Scotland - A New History by Michael Lynch 1991 [Pimlico - reprinted 200]

Introduction:

Page xiv
'Before the battle of Flodden in 1513 a Gaelic bard urged "Gael" and "Gall", Highlander and Lowlander, to unite against the Saxon English.'

Page xvi
'The dramatic history of Highland Clearances now needs to be set agaist the less dramatic, but no less important story of the earlier, drawn-out and half-hidden history of
a clearance of sub-tenants from Lowland farms over the course of the eighteenth century.'

Here we have a reference to the use of "Gall" as meaning Lowlander and, a little further on, reference to the clearances of Lowland farms that were no less dramatic and probably more extensive than the better known and recorded "Highland Clearances" of a later date.

The reason why the "Lowland Clearances" are not so well documented is that, to an extent they were "natural" because the disposessed tenant farmers had a place to go because of the rapid expansion of towns brought about by the onset of the industrial revolution and the greatly increased need for coal. Coal was needed to fuel the new "fire-engines" and also needed to burn lime to produce the miracle fertilizer of the new improved farm. The coal also fuelled the potteries that made the tiles used to build the drains that recovered bogs into useful farmland.

Work in towns, limekilns, potteries and coal mines paid better than subsistence farming. Large families due to lower child mortality rates helped swell the family coffers as soon as the children could start work. Increased demand from the new industrial towns made "improved" farms more profitable. Consequently whilst there was pressure to evict tenants and consolidate holdings the cottars would have been tempted to move on anyway. So the Lowland Clearances were disruptive but the move to the towns did not require population movement over great distances.

Of course when civic investment in the nicities of runaway urban growth fell behind thereby reducing living conditions to a level of squalor then there was still an option of immigration into the expanding Empire.

It might be fair comment to say that the original living conditions in the industrial towns were equivalent to those left in the humble cottages of the farms. However I think that is is possible to "get away with" very poor conditions in the lower density of the countryside and packing a large number of poor workers into towns with similar-level amenities is asking for trouble big-time.

Tom