicals in the 19th C
under the leadership of Daniel O’Connel, Irish nationalism would in the future be a
more exclusively catholic phenomenon. Many protestants saw their continued
proeminence in Irish society as being guaranteed by the union with Britain and
therefore became unionist.

Treaty of union

The Union and the Scottish enlightenment 1689-1780

Intro: historians have analysed the reasons for the union of parliament of 1707, they have
tried to answer the questions:
 ● Was it a response to the crisis in Scotland or was it the inevitable consequence of a
growing social and economic integration of the island of Great Britain?
● Was it a result of the failure of the union of the crowns of 1603 or was it its natural
culmination?
● Was it a balanced solution to the tensions between the interests of Scotland and
England or was it the absorption of a trouble-making province by a major power?
● Was it the Act of farsighted politicians thinking of the future of their country or a
consequence of bribery and self interest?
● What were the priorities of the members of the last Scottish Parliament? Was it the
fear of poverty? Was it the fear of war? Or is it the fear of Catholicism?
These contrasting interpretations were valid in 1707 and are still current today. The
consequences of the Union are also very much debated. The higher hopes of the supporters
were not realised in the next 3 decades in fact England dominated Scotland to a far greater
degree than it had been expected. Economic benefit did not materialise, political resentment
grew in link with Jacobitism, even the preservation of Presbyterianism seemed increasingly
hollow as the church began to lose its monopoly of faith in Scotland.

3 things:
Presbyterian church
Le droits écossais
L’education

Only by the middle of the 18th C could we convincingly argue that Scotland had gained
peace, stability and some wealth from the Union. Recent historians have debated not so much
how quickly it got better but rather if the union made very much difference at all. From the
second half of the 18th C the Scottish enlightenment and Edinburg was perceived as the
Athene of the North.

I. Towards the union of parliaments

1. William of Orange and Mary and Queen Anne
3 events in the 1690s emphasise the continuing differences between English
and Scottish interest at the time of William and Mary:
The massacre of Glencoe → wikipedia au moment de la glorieuse
révolution il y a eu beaucoup de gens pas contents il fallait que les clans
ecossais jure leur fidélité au nouveau monarque, et 1 clan, Mcdonald la fait
trop tard, ils se sont fait massacrer. Guillaume a été tenu responsable de
couvrir cet incident.
The famine of the 1690s → starvation hit scotland during that time and it
coincided with an economic disaster that hit the wealthy Scots that is the
Darien disaster. They made the connection with the new regime in
London.
 The darien disaster → The company of Scotland wished to build a colony
in Panama, where the inhabitants were aggressive, the climate difficult.
However the interference from England was blamed for failure.
It was believed that William chose the interest of England first, he did not
support the darien expedition. The political classes of Scotland questioned the
benefits of a monarch to rule 1 country. Historians still argue over the political
process that led to the union but at least agree that the central issue was
sovereignty. The 1701 act of settlement gave the crown to the house of
Hanover then following the succession of Queen Anne in 1702 Scotland was
required to enter the war with France. In neither case did the Scottish
parliament be consulted. Scottish Parliament responded in 1703 by threatening
to agree to a diff succession when Queen Anne died. To do so they passed the
act of peace and war claiming that it had control over peace and war it also
passed the wine act that said that they could trade with France even if England
was at war with them.
These were strategic challenges to England by 1705 the problem was huge if
the London gov did not take notice of the Scots then the union of the crown
was at risk. In 1705 the English parliament issued an ultimatum in the form of
the alien act. This threatened to cut off anglo-scottish trade unless negotiations
were started for a parliamentary union. Negotiations focused minds sharply in
the Scottish parliament debates were very heated.
2. The 1707 Union
The treaty was to be written by commissioners from Scotland and from
England, this enabled a treaty to be written between April and June 1706
which fully incorporated the 2 parliaments into 1. So the choice of the
commissioners was important. The debate in Scotland led to a sophisticated
political argument with some wishing for a federal union. Some also supported
no union at all.
2 important figures wanted to maintain the parliament for Scotland and
different succession for the 2 crowns: Andrew Fletcher of Saltoon and Lord
Belhaven. Among the issues worrying the exponent of the union were: trade,
wealth, power, the Church, the law and security the common theme was the
loss of sovereignty. Pro union propaganda centred on the guarantees which the
union would offer to Protestantism to peace, political liberty and trade. In the
winter 1706 everything was debated and passed in january 1707 and in March
in england. The motifs of the Members often mixed personal advantage with
political conviction. A fear of the alternative also played a part, potentially
they could be at war with England. The background in England was of
celebration, in Scotland there were riots.
The Union of 1707 was product of its time Scotlland retained more economy
than before its social and political life had dev more independence at the end
of the century because the country questioned an absentee monarchy. Also
Scottish law had gained a distinctive philosophy recognized by the treaty, the
 position of the Kirk was guaranteed as well as the education. The central
bargain of the union remained succession, in return for trade. In theory
sovereignty was lost on both sides and regained together in what was supposed
to be an entirely new Parliament of the UK.
45 seats in the chamber of commons for Scotland 30 to the shires and 15 to the
burghs.
The most significant aspect was the transition to a united economy, it was part
of the process of bribery which influenced the Scottish MP to pass the treaty.
The evidence of the first decade of the union confirmed the fears of its
opponents. (schema brochure)
This suggests that Scottish political importance was reduced in this united
Parliament. Economically the wool trade collapsed but the linen, grain and
cattle trade did better. In the Church the court position was undermined by the
toleration granted to the Church of England’s minister and their prayer book in
1712. When taxes on malt were raised to English level in 1713 there were riots
in Glasgow and a motion to end the Union…
Discontents searched for another outlet with the Jacobite uprising.
3. Jacobitism
Jacobitism remains the most dangerous political issue in Scotland, the French
supported it, the highland clans to and because of the discomfort regarding the
Union. It seemed that the Union could be reversed only by undoing the regal
union too. In 1708 a french squadron tried to land the pretender (Jacques 8) in
Scotland although it failed to show how broad support for Jacobitism was
strong. Queen Anne died in 1714, and was succeeded by George I the son of
Sophia of Hanover. George’s succession was ill received in Scotland and in
1715 they took up arms again, this was the Earl of Mar’s rebellion. Although
his rebellion was incompetent it demonstrated the diggory of active support
for Jacobitism especially in the North East of Scotland and the south of the
Highlands. After the defeat of 1707 James went back to France with Mar
where they stayed in exile. Those Jacobites who took arms were trialled and
their estates were confiscated.
The Union set up a British state which evolved through the years. At first
Scottish politics were merged into English ones and no one in London really
had responsibility for Scotland. New commissions were set up in Scotland
providing jobs for the Scotts in return for government support. After 1725 the
pattern of politics became clearer because of the Earl of Islay. From London
Islay controlled a network of appointees using patronage. And his man in
Edinburg was his viceroy Lord Moulton. In the 1740s Islay supporters lost
their majority of Scottish MPs but this was restored after the Jacobite uprising
of 1745-6.
By the 1750s the political system had stabilised and the … was established.
They implemented the gov’s wishes rather than representing Scotland to the
gov. The 1745 Jacobite uprising led by Charles Edward Stweart was an
unexpected rebellion which made its successes seem more dramatic and its
 failure more complete. In order to establish physical control over the highlands
some roads were built including fort augustus. These were the general wale
rules, they were started at the end of the 1720s the jacobite rebellion aims was
to encourage and link with a french invasion of southern england and it gain
its support from the highlands. But even there the loyalties of the subjects
were divided. Louis XV lost interest after that. Charles ES was short of
weapons but the Jacobite captured Edindburg. The Jacobite army progresses to
England but fails to win English support. London was too far away and the
French invasion was impossible so he retreated to Scotland. At Culloden in
1746 the gov army fought against the Jacobites, he is known as butcher …
After the defeat people clung to Charles Edward Stewart and hoped to see him
again but his flight became a romantic story because the jacobite threat had
evaporated. The Jacobites were made prisoners, called the rebels, their estates
were confiscated, some died and some were sent to America as slaves.
Following this the jacobite were banned to wear the kilt and tartan, they were
forbidden to play bagpipe, forbidden to have weapons and the chief of clans
became standard land owners. The name of Scotland disappeared and became
known as North Britain.

II. The religious change

The victory of presbyterianism in 1629 was not as clear as it was said by historians.
Presbyterianism took advantage of the collapse of James VII’s government. The claim
of right was passed by William of Orange, he abolished episcopacy and restored a
presbyterian gov in Scotland. Members of the Kirk had to swear loyalty to him.
However the new Kirk did not complete freedom from the state. The candidates for
minister of the Church were still nominated by land owners. Politically the victorious
presbyterian Church had to operate with an anglo-scottish … . The union of 1707 did
preserve protestantism in its form of … yet in many other areas the union developed
elsewhere after that. Tensions in the Kirnk emerged and protests were against
patronage. This was a time where religion had a hold on Scottish people but following
the liberal teaching of Francis Hutchins a professor of philo in Glasgow the grip of the
Church was less evident. There was a split in the Kirk between the court party and the
moderates (with Francis). As the 18th C progressed the nature of faith became
fragmented. The absence from church was really rare.

III. From the 1690s crisis to social and economic improvement

Some historians have seen the union for Scots economic problems while others have
seen it as the result of political manoeuvring. Now the eco problems of the 1690s are
seen as short term rather than structural. William war removed the trading partner of
France. Poor harvest forced the import of grains in Scotland, there was a disruption in
cattle trade, a collapse of manufacturing and the little ice age, they couldn’t survive a
famine and couldn’t distribute food. When the disaster of Panama it appeared that the
Scottish economy was about to collapse. This is why the Alien Act of 1705 was so
disastrous. The 15 economic clauses in the union treaty were an attempt to provide a
balancing act. Scotland wanted access to English markets but also protection for its
vulnerable parts of the economy such as salt and coal. They also wanted freedom to
trade with the English colonies. The Glasgow merchants were against it because they
traded illegally with America anyway. The Union changed the context of the eco but
did not guarantee success. It allowed ideas, skills, capital and techno to enter from
England. However until the 1720s the eco remained stagnant there was some
movement in the following decade for the growth became noticeable and by the 1760s
growth had become a cause for national congratulation.
Looking at the period historians now argue that Scotland possessed the means of
modernisation but those means were activated by the circumstances offered by the
Union. The eco take off happened toward the end of the century through
banking, 2 banks were used by the gov as a way to invest into fisheries and
industry. Among historians there are diff opinions about how far the union
meant. The tobacco trade was stimulated by the 1707 Union merchants settled
factories in America and Scotland gained a lot from that. The linen industry
brought eco benefits for Scotland thanks to the development of industrialization;
some spinning schools were created and exports of linen were made possible with
America. Coal mines also offered cash to the land owners and production was
even more increased with the invention of the steam engine. Techno advances
allowed faster and greater production and the steam engine brought many
features of enterprise. In agriculture also improvement became visible from after
the 1760s with new crops, techno, longer leases, enclosures. Many land owners
saw improvement in the land as a patriotic program → something necessary for
Scotland. The land system which had emerged during the Middle ages was
beginning to change. And the 1745 Jacobite rebellion is now regarded as a
moment of acceleration of the integration of highland society into the rest of
Scotland and the rest of Britain. The heart of the land system was between the
chief and the man that had land from him, this gave them a sense of community.
The kinship links of the all clan were imagined as well as real. Together clans men
shared a sense of community and of hereditary trusteeship of the land. They were the
trustees of the land ex: the Dukes of Argyll exercises for generations feudal
overlordship. A communal sense of landhonor ship. The highland chief … attitude.
But population increase during the 18th C put pressure on the land. Cattle were the
main source of wealth and weaving formed an increase of income. Fishing was also
important in the North. The government in London failed to understand the increasing
stability of highland society. They were afraid of the fact that the chief could call out
an armed force. The start of relationships based on money rather than kinship tended
to undermine the clan structure. By the 18th C some proprietors of the land were
removing tacksmen and giving direct leases. The duke of Argyll did this in Kintyre
from 1710 and in Mull, Morven and Tiree from 1737. Although there was a transition
 towards a relationship based on money, the essential features of highland society such
as a respect for chief, payment of rent in kind, the maintenance of military service
were still the dominant features of the region along with Gaelic language and the
culture. It was these features which were to be deconstructed after the battle of
Culloden.
(Voir cours feuille)

IV. A “Hotbed of genius”

This expression was used by David Daiches.
Some historians of ideas and philosophers are prone to emphasise the novelty of
intellectual achievements. Whilst others stress the continuity with the 17th C.
But many 18th C contemporaries such as historians and philosophers William Roberts
and David Hume were keen to emphasise discontinuity and that the circumstances
produced by the union of 1707 had resulted in a new phase of civilisation. (c'est une
lecture unioniste) Such men of genius as Adam Smith and David Hume and their
reflection on the position of man in society influenced the history of ideas. Signs and
the fine arts managed great achievements; Edinburgh was regarded as the hotbed of
genius.
What were the various phases of the enlightenment? Did it start in the 1720s?
The 1740s and 50s or were there seeds of enlightenment in the late 17th C?
Recent interest has focused on the variety in Scotland from the middle of the 18th C
onwards. As well as on contributions of urban centres such as Glasgow and Aberdeen
and Edinburgh and their distinctive nature of their different life. The years after the
union of 1707, so a flourishing of antiquarianism and patriotic history. This largely
Jacobite movement was epitomised by the printer Thomas Rudiman who became the
librarian to the faculty of Advocates. Another side to it was the collection of
vernacular Scott's songs by Allan Ramsay. Paradoxically the same national identity
was sought through the anglicisation of culture this led to the reading of London
Periodicals such as: The Spectator and Tatler. This led to the imitation of English
speech and manners and to the teaching of the ideas of Newton and Locke. The
integration of the intellectual life of Scotland and England didn’t start with the union
but was accelerated by it. The development of Edinburgh was the result of a similar
paradox: the immigration of London by the professional classes whose dominance
was due to the absence of the court and parliament. The general assembly of the Kirk
(réunion annuel à edimbourg pour les enjeux de l’Ecosse), the courts and the
university provided a formal context for professional contact in Edinburgh which also
benefited from newspapers, clubs, social events and taverns. The reorganisation of
Scottish university was vital to the intellectual development of the 18th C. specialist
chairs had been founded at Edinburgh in the 17th C in Maths, Medicine, Botany,
History and Law. By 1722 the university had chairs in Latin, Grec, Logic,
Metaphysics, moral and natural philosophy and public and natural law, a major step
forward was the creation in 1726 of the Edinburgh medical school. Based on the
model of Leyde’s (Hollande) school. Where scotts had been traded in the later 17th C.
 By the middle of the 18th C Edinburgh had become the principal medical school in
the world.
Glasgow specialised more in science and technology the universities provided both
the training ground and careers for many of the major figures of the Enlightenment.
The roots of what would later be called the Scottish enlightenment in various spheres
in the first ¼ of the 18th C. They include changes in the curriculum of the
universities, liberalism in the Church, the dev of Edinburgh … political stability, the
decline of religious controversy and growing wealth.
From the 1720’s onwards there was a rage for improvement. Which often seemed to
be pursued with an evangelical zeal. Increasingly it became patriotic and was linked
to a patriotic program. By the late 1750s Edinburgh had developed a great reputation
as the “Athenes of the North”. It was a “hotbed of genius”. It was a major centre of
the enlightenment, and other cities and towns followed suit in the international
ferment of new ideas about human knowledge. After 1760 Scottish scientist and
philosophers, academics and theologians, landowners and professionals all began to
develop an awareness of their national intellectual achievement in this European
movement. One figure stands out in the first half of the 18th C, Francis Hutchinson
who brought an empirical approach to the study of man which many of his pupils
developed. The next phase of the enlightenment was dominated by David Hume. in
1739 he published his first philosophical work which analysed human experience in
the same way and reached more sceptical conclusions.

Enlightenment and industrialisation (1760-1840)

Intro: The Golden Age of Scotland has been a focus for historical study for a long time.
Historians have looked at the late 17th and early 19th C from the point of view of social and
eco changes, cultural achievement and the political framework in which they were set.
Analysis of this broad picture as new approaches of … social stability and high intellectual
achievement. The questions being:
Was the Scottish political system as monolithic as it appeared under Henry Dundas ?
What impact on society did the high Enlightenment make ?
Were the Highlands economy and society more flexible and quick to evolve than has
been previously argued ?
How rapid and concentrated were the processes of industrialisation and urbanisation ?
How universal was agricultural improvement ?
How interdependent were the process of agri improvement industrialisation and
urbanisation and how can they be dated ?
How diverse were the Irish immigrants of the early 19th C and how well did they
integrate into Scotland ?
How did the political attitudes of diff groups differ ?
Why did political reform lag behind that of England despite social pressures from the
1790s onward ?
The change in emphasis in historical writing is mocked; it is no longer seen as a period of
simple confrontation between landowners and Highlanders, immigrant against natives,
industrial against mano workers, impover against traditional rural society and the
revolutionary sympathiser and a …
As usual in history, close examination reveals a more interesting and complicated world in
which each part of Scotalnd was responding to… which reflected the tension between the
new and the old.

I. The Dundas Despotism

Michael Fry → The Dundas Despotism
Late Scottish politics were dominated by landowners. Henry Dundas operated the
political system from 1775 to 1805. By 1796 he had built up control of almost all of
the 45 Scottish MPs and delivered their support to Prime Minister William Pit the
Younger. Dundas was able to do this because the landed electorate was smaller than
in England. And because he could provide careers for the sons of the gentry in the
Churches and universities of Scotland. He also could provide opportunities in India
and in the Army and the Navy. This was the period where Scotland became an
enthusiastic partner in Britain. Dundas also used civic virtue to encourage
aristocratic support for economic development. The Dundas system was a domestic
form of enlightened absolutism, corrupt but patriotic. But Henry Dundas' political
system provoked riots in 1782. The context was the french revolution and especially
the popularity of Thomas Pain’s book the rights of man.
Symbolic trees were planted, there was a serious challenge to the establishment and
the radical movement had an echo in scotland. By the late 18th c roman catholics had
ceased to be the political danger that they had represented at the beginning of the …
succession. The first relief act of 1778 enabled British catholics in Britain to have
properties such as land. In 1791 another bill was passed to enable them to practise
their religion without penalties.
The middle class agitation for reform had begun to reemerge in new publications such
as the Scotsman and the edinburgh review. After Napoleon was defeated in 1813,
wing political parties gained confidence. However it was not until 1830 when Earl
Grey formed a government which enabled Scotland to … through the 1832 reform
act. The scottish act of 1832 was largely the succession of 2 politicians Francis Jeffrey
and Henry Cockburn.

II. The Great Disruption of 1843 a schism from the established church of scotland
The presbyterian church continued to undergo a split at the end of the XVIII th C. The
Kirk was dominated by the moderates. In the 1830s there was a rising party in the
church called the evangelical.

III. In the streams Empire the rise of the middle class and the Highland clearances
In the last 2 decades of the 18th C, agricultural improvement became the norm in
lowland Scotland. New crops, rotations and enclosure were important for
England. The rising productivity was the result of a change of attitude; this was a
time when people acknowledged the benefit of new methods. New foods to the
markets and so food for more people and for town dwellers. Agriculture remains
the main occupation in scotland. Agri improvement altered the pattern of
improvement by 18 the standard of living of all groups in rural society had risen.
Fine houses were built, comfortable furniture was used. Agriculteur could afford
good clothes → deep transformation. By 1840 no one engaged in farming was
sentimental about the past; the cotton industry developed and dominated the first
phase of the industrial revolution in Scotland.
2M lived in Scotland a pop growth of 50% happened between .. and 1720 this … and
cheap labour, the success of industry such as linen, tobacco and cattle trade provided
the capital for growth. It was therefore able to take advantage of the new techno of
weaving and spinning imported from EN. Spinning mills emerged from the 1770s and
80s (New Lanark 1786) by 1795 there were and by 1839 there were 192 half of them
outside Glasgow. The textile industry flourished and workers worked in terrible
conditions.
Coal mining was also important especially with steam power in the 1820s. Iron works
were set up in the 1780s ex: Carron. Scotland had advantages including an important
supply of raw material like coal and iron also its labours were less paid than in EN.
and by the 1830s there was an enormous … that worked in the factories. Expanding
industries attracted immigrants from rural Ireland and the Highlands. The factory
environment …Brought the disruption of family life.
Lead mines development in Scotland also (mines of leadhills) although there were
still a minority from 1800 scot was one of the most urbanised countries in the world.
Before 1840 only part of Scotland faced the combination of social problems caused
by the revolution. Much of industrial development has yet taken place in rural and
often quite remote areas rather than in older cities. However the steam engine had
already begun to accelerate the concentration of industrial activity around coal mines.
Landowners and the professions formed the backbone of Scottish society during the
enlightenment period. The term middle class is a loose definition of a very wild
spectrum of occupation: it covered lawyers, ministers, merchants, university and
school teachers and craft man and tradesmen. With industrialization the owners of
factories gained wealth and status. With the expansion of the empire many scotts
earned a fortune abroad and took it home. Those who provided luxury like books and
clocks benefited from the spread of influence. A middle class elite built houses
appropriate to their status, assembly rooms for people to meet and academies for
children of the middle class. Roads and bridges were built. The first stage coaches
took 12 hours between Glasgow and Edinburgh; there were few noth of the tay until
1800 when the bridges and roads transformed communications in the Highlands.
The first railways were opened in 1826 the Dalkeith and Edinburg. The first attempt
to build a canal between the Forth and the Clyde failed in 1773 but the canal, which
 was a remarkable piece of engineering, was completed in 1790. Other canals were
built in the 1830s and 40s.

The gov reaction to the rebellion of 1745 accelerated the break up of the clan system
and also accelerated the convergence between the economic structure of Lowlands
and Highlands. Legislation passed after the 45 was aimed at breaking the clan as a
social unit, as well as the symbols like the kilts, the weapons and the bagpipes, the
heritable jurisdiction of chief land. Following the 45 the lands of the Jacobites which
had been fighting against the gov were forfeited and the estates were annexed by the
crown which was left to administer the land forfeited.
Social changes in the Highland between 1780 and 1840 seem to be dominated by the
clearances. There were several different forms and phases of clearances that varied
from region to region. In the eastern highlands the agricultural revolution resembled
the one of the Lowland with removal of tenants and consolidation of farms. In the
northland waste it could happen against the opinion of the people with the Countess of
Sou.. in the islands whole communities were evicted and put on immigrant ships. The
common factor of it was the goal to make them pay. What was destroyed over the
period was the relationships between landowners and tenants and the moral obligation
towards the people. Highlands landlords had felt that the people were the base of their
authority what change is that they saw them self make profit of their land (fishing,
cattle trade, wool trade and kelp industry that made a huge profit) The removal of
tenant to coastal district where the reasons for pressures on land and the 🥔potato
became widely used. Immigration from Scotland to North America had been going on
for a while but accelerated in the 18th and 19th C. from the 1760s 10K per decade
left, from the lowland it was skillworkers and from the highland it was farmers
seeking land .this immigration need to be seen in a context of urban migration. On the
other hand of the social scale the expansion of the empire provided new opportunities
for gathering money. By 1840 common figures in scottish society like the glasgow
merchants that made his money in the west indies and the sugar trade and with slaves,
the second son of a laird who had done well in india thanks to a job provided by
Henry Dundas, the professional soldier from a highland regiment that fought in
Canada or France. Everyone brought their money home and it shaped society. Others
emigrated permanently or died abroad.

IV. Science, philosophy, literature and the arts: the expression of a

The leaders of Scottish life were academics, Adam Ferguson, William Robertson,
Robert Ferguson, Adam Smith and David Hume. These men were part of a wider
social environment. Clubs and societies brought together academics, professionals,
landowners etc. This inteligencia engrage social change. The enlightenment happened
not only in Glasgow and Edinburgh but also in the provincial centre. The great works
of the Enlightenment were read a lot. A common question was the moral issues facing
men in society. Hutcherson, Hume, Ferguson, Robertson and Smith addressed this.
Philosophical writing crossed the boundaries of economy, sociology. It was interested
in historical change and took an optimistic view of human nature. The intellectual
 conviviality of clubs and society were focused on similar topics ex: the select society
and the Poker club.
In the 18th century in Scotland scientific thoughts were admired as much as
philosophy. James Hutton, William Cullen, Joseph Black, Thomas Hopes were
scientists. The visible inheritance of the Enlightenment can be seen everywhere in
scotland. Planned villages were a symbol of improvement; they were common in the
highlands as well as across the estate of the lowland. Country houses were the same.
The work of William Bruce at the end of the 17th C was the starting point for these
constructions that were taken up by Robert Adam (createur du neoclassicism) and his
father William Adam. The second half of the 18th c was filled with the growth of an
urban middle class. The new town of Edinburgh constructed by James Craig was the
earliest and biggest example. Public buildings complemented private houses in
Edinburgh as elsewhere there was a sense of order that was reflected in the formal
gardens, organised gardens and also in the gridded plan which was so far removed
from the pattern of the mediaeval burgh. Glasgow, Aberdeen, Perth as well as smaller
towns had ambitious new town schemes. After 1800 new towns expanded further by
which time Scottish architecture was already established.
In painting Allan Ramsay Junior was the greatest portrait painter of the
Enlightenment. Others painters included Gavin Hamilton who worked in Rome along
with 2 others painters Alexander .. and David Alan. Alexander Nasmist developed
illustrations of Walter Scots’ work.
Music: both Aberdeen and Edinburgh had flourishing music. Neil Gow
Literature in the last decade of the 18th C and first of the 19th are dominated by
Robert Burns (poet) and Walter Scots( novelist). The legacy left by both is huge. At
the time of Burns the division of languages was sharp, the inteligencia rushed to purge
their prose of scotishism. English gradually became a lingua franca as the English
speaking world spread over the globe. Walter Scott's collected ballads and wrote epics
he observed a distinctively Scottish culture. Scotts and Burns helped in different ways
to preserve a sense of cultural identity which by the time of Walter Scotts was rooted
in the past. In the 1820s and 30s they felt to be both Scottish and british. Historians
called it unionist nationalism.
Highland society became rapidly overrun by British culture; the visit of George IV in
1822 confirmed that the lowlands had taken as the essence of Scottishness their own
ersatz.

Conclusion: Why did the Scottish enlightenment die? By the 1840s … their golden age was
over. Explaining the end of the enlightenment has remained a major problem for historians.
Was Scotland declined only about the death of key individuals? Or was there something more
fundamental at work? Was there a hostile environment? Were there less conductive ideas?
philosophy. These are open questions that could be studied in another course.