The document discusses various "push factors" that led many lowland Scots to emigrate in the 1800s-1900s. It describes poverty issues like unemployment, poor working conditions in factories/mines, low wages, seasonal work patterns, lack of welfare benefits, and overcrowded/unsanitary housing. Disease spread easily due to these conditions. After World War I and the 1930s Depression, unemployment increased sharply in heavy industries like shipbuilding. Emigration was a way to escape these difficult economic and living circumstances in Scotland.

1. Migration &
Empire,
1830-1939
Emigration Push Factors:
The Lowlands

2. In today’s class I am learning to:
• Identify various problems faced by
lowland Scots during the 1800s-1900s
• Explain why each reason caused
Scottish emigration
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

3. In the 1800s and 1900s, thousands of Scots left their
Lowland homes to escape different problems they
faced in their everyday lives.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

4. The Lowlands relates to
areas of Scotland outwith
the Highlands, mostly in
the east, south and central
regions.
Push factors are when
people are forced to move
elsewhere due to escape
problems they face in their
home country.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

5. Large numbers of lowland
Scots left towns and cities
to build new lives
elsewhere.
This was due to various
poverty factors including
unemployment, terrible
working conditions, poor
housing and also ill-
health.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

6. The Industrial Revolution
had transformed Scotland,
creating new jobs and
bringing more people into
urban areas.
Various new types of large
industrial workplaces were
created, including
factories (such as textiles),
shipyards and mines.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

7. In 1801, Glasgow’s
population was 77,000.
By 1901 it was almost
ten times as big, rising to
760,000.
These huge increases
meant there was not
always enough houses or
jobs for everyone who
needed them.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

8. Working conditions in
these places were often
damaging to health.
Factories often had poor
lighting and ventilation,
causing problems for
workers. Miners had to be
underground for long
hours, leading to similar
problems.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

9. Poor safety also made
working very dangerous.
Injuries and deaths were a
regular hazard. In factories
accidents included people
being trapped in
machinery. Mining
accidents included cave-
ins or even explosions
caused by different gases.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

10. Factories had other
problems too.
In the 1800s, workers
could be fined by their
workplace for issues such
as being late.
The working day was long
too (12-14 hours) and this
could lead to tiredness
and accidents.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

11. Most workers received
low wages, with limited
opportunities to change
this, for fear of complaints
leading to unemployment.
In the 1830s, Scots earned
up to 25% less than
people in England for the
same job. By the 1860s,
the gap was still 20%.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

12. Some Scots that did have
jobs did not have work
across the entire year.
Scots in seasonal jobs did
not earn money when
times were quiet, leading
to financial strife. For
example, builders tended
to have no work from
November to February.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

13. In the 1800s, poverty was
made worse as the
government did not
provide benefits such as
sick pay or
unemployment pay.
Some Scots were forced
to go to the Poor House
as a last resort if they
were very poor.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

14. Workers in heavy
industries also suffered
from job losses after
World War One.
During the war there was
a need for workers in
places like shipyards and
factories, but this ended in
1918, leading to high
levels of unemployment.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

15. Workers in heavy
industries also suffered
from job losses after
World War One.
During the war there was
a need for workers in
places like shipyards and
factories, but this ended in
1918, leading to high
levels of unemployment.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

16. In the 1930s, an economic
Depression spread around
the world, including in
Scotland.
It led to huge increases in
unemployment, including
in shipyards. In some jobs,
wages were cut in half at
this time. Welfare benefits
were also reduced.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

17. Poor housing was also an
everyday reality faced by
Scots in cities and towns.
Problems faced included
major overcrowding
(caused by increases in
population), poor quality
buildings and also terrible
sanitation, which caused
the spreading of diseases.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

18. In 1861, one-third of Scots
lived one-roomed houses
(often called single ends).
These were where people
were expected to eat,
cook, sleep and socialise.
The average number of
people living in a single
end was five, but there
cases of up to 15.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

19. In 1861, a survey showed
that one in every hundred
families lived in houses
without windows.
There was also a problem
with lighting and heating.
Many homes did not have
these, leaving people or
having to sit in the dark in
winter.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

20. The overwhelming
majority of homes did not
have indoor toilets.
This meant that people
had to share outdoor
toilets with numerous
other families. Often these
were not very clean, which
led to poor hygiene and
disease.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

21. Overcrowding meant that
if one family member got
an illness – such as
tuberculosis – it would
often spread.
Other diseases – like
cholera – were caused by
drinking dirty water and
living in unclean
conditions.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

23. Lowland Scots in rural areas
(including miners and
farmers) often lived in
single-storey cottages.
Like single ends, they did
not have indoor toilets and
often only had one room.
Shift workers would share
beds, with one using them
whilst the other worked.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

24. Disease and ill health were
major problems because
of the lack of support.
The NHS was not
introduced until 1948, so
anyone who was ill either
had to pay for treatment
(which they could often
not afford) or rely on
scarce charitable help.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

25. Until 1867, Australia was
used as a penal colony
(prison island) by Britain.
People who had
committed a variety of
crimes – often as minor as
stealing bread – might be
given the punishment of
transportation (being sent
to prison in Australia).
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors

26. Around 8000 Scots were
sent to Australia as
punishment between
1787 and 1868.
Scots sent to Australia
tended to have committed
crimes regarded as the
most serious, including
robbery and prostitution.
Scottish emigration – Lowland Push Factors