Mullen, Stephen Scott (2015) The ‘Glasgow West India interest: integration, collaboration and exploitation in the British Atlantic World, 1776-1846. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/6409/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] The ‘Glasgow West India interest’: Integration, Collaboration and E xploitation in the British Atlantic World, 1776 - 1846 Stephen Scott Mullen B.A, M.Sc. Submitted in fulfillment for the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, History School of Humanities College of Arts University of Glasgow May 201 5 (c) Stephen S. Mullen, May 201 5 Abstract Th is thesis aims to illuminate the economic and social world of the Glasgow - West India merchants, planters and the temporary economic migrants who travelled across the Atlantic during the period, 1776 - 1846. The city of Glasgow and her satellit e ports was the premier Scottish transatlantic hub with connections across the British Atlantic world. This thesis has focused on the per iod after the American War of Independence ended the city of Glasgow’s tobacco monopoly. Thus, the rise to prominence o f the c ity’s West India elite is assessed as well as the social, political, financial and commercial networks that underpinned their rise. This thesis offers new insights on religious affiliations of the merchants of Glasgow and trac es the exportation of Presbyterianism to Jamaica in 1814. This thesis has implications for other aspects of the incipient Scottish - Atlantic historiography. In particular it contributes to T.M. Devine’s recent view that Caribbean slavery made Scotia great. H owever , this thesis is deliberately placed into a British - Atlantic context. Although this research demonstrates how a distinctly Caledonian operation promoted the flow of capital to Scotland, the ‘Glasgow West India intere st’ themselves were part of a wider international network which in turn dictates the scope of this thesis and the historiography with which it engages. Specifically, this body of research traces direct investments of capital by West India merchants into Scottish industry and land, thus providing qualified support for Eric Williams’ main thesis in Capitalism and Slavery. However, this work goes significantly beyond the work of Williams to trace the connections between commerce and banking i nstitutions in Scotland and the plantations of the West Indies. This thesis has examined in some detail the political activities of the Glasgow West India Association from inception in 1807 up to 1834. The Association’s sophisticated operations at a national and regional level supported the exploitative activities of the Glasgow - West India elite. Indeed, this research demonstrates that the members of the Association collected the bulk of the compensation awarded to individuals resident in Glasgo w on the emancipation of slavery in 1834. This thesis has adopted a transatlantic approach that connects Scotland and the West Indies. In particular, these connections are illuminated through the prism of the careers of the young Scotsmen who sojourned to Jamaica and Grenada in particular. This thesis suggests there were increasing levels of emigration to the West Indies in this period and the skilled and educated young men sought economic opportunities not available at home. By examining wealth repatriation in life and post - mortem property transmission strategies, this thesis offers a revision on the view that such young men struggled to repatriate colonial profits. This has implications for the work of Alan Karras and others. The transatlantic a pproach is developed in case study examinations of Glasgow - West India merchant houses. This connects Scottish banks, commerce and industry with the British Parliament and the planters of the West Indies. The world of Scottish planters, merchants and sojourners is now becoming increasingly well known. The life, wealth and legacy of the Glasgow West India elite traced her e provide innovative insights into their living conditions and material culture. It is further argued that a West India career could propel even those of modest means into the British super - wealthy. Finally, t his thesis recognises the contribution of enslaved peoples to the economic development of Scotl and which will hopefully stimulate further research in a Scottish - Atlantic context. i C ontents Abstract ................................ ................................ ................................ ............................. i Contents ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... ii List of Tables in Ap pendix ................................ ................................ ............................... iii Acknowledgements ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... iv Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ....................... 1 Chapter 1. Review of Literature ................................ ................................ ......................... 6 Chapter 2. The Emergence of the ‘Glasgow West India interest’ ................................ ...... 31 Chapter 3. The financial and commercial networks of the ‘Glasgow West India interest’ . 53 Chapter 4. ‘Wanted, to serve in the West Indies’: Scots in the plantation economy .......... 83 Chapter 5. The social and political networks of the ‘Glasgow West India interest’ ......... 112 Chapter 6. The Glasgow - West India Merchant House of Archibald Smith of Jordanhill . 147 Chapter 7. The ‘Glasgow West India interest’ - Life, Wealth and Legacy ....................... 171 Conclusion ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 196 Appendices ................................ ................................ ................................ .................... 202 Bibliography ................................ ................................ ................................ .................. 223 Word count of thesis ( introduction, main body, conclusion , appendix, bibliography and references) : 100,024 ii List of Tables in Appendix Appendix 1: Transatlantic commodities imported to the Clyde Ports, 1790, 1800 and 1805 ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 203 Appendix 2: Analysis of claims for slave compensation from individuals ‘associated’ with Glasgow, 1834 – 1838 ................................ ................................ .......................... 204 Appendix 3: Voyages of the Clyde - Caribbean Fleet, 1806 - 1834 ................................ 205 Appendix 4: Estimated sojourners to the West Indies from the Clyde, 1806 - 1834 ....... 206 Appendix 5: Analysis of inventories of 45 Scots in Jamaica, 1776 - 1838 showing occupational breakdown and capital on death ................................ ............................. 207 Appendix 6: Analysis of inventories of of 21 Scots in Grenada and Carriacou, 1776 - 1838 showing occupational breakdown and capital on death ................................ ...... 208 Appendix 7: Family residence of Scots in the West Indies, 1776 - 1838 ....................... 209 Appendix 8: The Clubs of Glasgow and the ‘West India interest’ ............................... 210 Appendix 9: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce membership, 1783 .............................. 211 Appendix 10: Chamber of Commerce membership and ‘Glasgow West India interest’, 1783 and 1806 ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 212 Appendix 11: Office Bearers of the Glasgow West India Association (1807 - 1838) named as Torys ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................... 213 Appendix 12: Recorded meetings between Colin Dunlop Donald and Archibald Campbell of Blythswood, 1812 - 1832 ................................ ................................ ......... 214 Appendix 13: Leitch & Smith investments in the West Indies, 1800 - 1821 .................. 215 Appendix 14: J&A Smith, investments in the West Indies 1827 - 1866 ........................ 216 Appendix 15: Overall and average wealth of sixty eight subscribers to the Glasgow West India Association, by decade of death ................................ ................................ ......... 217 Appendix 16: Range of inventories of sixty - eight subscribers of the Glasgow West India Association who died 1807 - 1884 ................................ ................................ ................ 218 Appendix 17: Investments of sixty eight subscribers to the Glasgow West India Association ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............