What They Don't Say About The Clearances... Lowland Clearance
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- čas přidán 28. 01. 2022
- So often we hear of Highland Clearances, but what they don't talk about is the Lowland Clearances. Scottish history tour guide, Bruce Fummey, visits the Lanarkshire industrial town of Airdrie to talk about the overarching chances that came with Clearance in the Lowlands.
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Modern day Airdrie and Coatbridge seem like unlikely places to talk about agricultural improvement and clearances. Yet from the time the monks held the land Monklands has experienced several rounds of dispossession, economic subjugation and loss.
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Scotland History Tours is here for people who want to learn about Scottish history and get ideas for Scottish history tours. I try to make videos which tell you tales from Scotland's past and give you information about key dates in Scottish history and historical places to visit in Scotland. Not all videos are tales from Scotland's history, some of them are about men from Scotland's past or women from Scotland's past. Basically the people who made Scotland. From April 2020 onward I've tried to give ideas for historic days out in Scotland. Essentially these are days out in Scotland for adults who are interested in historical places to visit in Scotland.
As a Scottish history tour guide people ask: Help me plan a Scottish holiday, or help me plan a Scottish vacation if your from the US. So I've tried to give a bit of history, but some places of interest in Scotland as well.
Find out about Highland Clearances in Sutherland at czcams.com/video/UP7jIvaU7TY/video.html
Could you do one about the appearance of the people of Scotland over the ages, clothing, hairstyles etc. Would that possibly mention the history of dreadlocks in northern Europe prior to the Roman expansion?
Have you ever been up to Lewis?
I have family still living in the very same croft that has been occupied by a member of my family, MacLeod, since 1850, (after they were pushed out of Reef)....And when my 2nd cousin passes, his daughter will then occupy the croft.
In England, there also much the same going on, it was called enclosure. The right to the commons and open fields were taken from the normal not so rich people and enclosed by there rich owners. All in the name of improvements. It was the cause of much more poverty and one of the reasons of the success of the industrial Revolution, because of the ready availebility of an impoverished urban and rural proletariate to work in the factories
I know. It was a bit earlier and gradually moved north. The events of 1707 probably sped the process up here
Good comment Harry, it is always the poor who suffer, irrespective of nationality and the poor of England were used and abused the same as the poor people have throughout history. The truth is that slavery in the colonies was brought about by the lack of a sufficiently large enough poor population ripe for exploitation by the wealthy.
@@Brit_Toolmaker they did however a good effort with the deportations of the Scots and the poor to the colonies.
@@ScotlandHistoryTours I used to feel quite resentful towards the Scottish electorate because I’m from an area of Yorkshire that has been labour since the 1910s and I thought that Scot’s would never be happy with anything we do as long as there’s an England, I also worried that if Scotland did leave the Union we would be condemned to Tory rule forever. Since then I’ve visited Scotland on numerous occasions, talked and drank with locals etc. I still don’t necessarily agree with everything I see coming from the SNP but I did have a really good discussion with an SNP activist I met in Glasgow a couple of years back that gave me a much better understanding of why the Scot’s are so annoyed, I’ve even started voting for the Yorkshire party myself purely because I trust that they actually care for the region in a way that neither of the 2 big parties ever will
@@UlTiMaTz400 It's great that you took the time and initiative to educate yourself on the issues. Trying to understand those with whom we maybe don't see eye-to-eye seems to be a bit of a rarity these days. As Bruce has said, I don't think any single party or faction really represents my interests entirely.
I'm from Ayrshire, as was my dad. I've lived in America all my adult life and the situation is worse here.
My mum was born and raised in York. She worked at Rowntree's in 1939-40. She enlisted in the R.A.F. in '40. She lied about her age, as she was only 16 at the time.
My parents met in London shortly after the end of WWII.
Off to listen to the proclaimers now.
Clearance where ever it occurs, is a great example of those with power doing what they can to keep it. While us working class are kept in their place.
True
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonnae be, I'm gonnae be the maun who is working hard for you...
I never know whether to cheer or cry when I listen to the clearances show of yours. .My ancestors were peasants in Italy and Ireland. After 3 generations here in America, I have my own place, free and clear, and what a struggle it was. Yet after all this, my children fled to the city, as our life was too hard(very true).
From the land, to the sea to the ghettos, back to the land, and then back to town.
...and the circle turns
And possibly, if your descendants are prosperous enough, they will return to the land, the expensive suburbs that have been carved out of the farmland that surrounds various urban centers
If I remember correctly, in England there was some right of appeal, and that would go before a magistrate. However, in order to be a magistrate, you had to be a landowner. No landowner was going to rule against another. The system was rigged sadly.
Aye, it's always rigged
scottish people have allways had their own scottish law !
My little story - my Da's from Kirkcaldy. He introduced me to your channel and for the last few months we've swapped your videos for the historical/comedic value (he's in the US and I'm in AUS). I'm not as Scottish as you are, but you make my 50% very proud. Keep it up mate - you're the best and CZcams is lucky to have you!
That is awesome!
@Ian
How does that work out then ?
You say you're 50% Scottish but he's more Scottish than you... wtf
Have you ever seen a Scottish Man ?
@@danran100 would you kindly describe to us what a "scottish man" looks like because I've lived in Scotland for 55 years and would'nae dare try to pigeonhole a Scotsman on appearance.😉
@@stoorieplayer.5878 Well then perhaps you should have paid more attention at school.
@@danran100 If he's 50% Scotland then obviously someone who's full Scotland is more than 50% btw I meant Scottish not Scotland!
hi bruce, i have learned more about our history from you than i have in all my 58 yrs in fife, why are our kids not being taught this in school ? many thanks bruce
Cheers
because the powers that be in Westminster want us to forget and assimilate as British in a compliant and meek manner.
Because knowledge is power and lack of it, or worse still, the false dominant narratives we're fed keep the dispossessed dumbed down, quiet and compliant. At some point in humanities future we will need a great reset and redistribution or there really will be no choice but to force it. It has become a Global phenomenon, with untold wealth and power concentrated in a mere fraction of a percent.
My maternal grandfather came from Law Lanarkshire, Scotland and I still have family there but never heard these lowland clearances so close to the homes. Thank you Bruce for another educating video 🇨🇦 🏴
The M80 was - at least locally - called the Monklands Motorway when it first appeared, being built over the canal that was drained for it. Seems such a long time ago, but I used to walk to school along that canal path and enjoy all the plants and wildlife. Not sure a concrete river is really an improvement.
Parts of the canal still exist, particularly around Calderbank, Airdrie and Coatbridge
Well done on producing and raising awareness on the Lowland Clearances - I think we can only understand the current state of the world by knowledge of the past - I really hope that your videos are used or will be used in schools - you have a marvellous way of presenting Scottish history - I'm more than happy to support you with some coffees.
Brilliant
I watched a programme by Professor Thomas Devine on the subject of clearances in the lowlands & it opened my eyes to the fact that the lowlands had considerably larger clearances.
Yes, Professor Devine's book The Scottish Clearances was the first time I had heard about them. although if I had thought about it, I should have known they happened. But then, that's why they don't teach us Scottish history in Scottish schools. Or universities!
@@macs7641 I learned a bit about them, but there was no context. I'm currently at Uni studying the Covenanters - something else I knew nothing about! I only learned about Cromwell invading Scotland a decade ago!
This explains a lot. A family member traced one of our lines to Lanarkshire. They left around 1736. Thanks for this info!
10-12 Scottish families married into the Craven family. They were from Ayrshire; mostly Kilmarnock and Loudon; mostly from approximately 1750-1800; after they emigrated to America.
The Great Migration from Scotland was encouraged by the fact that in Australia, North America and other places people could get title to their own land and no longer have to be tenants. A 19-year lease period in Scotland was better than the 10 year lease period in Ireland, but neither lease period was long enough to enable you to raise even one generation to adulthood. There was little incentive to make improvements to land that you could not pass on to your children with any sense of reliability. The possibility of owning land and having a free title to it was a great reason to emigrate.
Great video Bruce! Touching on almost everyone's personal family history there. In the last 180 years, my family went from living in Brechin, to moving into Dundee to work in the mills, to heading to North Lanarkshire to work in the steel works, to jumping onto a ship to Australia.
All of our family journey's speak to the broader tides of history.
PS, I love your content, keep it up!
PPS, I do love that whole album. There is a particular sadness to that song.
We were taught the Highlands clearance in school in England, with just a rider of 'some lowland' clearance too..maybe as most of my time in Scotland had Been in Highlands, this was an eye opener 😳 cheers
Meanwhile in Scotland we only get taught about Nazis, russian tsar's and suffragettes...
This reminds me of the "share-cropper" system, post US Civil War in the Rural South of the United States and how many were forced to migrated to the industrial north later to find work in the steel mills and factories. Thank you! As always, interesting, entertaining and informative!
Aye, some were just wage labourers in sunnier climes
When my da came to America from ‘the old country’ ( Slovakia) he was envious of share croppers. He used to say ‘they got dirt’ cuz he had nothing.
I still quote him today. “Wow. At least they got dirt”
My mother’s family were dirt farmers in NC. They were poor but they owned their land outright. One of my Scottish ancestors had some little success in the Georgia gold rush and bought 300 acres of the finest bottom land in NC with his gold.
If someone called my great grandma a cracker it flew all over her because the original meaning of cracker referred to sharecroppers who did not own their land and had an overseer “cracking” a whip over them.
@@wasidanatsali6374 interesting info wasidana. I did not know that's where that term came from.
Clearances is a old word.
Today it's cleansing.
My family tree goes back to the hebridean Clearances and the atrocities carried out by
Colonel John Gordon of Cluny in 1851.
Keep up the good work Brucie baby.
Cleansing ĺeaves no one. Clearances leaves wage labourers.
Cleansing is Old.. now it's called improvement...?
It may well be refered to as...
Reconstruction 🙂
Cleansing, surely you mean 'improvements' dear boy, what? 🧐
My family was improved, all the way from Bettyhill to Mile End in London.
@@leighcecil3322 In the Scottish context, improvement is what happened in the lowlands and clearance is what happened in the highlands. Yeah it was more or less the same thing.
thanks. Interesting stream. I learned some of this in school, but mostly from my mother. She loved History and read every history book she could get her hands on.
The Clearances was the best thing that happened to my ancestors. They became landowners in a few years. They were helped by relatives who left Scotland earlier and had established businesses in the area. They believed in education and the first generation became 3 lawyers, a doctor, a nurse, a teacher, a farmer, and a wealthy businessman. It continued on down the generations.
Bad things happen in life. Deal with it and carry on.
Love learning about history with you. Appreciate your videos Sir.
Have a lovely day.
Iam happy to see you looking well.🌷
😎
YES.
Also what a great presenter, you bring it to life.
Yet another insightful, thought provoking work. I had only recently become aware of "improvements" in the Lowlands in learning more about my father's family's roots in Galloway. My mother's family were from Skye and the Western Highlands so the"romantic" tragedy of the Highland clearances were what I learned first. I also went back to "Letter from America" at your suggestion. Our economic systems are always evolving and the hard working people that enable the growth are so often left behind whether improving, clearing, industrializing, privatizing and the like. We see that happening here in the United States for certain and of course in the rest of the world. One hopes that our political systems will grow as well to ensure that all have the opportunity to benefit as do the modern version of the landlords.
I look forward to your piece on Galloway. The more I discover about the region, the more fascinating it becomes to me! Keep up the marvelous work!
Imagine living in a time when the rich and powerful changed the rules in their favour to take everything they could from the common man for their own self-aggrandisement through pathological greed and selfishness. Just as well that was the past and not the present.
Oh. Wait...
Grrrrrrrr 😤
Glad you brought that up . I was thinking the very same thing but not with the same wit . errr....well it's after work , I'm tired and the wine has dulled my senses .
Glad things have changed....😕😕
Another great video Bruce 🏴
Thanks 👍
Bruce, I really think your bite size history should be shown in secondary education! I was lucky, my dad told us our history as we travelled on our holidays, he kept it light so it stuck and I have done the same with my own children and have felt so proud as my daughter does the same with my grandchildren. When you keep it light, it makes them want to find out more but also means they won't forget what they learned.
Hi Bruce,
I’m in Australia and have been researching my ancestors for a while and realised that they have immigrated due to the poor conditions they were in. I’m yet to discover the details but they were blacksmiths and shepherds, some highlanders as well but predominantly I’ve been researching the families located in Hawick and surrounds.
It seems that they travelled all over, even to Skye, for work, eventually leaving as indentured servants and working on farms here in Victoria for years.
All of the families left for either New Zealand, Canada or Australia.
After reading the book The Poor Had No Lawyers, it makes sense why people fled their homeland.
It also explains why l love Scotland and feel that it’s home.
The entire situation is terribly sad and I still feel that we are just slaves living and working for the wealthy.
Anyway thankyou so much for your videos and history. It keeps me feeling connected with Scotland and hopefully we can get to meet some time…
Katrina
❤
PS l watch Sunshine on Leith regularly and hadn’t connected that song with the clearances…
I won’t forget it now though!
Love the channel,the never told history is amazing,please keep up the good work,it's very much appreciated,all the very best from ozzie
Thank you very much!
the proclaimers song letters from America shows the clearances near the end when it says:
Lochaber no more, Sutherland no more
Lewis no more, Skye no more
Lochaber no more, Sutherland no more
Lewis no more, Skye no more
Lochaber no more, Sutherland no more
Lewis no more, Skye no more
Bathgate no more, Linwood no more
Methil no more, Irvine no more
Bathgate no more, Linwood no more
Methil no more, Irvine no more
Thanks again Bruce, you've a gift for storytelling and offer a great perspective - one wee point, MPs in the 18th century were very much the representatives of the landlords. Working classes didn't get the franchise without a long hard fight ✊
I know, but you got a vote depending on the value of your property, and that property value reduced in the 1830s. Which is when the vote was taken away from women. I specifically caveated my words with 'Depending on the time, district, property held and structure of the parliamentary seats...'
@@ScotlandHistoryTours thanks - I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, it was your passing remark about "your MP" that prompted my pedantry - it's refreshing to hear the history of this place from the perspective of ordinary working people uprooted and displaced to "improve" the land
@@ScotlandHistoryTours In the eighteenth century there were voting inequities even among those who could vote. Some members of parliament represented "rotten boroughs" with few residents while other members of parliament represented boroughs with ten times the population. It was common for "patrons" to inexpensively buy several "rotten boroughs" and then appoint relatives or cronies to represent the "rotten boroughs". As a result, some members of parliament. linked to a patron or faction, were able to form political blocs in parliament.
Bravo, Lord Bruce! Another tale woven as artfully as a detailed Argyle! Cheers from Chilly Florida!
Thank you! Cheers!
Yup
I can’t listen to “letter from America “ without my emotions stirring and when I watch it in Sunshine on Leith, I am in tears.
I went to Halifax, Nova Scotia for 3 months in summer of 87. On Graduation, I emigrated with a job offer in Jan 88.
The song was a hit , the few months I spent deciding my fate in 1987
Why did I leave? Canada was the first time I’d been out of Scotland and the contrast was huge. Growing up in Fife, there were 3 traditional job paths. Farming, mining or the army. I was actually about to join the army and changed my mind at the last minute. Years of Thatcher and my exposure to some of the “upper crust” through my girlfriends family and knowing I would never be accepted in those circles, convinced me to go.
I always felt that Methil no more and Lochaber no more were my signs.
I well remember reading that book on the Lowland Clearances and thinking how sneakily they were done. Yes the Highland Clearances often saw violent evictions but these insidious but perfectly legal channels of clearance were breathtakingly underhand.
Trule
My ancestors took a train from lowland Scotland to London and traveled by ship to Wellington NZ, life in Scotland was hard and they were unhappy so they wanted to try something new although it is said that my great great grandmother missed home dearly. They then took a steamboat from Wellington to Westport where a baby was born on the boat then a bullock and cart met them for their journey to their new home. The 'road' was so rough that the woman had to walk with her newborn and was exhausted from her journey but on arrival demanded a tree to be cut down by the men as she was worried it would fall onto their hut. The family worked in the mines in the area for many years and eventually moved to Hawkes Bay.. While living in the South Island the women of the family were very involved with the community forming support groups and ended up signing the women's suffrage petition so that we could have the right to vote. Incredible story and when I lived in Scotland for a short time I really felt like I was home. I found it interesting to be faced with racism towards me by a lady and I had to explain my heritage for her to understand why I wanted to spend time in Scotland. The friends I made while there I now regard as my extended family and I would love to return to visit again one day 🏴❤️ 🇳🇿
Wow very interesting video. My 2nd Great grandfather and Grandmother came from Lanarkshire, Scotland to America. My 2nd great grandfather was a coal miner in America after arriving. I'm sure he must have been involved in coal mining in Lanarkshire or his family was, and he picked it up in America. So sad how this story applies to this day around the world; constant battle of the rich trying to get richer off the backs of the working class.
Another excellent video. I hadn’t been aware of the pernicious “divide and conquer” aspect of the transition from common ground agriculture to the awarding of a longer-term tenancy to selected individuals who would then be in a relatively, though albeit tenuous, superior economic position.
Wow, a surprise to the town I live in on here. I knew some of the industrial history, but you’ve shone a huge light on it- well done!
Oooooooft. I spent a fortnight in Airdrie one day.
😂
Thanks Bruce, an interesting and thought-provoking piece as always. I really enjoy your work.
Well, I'm from Kent, and I'm fairly sure we count as lowland or southern clearances, from the divide and conquer methods used by the British aristocracy we had the same bloody landlords! But yes, the Highlands get all the spotlight.
Reccomend John Claire's
poem Enclosure, one of my faves.
Thanks again for another bit of Scottish history.
Yes, the Enclosure Acts are definitely related to the Clearances - the same people benefitted from both. I suppose the thing about the Highland Clearances was that it destroyed a culture. Plus, since so few people live there now, they don't worry about the repercussions.
@@Old_Scot Sadly a culture that allowed it to happen.
There's a weird kind of nostalgia for the lairds power of pit and gallows and we "English do love a lord."
I never get tired of quoting Montgomery, "The Anglo Saxon makes the finest soldier in the world" brief pause and smile to camera " when lead by a Norman officer".
Just when I didn't think I could get re-radicalized... 👀
I revisited this, trying to reconnect a bit with my lowland ancestors... I'm still just a wage labourer. Please don't stop what you do, our class needs it.
Very good, you certainly joined the dots for me.... Thank you Bruce.
Just so you know, when I see one of your notifications there's a little squeal of joy. Thank you, Bruce.
😂 You're too kind
Nice to see the history of the south acknowledged. Only the highland clearances were taught when I was in school. Southern villains who cleared the land...but magically ended up owning it, tend to get a free pass. Perhaps a video about the original Dukes of Buccleuch and Roxburghe is long overdue?
I'll look forward to the rest of the series.
As someone raised and schooled in America ‘the clearances’ were not mentioned at all. But we certainly were taught a one sided story about things like slavery and the Civil War.
Seems government funded schools will teach what puts them in the best light. 😉
I'd like to learn about Roxburghe. My ancestor John Culbreth was born there in 1710. By 1748, he was a landowner in Lunenburg County, Virginia along with his two brothers. Were they forced to leave by the clearances?
@@julianndavis9415 maybe it has to do with When you went to school in USA. In early 60’s, I learned about clearances in Scotland, and how many ended up immigrating to Canada, AUS & USA, etc.. I’ve seen the history taught to my kids, grandkids…and THE clearances were not included in Their taught history in public schools. (I gave them all an addendum)
@@katiemoyer8679 Learning about the historic injustices in other countries gives kids the beginnings of understanding injustice in their own land. It's easier to see the "baddies" when they aren't our kith and kin, but once you learn to spot what the baddies were up to, it's harder to deny it when it's at your own door.
Oh that one hit home! Chimed strongly on so many levels. I live in North Lanarkshire, worked in the coal mines until 1985, and all you recount is true. I think I would enjoy sitting down for a pint with you. I also think you may well be more Scottish than me, and if you sawed my head off, it would show a saltire all the way through, just like a stalk of Rock. Please keep doing what you are doing.
😂 I'm way more boring than I might seem... particularly after a pint
I have to agree with the majority of comments.. This should have been mentioned at the same time as the Highland clearances in schools. Its a major chunk of our history. Glad you've chased "the rona" away Mr F. Great to see you again 💕💕
😎
I've heard Letter from America but actually thought it was a love song! I shall call up the lyrics and listen to it again. In my own heritage research, I know that my maternal grandparents were Irish, as was my mother, and my paternal grandmother who came to Scotland from Downpatrick around 1901. I'm not sure about my paternal grandfather but given my surname I believe it is more than likely! My father was first generational Scots, and when I look at the history of Ireland, particularly the famine, combined with history as a whole, I know I'm very lucky to be here! There's the strength and the luck of the Irish for you! I suppose at the end of the day I am the product of immigrants. Damn proud of it too! But I still cannot for the life of me get my heart and head around the Clearances! Why has there been no apologies or recognition of this by successive British governments!? If there has, I've never heard one! Thanks again for the history Bruce. 🙋🏴🇮🇪🙏
Change and progress is inevitable as is death and taxes. To few winners back then as it is now. A bit a change and progress in that scenario is sorely needed. Another great and thought provoking post Bruce. Now I can’t get the Proclaimers tune “A letter from America” out of my head. Thanks!
😂 That's no bad thing though. Good tune
I have heard the song "Letter from America" once before, but now that you've explained it there is a much deeper yearning to the lyrics.
If it wasn't for the clearances or the British Empire would any of us be where we are today? You can't go back and fix history but you can learn from it and be grateful to have descended from the survivors.
Oh wow, stumbled across these recently, really enjoying them, born n brought up in Larkhall, now living in New Zealand, enjoying seeing the places you go to
So good to have the truth and nothing but the truth. I say it as you probably know....few and far between. Great channel! Cheers! 👍🍻
I live in the Central belt and didn't realise, I mean I've heard of it but was never taught it in school. You've opened my eyes Bruce, Thank you for yet another well narrated & produced video. 👍
That's what I'm here for😎
Thank you for this! My grandfather was born in Airdrie and his family lived in Monkland for centuries. His family immigrated to Canada in the early 1900’s. Your videos are always fascinating, and this one in particular.
Glad you enjoyed it
@colleengustafson4625 Live shows in Canada in 2024. Shows in Halifax, Annapolis, New Glasgow, Moncton, Montreal, Perth , Ottawa, Toronto, Fergus, Seaforth, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. Most of the details are here. www.brucefummey.co.uk/shows.aspx
Another fine post, the kind of changes made and the people who had to leave because of them, always makes me wonder what the future brings. Btw I like the ' no pressure ' approach you have to supporting your channel, makes me look forward to supporting it even more when I have the money to. Please keep them coming. Slante.
Bruce wish I had known you were in airdrie!! My home town...would have been nice to see you in person not just on a zoom. Might even have made ye a coffee....Good video and nice to see the history of my hometown. We are diamonds 💎
Next time!
A'reyt Bruce. Enclosure happened throughout Britain. It was taught in history as part of my O' Level British history, which had very little mention of royalty and focused on social and economic change. That is why your channel teaches many things that did not.
On this occasion you seem to have made the same comparison I did, that the clearances were not solely a highland thing, but a common British experience. There are many Smiths and Jones in the same countries as Mc's, for essentially the same reasons. The central belt industrial experience mirrors the north of England and south of Wales and many would say that this common British identity makes the ordinary folk stronger if they stick together.
Aye they'll no stick th'gither though. All my life up here we've voted against the Tories and fowks doon there have voted fir them. Whadya do?
@@ScotlandHistoryTours I explained to the wife of an English candidate opposed to the Tories that they had historically a large Scottish influence, who learned from how the clans always had representation on both sides of any fight, and I asked where the name Cameron came from.
@@ScotlandHistoryTours Hello me old mucker, wee barm here, Whadya do? well move down there me old son if you miss being true blue, wee Crankie will issue you a pass to get out of Scotland. More seriously Airdrie, as so many of our smaller towns in UK is looking rough ? It will take more than levelling up to catch up to the SE. History proves that no matter what the system (i.e. Communism) one set of unfair Masters is swapped to another, perhaps even worse than the previous set, from what I see of the SNP you are welcome to them, even a bad Boris is less of a dictator than Sturgeon, not a great outlook for the future is there?
I am American who, like so many others, has been exploring my ancestry. I have traced my maternal ancestors to New lanrkshire, which I had never heard of before, including several addresses in Monksfield. Thank you, Bruce, for clearing up my confusion regarding why my ancestors appeared to leave Scotland so abruptly and emigrate to Northern Ireland. While in Northern Ireland, they appear to have gone from tenant farming to "management " jobs. Would love to fill in the gaps. Both my maternal great- grandparents died in middle age, and most of their children scattered to Canada and the US. So many questions....
I'm actually writing a script that I'll film next week that deals with part of that journey
Absolutely love your stories your humour thankyou 😊 haven't been to bonny Scotland as yet but my dream xx feel warm at heart always about this beautiful land xx
Had I known you were this close to me I would've given you a shout for a cup of tea! I'm from over the border in Coatbridge but I have been to Summerlee Heritage Museum many a time. Great stuff Bruce, keep it up!
Summerlee is pretty good
Aye abody offers tea and coffee after the fact 😂
Bruce, thank you for another great story of Scotland's History. I look forward to every Saturday for the next new video. it is a highlight of my weekend.
Wow, that's so nice of you
David and Euphemia Tullis immigrated to White county Illinois from Cupar in 1858. He bought land and farmed. Most of his descendants still own tillable land.
My Dad has 10 acres. We raise vegetables.
I own a house on a hill next to a polluted creek.
I'm 54 yrs old and used to be a factory worker.
Now I grow okra, watermelons and tomatoes.
Thanks Bruce. That filled in an important gap in my understanding of Scottish history. Sad that so many of us are unable to trace even where our ancestoral lands once were . We can find tartans, clan mottoes and coats of arms. My wife is from the Pacific, our children were all born there, it is easy to point out to the children ancestral land there from her side. Would be nice if I could do it from my Scottish side. But this video gives me more understanding and appreciation of what has formed the character of so many Scottish people.
Glad to help even a wee bit
This is a very interesting start to something I hadn't heard of before. Sometimes I get into arguments with British people who argue what was done in Ireland and Scotland was different because the people affected in the highlands wasn't the same scale, which somehow meant the two couldn't really be compared.
Thanks Bruce, an excellent video which has raised the hackles on the back of my neck. 😂😂👍
I'm in the hackle raising business😎
What a fine production - as always - and better, with a rational discourse of "plus les choses changent, etc.," post-Culloden or post-Thatcher. Bonus: Having found out about The Proclaimers and "Letter from America," something I only was aware of before because of Alistair Cooke. Thank You Bruce!
You're welcome George
Good afternoon, Bruce. Always nice to hear your stories❤️
Thanks for that historical AND philosophical video. The perspective that you so eloquently highlighted was very enlightening. That was a wonderful yet sad tale of the ending of one era and the birth of another that lands such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand and The United States benefitted from the loss that Scotland so deeply felt. That video made me wax nostalgic and stirred something inside me. Thanks again Bruce for the wonderful story. Good morning from America.
These countries are all Scots with Funny accents....but still Scots.... undiscovered cousins of ours.
Hello Bruce,
Thank you for this video - really enjoyed it. Have read the Lowland Clearances and am (un)lucky to say that my family is still on the same farm (Balbrydie) my great-great-great-great grandfather secured the lease to improve in 1800 in the Kirriemuir district, Angus. His father was turfed out of his fermtoun (Balgershoe) in Inverarity, Angus, moved to a fermtoun (Herdhill) neighbouring Balbrydie, and ended up joining the Secession kirk. My great-great-great-great grandfather's nephew, James Aitken Wylie, was born there and he ended up becoming one of the most prominent Protestant historians of the 19th century. His book 'The History of Protestantism' was favourite childhood bedtime reading of one Reverend Ian Paisley. There is also familial connections to J M Barrie and DC Thomson. The legacy of the Lowland Clearances I guess. Sounds like a tall tale, but all cited!
Thanks for this Bruce. Being from Airdrie and knowing about the industrial past of Airdrie and Coatbridge. It’s good to see the thread sown in your video from the market town to “the iron bourgh” it became. I love to look at old maps and the transformation of The monklands has been unbelievable with the canal at the centre and then the railways that followed. I usually walk both as there’s no canal in the centre of town and all the smaller rail track are gone due to the coal and iron pit closures. Thank again.
Thank YOU
Thank goodness for the Scottish whom came to New Zealand, especially my grandmother's family, ❤.
Great work, looking forward to rest of series
I look forward to this time on a Saturday a.m.
Ta muchly, Bruce & Co
😂 I always approach it wi trepidation hopin that fowk will like it and it's a been worth it😂
This is very interesting and ties in with my family history ... my ancestors were Boyd who became Bayards in England. two brothers walked away rather than getting on the ship to Canada and walk down into England and the cold fields of Derbyshire.... A long walk from Irvine....
Oooft
You bring it all to life 🌞
My wife, mother-in-law, and I are coming to Northern Ireland and Scotland this coming fall. I'm looking forward to seeing these places first-hand, so I can get a taste for what many of my family experienced. Of course, I know I won't see what 10 kids, in a crowded one-room flat in Glasgow was like in the Victorian era, thankfully.
Fantastic!
Well done Bruce for grasping another thorny subject matter, clear & concise, as always you've left me intrigued to find out more. Keep up the great work.
Ah thanks Steve
This makes me think of the demolishing of the Grahamston neighbourhood in Glasgow for the building of Central station in the 1870's, which ironically had part of it become synonymous with Highlanders working there as porters having moved to Glasgow for work -the Hielanman's Umbrella
Thanks again for the entertaining history lesson and insight, great stuff!
That's what I'm here for
More than a passing similarity to the pretty much contemporary enclosures of the English commons, also referred to as 'improvements' or 'theft'. But now some places in Scotland can put the ownership back into community hands. Although they have to pay for it.
Good stuff, this.
Aye it was a bit earlier down south I think
Excellent informative video got family from monklands Airdrie, Coatbridge my dad's side keep the great content
Thanks 👍
at 3:58 when you said "The Factor" , I thought :- "I don't want to listen to this" .
I am the descendant of one of a fortunate few-- though maybe not from the clearances. My great-great grandfather took his family from the Isle of Tiree to Upper Canada/western Ontario and my great-father became a land owner and rancher in western Canada (now southern Alberta). Long before I knew any of these facts, I had a fascination with Scotland. Perhaps clearances voices, wanting to be heard, called out to me. The details you provide give me a much better understanding of the lives lived in Scotland long before my grandfather was born (1901). Thank you.
You do realise, you're still a Scot.....? It;s a condition of mind, for which happily, there is no cure.
@@foxwelder Oh good, that's what I will say from now on. I hope to train my ear for Scottish accents while watching your vlog (and some others). Thanks for your reply
I live in Airdrie so I spent this whole video going "wow I've been there" 😂😂 really interesting video I genuinely never knew anything about any lowland clearances until now, I knew about why the land is called the Monklands and I've been to sumerlee a few times and read everything about the miners. Can't get enough of your videos honestly I love learning this stuff
Yay
Much of the land which the Hamilton family wanted for themselves is now parks where we can all go and enjoy the outdoors, Strathclyde Park, Chatelherault, etc. The huge palace no longer exists, a retail park and sports facilities have replaced it. The dukes have not lived in the area for many years. In northern Lanarkshire much of the "improved" land is under housing schemes or at one time had mining or steelworks built on it, with the closure of heavy industry it was all change again. Another interesting video, thanks.
Respect, citizen. In answer to your question, I did know that The Proclaimers were on about post-industrial places. I'm old, from Glasgow, and now in Motherwell, so I ken fine.
Another belter Bruce! Nice shot composition and background work, not to mention the writing. Click, load and skip the ads for free people. Let's tell the algorithm!
Excellent video Bruce. I had heard of the lowland clearances, but never knew anything about them. Thanks to you, I do now.
BTW I got "letter from America" after hearing it a couple of times"
Ps. That painting "Lochaber no more." blows me away.
So sad.
The innovation in landownership when they crossed the seas now allows you to be both a wage laborer and a nominal land-owner at the same time... from sunnier climes in California :)
Ingenuity eh?
Hello Bruce... A simply stunning piece of work.. Amazing social history...... Looking forward to seeing your other videos.. Please keep up your superb work. You have another subscriber. Many thanks.
Cheers
As usual I love the content and your presentation of subject matter
But can we just pause for a sec and admire that drone footage 😊
Well done!
Big up tae Liam McNamara
That was great I was born and brought up in Airdrie never heard of the clearene and it's very sad when u go home it all looks so poor. on the bright side we have a Airdrie in Albert a lot dryer but much colder
lovely vid i woke up to ... hit the bell people Bruce is the only one i ever used it on and is worth it .
Thank you for the ever widening of my history education Bruce
I'm here for you😎
Meaty stuff. Thank you, thank you.
A letter from America is a very powerful song. It came out when I was still a spotty youth but it touched me then as it does now. Listen to it, then listen again. Understand the words and hopefully it will drive you to learn more. And when you do you will vote to be free of Westminster lies, bullshit and bollocks.
You are a national treasure and a class treasure! Thank you for all you do!!!
Haun oan are national treasures no locked up?🙄
@Scotland History Tours
"Grandmother's Eyes" by Rock Salt & Nails is another song in the same vein.
I remember reading somewhere years ago about young immigrants to North America sending photos of themselves home and the complaint from their father was that they weren't sending pictures of dead presidents.
I’m actually ragin my mum stays at the bottom of the hill at the start of the video & walk past there near enough everyday 👏🏻 fantastically interesting how I’ve been watching your videos for a while learning a lot of new stuff about Scottish history & you’re even educating me on local history which I wasn’t aware of.
Legend 👏🏻🏴
Yay!
Kind of makes me wonder about my own Ritchie kin who left Stewarton, Ayrshire to head to South Carolina in the mid 1700's and why. We don't know why. The I went and listened to the Letter from America song. And yeah. The lyric that said you had to leave to show how much it hurt. I don't know if it applied, but it might have. I've got to visit Stewarton next time I cross the ocean.
I didn’t know the song before, but glad to know it now
Another amazing video, Bruce (and Mrs.👍). We learned none of this in American schools. Well, that's no surprise. Whenever I listen to your videos I'm reminded of how little things have really changed.
True