Causes and Consequences of Urbanisation in Scotland 1760-1830

1. Agricultural Revolution

• Urbanisation could not have taken place without the agricultural revolution as more food needed to be produced to sustain those not cultivating themselves - a consequence was this put pressure on the country dwellers to produce more food and to produce it in bulk - also meant transport had to be improved to get it from country to city.
• This suggests however that the agricultural revolution was a necessaru condition rather than a principal determiant, yet the agriuclutral revolution caused urbanisation in several other ways:
• Firstly, the orientation of agriculutral produce to the market facilitated the expanding of the centres as places of exchange. Furthmore, increasing specialisation in products meant that more centres for exchange was necessary - Inverness, for example, expanded on its ability to specialise in wool and sheeps.
• Secondly, the success of agriculture during the Napleonic Wars meant that tenant farmers earned more money, so the rent tolls of landowners increased. The increasing purchasing power of the landowning class meant has implciations on urban growht as there was a rising demand for th eproducts of town cosnumers and luxury industries - also urban services such as educaiton and lesure and the provision of fashionable accomodation.

2. Industrialisation

• Industrialisaiton before 1830 mainly took place in Britian - it is no coincidence that urbanisaiton took place here also before 1830 more vigorously then anywhere else in Europe.
• Industrialisation and urban growth were both results of the same economic forces as city environemnts gave more consumers and producers.
• Greenock: 1700 - 2,000 people, 1830 - 27,500 people.
• But it is easy to get lost in superlatives when discussing the effect…