Issue 3 - The impact of the Great War on Scottish Industry and the Economy
1. Copy the following into your jotter (ref: J. Kerr: p 81)
In 1914 Scottish industry looked strong and healthy but that impression hid serious problems. The old traditional, ‘staple’ industries – coal, iron and steel, shipbuilding and textiles were given a boost by the demands of the Great War. After the war these industries went into serious decline. By the mid-1920s Scotland faced rising unemployment and industrial decline.
2. Label and shade in the map to show where the main industries of the Scottish economy were during the Great War. Kerr Chapter 4.
Read the following extract from Clive Lee, Professor of Economic History at Aberdeen University
“Modern war involves the harnessing of economic power to sustain military effort. The first involves the production of the means of waging war such as armaments, munitions, warships, tanks, and even uniforms. The second involves the support of the main war effort, especially through transport networks and the provision of essential supplies of food. This need extends… to the domestic population…..whose labour provides the equipment essential for that effort. Thus Scotland played a major role in the productive underpinning of the British effort in the Great War.” C..H.Lee
3. What 3 main economic factors meant Scotland made a major contribution to the British war effort between 1914 and 1918?
4. Make notes on the impact the war had on the Scottish economy using the following headings and sub –headings: (ref pages 82 – 88 in J. Kerr) and the PowerPoints on the Wikispace.
Shipbuilding (p82)
· Before the war
· During the war
· After the war
Fishing (p82-84)
· Before the war
· During the war
· After the war
Jute (p84-85)
· Before the war
· During the war
· After the war
Coal, Iron and Steel
· Before the war
· During the war
· After the war
Farming and Food (p85-86)
5. Where did Britain’s food mainly come from before the war?
6. Where did Britain’s food mainly come from during the war?
7. What problems were there in
· Food supply
· Employment in farming
· Resources in farming?
8. How did farming benefit because of the war? Find out about :
· Wages
· Prices
· Sheep/Wool
· Oats
Rationing (p87)
9. Why was the voluntary rationing campaign by the government not very successful?
10. To what extent does the comment from Lloyd George quoted on page 87 disagree with the message given in Source 4.7 on page 87?
11. Why and when was rationing introduced in Britain? (p88)
12. What were the 3 aims of rationing? (p88)
13. Describe the development of rationing up to 1920. (p88)
The Impact of the Great War on Scotland’s Markets
Read the Handout and answer the following questions:-
14. Explain how the war impacted on Scotland’s international markets.
15. Explain how the war impacted on Scotland’s workforce.
The Land Issue in the Highlands
After winning the war soldiers returning to the Highlands and Islands (The Gaidhealtachd or Gaelic speaking Highlands and Islands) expected to come home to ‘a land fit for heroes’. To many of them this meant they would be given land to start a new life after the suffering and sacrifices they had made for the country.
16. Give 2 reasons why soldiers felt they were not getting the rewards of land and work on their return home in 1918. (p88-89)
17. What were land raids and why did they take place? (p88-89)
18. Quote evidence from J. Kerr or from your previous study on reasons why men joined the forces which would justify land raids.
19. How did the government try to resolve the issue of land raids? (p 90)
20. What were the aims of the Land Settlement Act of 1919 and how effective was
it in meeting these aims? (p 90)
21. What was significant about how the government dealt with the land raids on Raasay? (p 90)
The island of Lewis and the Leverhulme Project
22. Use the PowerPoint to explain what the Leverhulme Project was and what impact it had on the island of Lewis.
The impact of the Great War on the Scottish people
“For many Scots the only answer to Scotland’s post war problems was the old escape route of emigration.” (Kerr, p93. Watch the LTS video clips on the economy)
23. Copy and complete using the word bank below.
By the end of the about of emigrants returned to Scotland. Overrall there had been an ‘ migration’ from Scotland, the than at any other time in history. Most importantly the impact of migration on the Scottish population was that people saw migration as the way to escape their country suffering from and
.
Word Bank
out, unemployment, one third, 1920s, decline, Scottish, Largest
24. Use the information sheet and pages 93-94 in the textbook to complete a list of reasons to explain why so many Scots left Scotland after 1918. Split your list into ‘PUSH’ and ‘PULL’ reasons.
(THIS IS A POTENTIAL 10-MARK QUESTION – SO MAKE SURE YOU’VE GOT GOOD, FACTUALLY DETAILED AND ACCURATE NOTES.)