Scotlands hidden involvement in the slave trade

[ScottishGirl123]

Hmm i guess.
I suppose i dont really like homecoming at all.
Why would anyone leave scotland

[aNonnyMoose]

A lot of people didn't have a choice. Look up the Clearances, Highland and Lowland...

And this is still going on today. Glenesk is a current example, where people are being turned out of their homes by a foreign landlord.

[jet57]

Hello ANonnyMoose,

Scotland was one of the first countries to oppose the slave trade

Can you cite the source for this claim? not that I don't believe it, just that I haven't heard it before as such. The Gaels period disliked slavery, but I've read of no official condemnation.
This is an interesting subject. The southern agrarians were too poor in most cases to be able to compete effectivle with the northern industrialists. The big plantations would have gone broke as well, a poor excuse, but true none the less - in their minds. Most in the south were too poor to own slaves at all, and many lived in worse conditions than the slave and rented their land as well - the Irishmen after1850 wasn't as valuable as a slave and was hired to do work that was too dangerous for 'investment labor' to perform.

The surname thing is true in some respects - some did take the name of the owners, others just took the name: many blacks at the time - in the south - were freemen; many whites were not. History tells us that surnames were taken for any variety of resons: some hid behind adopted names.

[aNonnyMoose]

Iain Whyte's book

Also see Adam Smith's opposition to slavery, and the Scottish Quaker George Keith in 1693 (granted he resided in the US at that point!).

Have a google for some of them. William Wilberforce didn't invent the idea, no matter what some references may say...

[jet57]

Scotland and the Abolition of Black Slavery

This is an excellent resource, thank you. I'll hunt down a copy.

[aNonnyMoose]

You're welcome. It's a bit dry but informative.