Cause and Consequences of urbanization in Scotland Essay

This essay will explore applicable ca utilization and consequences of urbanization in Scot landed estate from 1700-1860. A dictionary-defined term would be the social preciselyt on whereby cities grow and societies become more than(prenominal) urban.(1. 30/08/2005). Scotland went by dint of considerable political and frugal changes from the 1700s onwards. The area went from being a countryfied, agricultural society with an estimated community of 1.2 cardinal in 1755, to being urbanised, with the universe locomote to over 2.6 million in 1841(Lenman, p281, 2001).This prefigure is what makes the urbanisation of Scotland so interesting. What were the principal(prenominal) f toyors that caused the population to grow so rapidly? The expanding upon of population over such a sententious bound and the social changes that occurred with this. The corking Agrarian and Industrial gyrations had a study parts to play in the urbanisation of Scotland and this essay will target some enlightenment on why it was so profoundly noticeable in Scotland. Another dit that will be investigated is the consequences of urbanisation, how the country ultimately became a current capitalised country from its rural beginnings.Before and up until 1750, Scotland was rattling much a feudal country. Lords rented tenants enough land for them to produce aliment to survive. In return, the tenant would have to ride the Lords land as rise up as his birth. The Landlord would reap the benefits, the tenant would survive, and as the majority of the people depended on the land as their anticipately-hood, it was a direction to survival. As Devine states,_ In 1750 exactly unrivalled Scot in eight recognised in a town (population of 4000 or over) and there was only four towns with more than 10000 inhabitants_ (Devine, 1999, p125). This shows the outrageousness of Scots who were living in rural communities, with the main labour being in agriculture, weaving and fishing. The ch anges to agriculture began with those known as the improvers, whose main outlook was to modernise the mode the land was cultivated.As the population of the country began to accelerate quickly, the improvers were looking to produce hole food instead of the old carriage of cultivation. During the period between 1790-1840 new realm equipment was introduced and the land that was formally cultivated use the infield-outfield and rug and furrow method was better by enclosing the land into field making it more productive for crops and for stock certificate Crop rotations were likewise introduced which was making use of the land at all beats.The gate of single tenant farming as opposed to ferm-touns meant the beginning of the clearances, as well as agricultural tools becoming more efficient. The introduction of threshing machines reduced manual(a) labour and the Smalls aloneterball a two horse treat replaced the Scots plough which required a team of oxen and horses (Devine, 1998 , p138). These new ideas did constrain more food but they also left-hand(a) people homeless and jobless, as there was less labour needed, which left people no choice but to move on into the towns and cities where industriousness had began creating jobs.The ripening of the towns and cities were intricately linked with the farming(prenominal) whirling as the mass population relied on the land for the food it produced. The other main point that Devine makes is that as the agricultural merchandise started to accelerate, the need for exchange centres that provided legal, commerce and monetary facilities for the rural communities became more prominent, so several(prenominal)(prenominal) towns including Perth, Ayr and Dumfries became the provider of these services. This again contributed to en largishment of towns, as people were required to work and live in the towns to facilitate these positions (Devine 1998, p32)Therefore, we can benefit that three major changes occurred at th e equal time and they contributed towards urbanisation in Scotland The agricultural revolution along with the population ontogenesis, and the expansion of the manufacturing industry.As T.M Devine States,_Urbanisation could not have interpreted place without a substantial make up in food production to ingest the needs of those who did not cultivate their own food supplies. At the same time, agrarian productivity had to improve in direct to release a growing equipoise of the population for non-agricultural tasks in towns and cities._ (Devine, 1998, p32)Along with theses changes the manufacturing industry began to grow rapidly. Scotland was a major pseud in the transatlantic occupation industry and due to its geographical position, it was booming in the tobacco trade and it would go on to prosper in cotton and linen too. Scotlands Geographical position at this time was very important as it is situated between the Atlantic and Europe, which meant trading from one to the other, was very successful.The two major factors of the Industrial rotation were, the textile industry and the productivity of the travel engine, which was revolutionised by James Watt in 1769 (Watt James online, 2005). Textiles factories and coalmines could produce more goods and they did not need to be near a water source in meat to run. Due to this, the larger towns and cities began to grow rapidly._Greenock in 1700 had a population of 2000 and by 1831 it had go up to 27500.__Glasgow went from 31700 to 147000.__Paisley went from 6800 to 47000.__Kilmarnock went from 4400 to 12700__Falkirk went from 3900 to 11500. All within the time period from 1740-1850 (Devine 1998, p35)_The population egression over the short period is the most significant point here as this is what do urbanisation in Scotland different. There are umpteen different factors that affected the population harvest-festival but some are more significant than others are. Irish Immigration was very prominent and the migration of people from the rural areas had a major impact. For example_ The majority of the migrants were teenage adults more concentrated in the nubile and childbearing age groups than were the native inhabitants. noble Migration because of its age composition was therefore in all probability to fuel natural increase in the urban areas_.(Devine 1998,p41) At the same time the heightslanders were go forth the land either through force as the lords applied the new cultivation techniques to the land or through choice. The majority chose to transmigrate to America this did not affect the population growth as m whatsoever Irish migrants were coming to Scotland looking for employment in the booming industries._Urbanisation meant more jobs, a wider mutation of social contacts and infinitely greater food color and excitement in the lives of the masses_ (Devine 1998 p43)Mortality grade demonstrate their huge impact on population growth too. It has been suggested that lower termina tion rates, through natural immunity to illness highly contributed to urbanisation, as in the beforehand(predicate) 1800s the death rate had fall to 25 per 1000. This suggests that natural immunity and high levels of unemployment accelerated the population growth (Devine, 1998, p48).The effect of industrialisation was economically good for the country, but with it came poverty. The majority of the works enlighten lived in overcrowded housing areas known as slums with no sanitation, and were rife with malady. As Devine argues, during periods of industrial corner when employment had slumped, there were also periods of disease epidemic. These began in 1817-1820(Typhoid), 1826-27(Typhoid) and in 1830-1832, a cholera epidemic that wiped out 10000 people. Periods of fadeout run parallel, the first being 1816-1818, 1825 and hence 1836 (Devine, 1999, p168). In 1839, Death rates rose to 29 per 1000. the great unwashed were forced to live in abominable living conditions with huge sanit ations problems, the towns and cities could not cope with the urban growth and disease was the outcome. Overcrowded, sub-divided housing was a elusive issue in all the major Towns and Cities, especially in Glasgow. _I did not believe until I visited Glasgow, that so large an amount of filth, crime, misery and disease existed in one spot in any one civilised country (_Butt J, 1987 p41-42).People were customised to living in filthy dark, let on squalid conditions amongst disease. As the periods of recession were leaving thousands out of work in a state of poverty, the poor law of nature amendment act was passed in 1845, which replaced the old poor accompaniment laws of the parishes taking responsibly for thepoor. The new law allowed a claim to be made under supervision of a room of examiners, it came in the form of indoor relief, which would be admission to a poorhouse if subject had garbled the ability to work, and outdoor relief, which was for short-term illness, and this may have been in the form of retribution or medicine. It could be argued that the industrial revolution was the birth of the running(a) class and capitalism in this country. Those who owned the factories and docks made a great profit and a halfway class lifestyle was adopted. This could be verbalize to be the division of the classes, with the help of the industrial revolution, people developed a working class or middle class attitude,In conclusion, the evidence points out that several major factors occurred that accelerated the urban growth of the nation. The Agrarian revolution started the mass migrating and the industrial revolution provided the work force in order for capitalism to evolve. The consequences of urbanisation were overwhelming, yes the delivery did thrive, but at what cost to the working class people, death, disease and misery.