History N5: Immigration to Scotland and Highland Emigration Post-1830

Irish Immigrants

  • Catholic Irish immigration:
    • Concentrated in industrial areas of Scotland.
    • Sought unskilled, physically demanding jobs (e.g., mining, laboring).
    • Example: Coatbridge became one-third Irish.
  • Diseases:
    • Common in Catholic Irish neighborhoods (e.g., Cowcaddens, Maryhill).
    • Typhus was termed the 'Irish fever'.
  • Protestant Irish:
    • Welcomed, but increased sectarianism towards Catholic Irish.
    • Orange Lodges were established, replicating Irish rivalries.
  • Resentment against Catholic Irish:
    • Scots resented their willingness to break strikes.
    • Accusations of exploiting poor relief.
  • Protestant Irish employment:
    • Welcomed in shipbuilding and iron industries.
    • Firms like Baird's of Coatbridge offered skilled jobs, inaccessible to Catholic Irish.
  • Catholic Church support:
    • Became central to their lives.
    • Established halls for socializing and football clubs (Hibernian in Edinburgh, Celtic in Glasgow).
  • Increased resentment:
    • Following the 1918 Education Act, which provided state funding to Catholic schools.

Jewish Immigrants

  • Settlement:
    • Tended to settle in the Gorbals area of Glasgow.
    • Attracted by cheap accommodation and Yiddish-speaking community.
  • Employment:
    • Worked in tailoring and cigarette production.
    • Jewish businesses typically employed other Jews.
  • Migration patterns:
    • Some Jews temporarily migrated to Scotland to escape persecution in the Russian Empire before moving to the USA.
  • Negative reputation:
    • Falsely linked to diseases like Cholera, prevalent in poor neighborhoods.
  • Pre-1890s Jewish residents:
    • Resented the influx of more Jews, fearing increased antisemitism.
  • Anti-Jewish sentiment:
    • Anti-Jewish organizations failed to gain widespread support in Scotland.
  • Community success:
    • Thrived, especially in the legal profession.
    • Relocated to more affluent areas (e.g., Pollockshields).
  • Community support:
    • Received assistance from organizations like the Glasgow Jewish Board of Guardians and the Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society.
    • Few relied on local poor relief.

Lithuanian Immigrants

  • Primary Occupation:
    • Coal mining: led to the establishment of small Lithuanian communities in western Scotland.
    • Coatbridge had around 5000 Lithuanians.
  • Tensions with Scottish Miners
    • Suspicion due to willingness to undercut wages, ignore safety procedures, and break strikes.
  • Sectarianism
    • Catholic Lithuanians faced sectarian abuse from Protestant Scottish miners.
  • Reputation:
    • Gained a reputation for drunkenness, partly due to cultural differences (e.g., week-long wedding celebrations).
  • Integration:
    • Eventually accepted into the Lanarkshire Miners' Union.
    • Worked with native Scots to improve conditions.
  • Community Building:
    • Established their own clergy, two newspapers, and shops.
  • World War One:
    • Turning point: Some refused to fight for Britain and were deported to Russia.
    • Those who fought for Britain were generally accepted into Scottish society.

Italian Immigrants

  • Main Industries:
    • Food industry, particularly ice cream sales (initially from barrows, then established cafes like Nardini's in Largs).
    • Brought fish and chip shops to Scotland.
  • Challenges:
    • Long, unsociable working hours in fish and chip shops hindered full societal acceptance.
  • Other Businesses:
    • Established themselves as barbers and hairdressers.
    • Set up the College of Italians Hairdressers in Glasgow.
  • Cultural clashes:
    • Ice cream parlors and fish and chip shops often opened on Sundays, conflicting with the values of church-going Scots.
  • Positive reception:
    • Italian cafes embraced by some Scots as an alternative to pubs.
  • Cultural Retention:
    • Maintained strong cultural ties: speaking Italian at home, marrying within the community, and sending money back to Italy.
  • Political/Cultural Clubs:
    • Established Italian clubs called La Casa Del Fascio (following the rise of Benito Mussolini in the 1920s).
    • Focused on retaining culture and community rather than political activities.

Reasons for Highland Emigration

  • Land Clearances:
    • Landlords evicted tenants to create sheep farms or paid for their emigration.
  • Kelp Industry Failure:
    • Collapse of the kelp industry left many without work or income, leading to emigration or eviction.
  • Fishing Industry Decline:
    • Decline in the Scottish fishing industry prompted many fishermen to seek assistance to emigrate.
  • Encouragement from Previous Emigrants:
    • Letters from those who had already emigrated encouraged others to follow.
  • Emigration Agents:
    • Emigration agents, newspaper ads, meetings, and posters promoted emigration.
  • Economic Factors:
    • Availability of cheap land overseas and higher living standards attracted Scots to emigrate.

Reasons for Immigration to Scotland After 1830

  • Irish Catholics:
    • Escaped hunger due to Scotland's geographical proximity.
    • Existing family connections in Scotland.
    • Cheap fares to Scotland.
    • Higher wages compared to Ireland.
  • Italian Immigrants:
    • Escaped poverty to work in family businesses.
    • Escaped drought and sought to earn money to send back to their families in Italy.
  • Jewish Immigrants:
    • Escaped persecution from Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1939.
    • Escaped pogroms in Russia. (Pogrom: organised massacre of a particular ethnic group).