§ 4. The Economy of Scotland
1. What changes has the economy of Scotland undergone?
Cotton, iron, steel and coal used to be Scotland's chief industries. During the past half-century the Scots have seen the giants of their economy, particularly the shipbuilding industry on the river Clyde, disappear. In 1913 Clyde shipbuilding employed 60.000 men. Today the industry barely exists. The closure of Scottish shipyards, coal mines and steel mills, and the consequent high levels of unemployment in Scotland, are in the popular view, closely associated with London government.
The economies of Scotland and England have become increasingly interdependent. By 1979 only 40 per cent of Scots in manufacturing were working for Scottish controlled companies. The rest were working for English, American, Japanese or other foreign-owned enterprises. In 1982 the Monopolies and Mergers Commission reported, ‘We believe that an important factor in Scotland's economic difficulties has been the progressive loss of morale which the taking over of large companies has caused, and we accept that this is damaging to Scotland.’
In the years 1979-81 alone, there was a fall of 11 per cent in Scottish industrial production, and a 20 per cent drop in manufacturing jobs. The Ravenscraig Steel Strip Mill, built in 1963, was the last major capital development undertaken by private enterprise in Scotland. Although financially uneconomic, it was one of the most efficient steel mills in Europe. Even after its neighbouring steel plant, Gartcosh, closed in 1986, Ravenscraig remained open. It became symbolic of the government's residual commitment to industry in Scotland. In 1990 British Steel admitted it intended closing down the whole Ravenscraig complex, with a loss of at least 11,000 jobs, before 1995. In fact it did so in 1992. This, and the insensitive way in which the government introduced the poll tax into Scotland a year before England and Wales, is likely to damage Conservative Party interests in Scotland severely for several years to come.
Since 1981 the Scottish Development Agency's ‘Locate in Scotland’ campaign has somewhat offset the deteriorating economic situation. A third of the 300 foreign firms with Scottish bases in 1988 had set up within the previous seven years, while 14,500 of the 64,000 jobs provided by foreign companies were created between 1981 and 1987.
The Highlands, the greater part of the land area of Scotland, have become largelydeserted. By the 1960s there were fewer than 300,000 people living in this large area. In the words of a retired forestry expert and Highlander, John McEwen, ‘Most of the land is held for sport, so the less developed and the less populated it is the better, and it suits absentee landlordism admirably.’ Since the 1960s the population of the Highlands has slowly grown, to 340,000 by 1990, with encouragement from the Scottish Development Board.
2. What spheres of industry bring profit to Scotland?
However, North Sea oil and gas provided increasing work for the engineering and chemical industries. Scotland has also developed a large electronics industry.
The British government is trying to bring back life to the Highlands. One or two of the island communities now have modern fishing fleets. New industries and towns are growing up on the coast around Invergordon. Forests are being planted in the bare hills and saw mills and paper mills now stand on the edge of some of the lochs. New hotels and roads are also being built, for the Highlands is one of the loveliest and least spoiled parts of Europe, in spite of the oil boom.
Tourism is one of Scotland's most important industries. Tourists from all over the world come to enjoy the beauty of Scottish scenery - to walk among Scottish heather, to visit ancient, historic castles, to eat Scottish salmon and to drink Scotch whisky. They also come to see Scotsmen in kilts playing bagpipes, although only a few Scots wear kilts these days. The kilt is the national costume and every kilt has a squared coloured pattern, known as a tartan. The tartan means a great deal to a Scot, especially to a Highlander, for every Highland clan (Gaelic for tribe or family) has its own special tartan, of which it is jealously proud.
3. What is necessary for a real revival of Scotland’s economy?
Some Scots, however, believe that no real revival is possible without land reform, to put the landto use for those who live there. McEwen found that no official land register had been made in Scotland since the nineteenth century.
In 1977, at the age of ninety and after much deliberate obstruction by landowners, he finally published his own research which showed that of Scotland's 19 million acres only 2.5 million acres belonged to the state, only 4.5 million acres was in private estates of 1,000 acres or less, but that two-thirds of all Scotland, 12 million acres, was in private estates of over 1,000 acres in size. Scots have good reason to claim that too much economic power is held by people who do not live in Scotland.
Questions:
1. What is the evidence that the economic situation in Scotland is deteriorating?
2. What are the positive processes in the economy of Scotland?
3. What is the way out for the economy of Scotland?
Additional Reading Famous Men of Literature and Science
Scotland is the birthplace of many famous men of literature and science.
Robert Burns (1759-1796), a famous Scottish national poet, was born in Alloway, in a simple clay cottage built by his father with his own hands, on the 25lh of January 1759. Burns’ night, the date of the poet's birth, is celebrated all over the world by Scotsmen. Burns has left behind him a rich heritage of folk-songs and poetry.
Walter Scott (1771-1832), known as a great master of the historical novel, was born m Edinburgh. As a schoolboy he knew by heart the works by Shakespeare and Homer. Scott's famous works Rob Roy. Ivanhoe, Old Mortality, Border Minstrelsy and many others are widely read in our days.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), is known for his stories and books of adventure. He was born in Edinburgh on November 13, 1850 and died at Samoa on December 3, 1894. R. L. Stevenson's first book Kidnapped was published in 1866, when he was only 16. R. L. Stevenson is especially known for his famous book Treasure Island (1883). His books The Black Arrow, Catriona, Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and others are also well-known all over the world.
Archibald Cronin (1896-1981), a well-known British novelist, was born in Scotland. He received his education at Glasgow University and became a doctor but later he devoted himself to writing. His novels The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom, Green Years are very popular with readers the world over.
Scotland is also the birthplace of two famous men of science - James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), a great mathematician and physicist, and Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), the discoverer of penicillin. Both were educated at the University of Edinburgh.