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The politics of the people in Glasgow and the west of Scotland, 1707-c. 1785 Hisashi Kuboyama Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD School of History, Classics and Archaeology University of Edinburgh May 2012 Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed by the candidate and is the candidate’s own work and has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Hisashi Kuboyama May 2012 i Abstract This thesis analyses the political development and the growth of popular political awareness in Glasgow and the west of Scotland from the Union with England of 1707 to the burgh reform movement in the mid-1780s, examining political disputes among the urban elite as well as the activities, arguments, and ideology of ordinary people. Through the rapid growth of Atlantic trade and manufacturing industries, Glasgow and the west of Scotland in this period experienced social and economic changes which had significant implications for the ways that political control was contested and political opinions were expressed. The region also possessed a distinctive tradition of orthodox presbyterianism and loyal support for the Revolution Settlement and the Hanoverian Succession, both of which underpinned the growth of popular political awareness in the mid- and later eighteenth century. By taking these social and economic changes as well as traditional religious and political characteristics of the region into account, this thesis establishes a dynamic picture of eighteenth-century Scottish politics which has in the past been overshadowed by an image of its stability. Chapter One outlines the conditions, structure, and operation of urban and popular politics in eighteenth-century Glasgow. Chapters Two and Three demonstrate the existence of challenges to the political management by the great landowners and point out the popular dimension of these struggles. Chapter Four analyses how and why popular political consciousness developed in the age of the American Revolution, which led to the emergence of the burgh reform movement. Chapter Five examines popular disturbances, revealing the agency and vibrancy of the politics of the people. Chapter Six explores popular political ideology, focusing on the widespread appreciation of the British constitution and a distinctive Scottishness in the concept of liberty. This thesis concludes by asserting the importance of understanding politics in its broadest sense and also of incorporating the popular element as an integral part of any understanding of eighteenth-century Scottish politics. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations vi Notes on the text viii Maps ix Introduction 1 1. Reconstructing the political world of the people 25 Part I: The growth of popular political awareness 2. ‘Let the Good Town of Glasgow be your Party’: party strife and the rise of the Argathelians, 1707-c. 1730 49 3. ‘Dignity of the first town in Scotland for trade and industry’: the politics of urban pride and patriotism, c. 1730-c. 1760 85 4. ‘The political awakening’ and the rise of tradesmen in the age of the American Revolution, c. 1760-c. 1785 120 Part II: Popular politics in deeds and ideas 5. Popular disturbances in Glasgow and the west of Scotland 169 6. The constitution and liberty in popular political ideology 216 Conclusion 239 Bibliography 257 iii Acknowledgements Over the last four years, I have greatly benefited from the expertise and encouragement of my supervisors. Alexander Murdoch, with his admirable patience, has been a constant source of help, guidance, and stimulating criticism. Tom Devine provided advice and assistance in the early stages of this research and Gordon Pentland has supported and encouraged me in the third and fourth years of this research. Harry Dickinson, since I met him for the first time in Tokyo in March 2005, has shown me that an excellent academic can be an excellent teacher. Without them, this research would have been impossible. I would also like to thank Shin Matsuzono, my former supervisor at Waseda University, and Kazuhiko Kondo, my mentor since 2002, who encouraged me to come to Edinburgh and to begin this research. I am grateful to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan for funding. During the course of this research, I have come across many historians who kindly offered assistance and advice and helped to shape my ideas. I would like to thank Penelope Corfield, Joanna Innes, Katrina Navickas, Bill Speck, Miles Taylor, Graeme Townend, and Christopher Whatley for their kindness. I am also grateful to the staff at the various archives and libraries in which this research was conducted. I would like to record particular appreciation of the National Archives of Scotland, the Glasgow City Archives, and the Special Collection at the Mitchell Library, whose efficient and helpful staff and warm and friendly atmosphere have smoothed the course of this research. Doing a PhD in a country whose language, culture, and weather are different from those of my homeland has turned out to be more challenging than I expected. In these challenging but entirely enjoyable years, I have also greatly benefited from the assistance and encouragement of many friends. I would like to thank Alima Bucciantini, Harriet Cornel-Connolly, John Cox, Paula Dumas, Alison Duncan, Matthew Dziennik, David Hesse, Aoife McKenna, Katherine Nicolai, Keisuke Masaki, Tawny Paul, Jane Ridder-Patrick, Frances Rowley, Melanie Sayers, Cathryn Spence, Hazuki Tate, and Sally Tuckett for their great friendship. I also owe particular thanks to Eric and Irene Macaulay, with whom I have spent, and want to spend in future, wonderful times together. iv Finally, I would like to thank the people who have been closest to me. I express my profound appreciation to my girlfriend Suzee for her encouragement, support, understanding, and patience even during hard times of this study. She kept me sane with her great cheerfulness when my mind was full of eighteenth-century Scottish people. Without her, this research would have been a failure. Also to my parents, Hiroyuki and Miyoko Kuboyama, who gave me everything. They have patiently supported me emotionally and financially throughout the course of this research. This thesis is dedicated to them. v Abbreviations Analecta Robert Wodrow, Analecta: or, materials for a history of remarkable providences; mostly relating to Scotch ministers and Christians. By the Rev. Robert Wodrow, minister of the Gospel at Eastwood , 4 vols, edited by Matthew Leishman (Edinburgh, 1843-4) BL British Library Cochrane Correspondence James Dennistoun (ed.), The Cochrane correspondence regarding the affairs of Glasgow 1745-6 (Glasgow, 1836) Commons Journals The Journals of the House of Commons CM The Caledonian Mercury CTP Joseph Redington (ed.), Calendar of Treasury papers , 6 vols (reprint of the 1868–89 edn, Nendeln, 1974) DSL Dictionary of Scots Language: http://www.dsl.ac.uk/ Fasti Hew Scott (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae: the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation, vol. III: Synod of Glasgow and Ayr (new edn, Glasgow, 1920) GBR Sir J.D. Marwick and Robert Renwick (eds), Extracts from the records of the royal burgh of Glasgow, vols IV to VIII (Glasgow, 1908–13) GC The Glasgow Courant GCA Glasgow City Archives, The Mitchell Library, Glasgow GJ The Glasgow Journal GMH [W.H. Hill and Andrew Scott] (eds), View of the merchants house of Glasgow: containing historical notes of its origin, constitution and property, and of the charitable foundations which it administers (Glasgow, 1866) GTH Harry Lumsden (ed.), The records of the trades house of Glasgow, 2 vols (Glasgow, 1934) vi GUL Glasgow University Library, Glasgow HMC Historical Manuscripts Commission HoP, Commons 1690-1715 D.W. Hayton (ed.), The history of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715 , 5 vols (Cambridge, 2002) HoP, Commons 1715-1754 Romney Sedgwick (ed.), The history of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754, 2 vols (London, 1971) HoP, Commons 1754-1790 Lewis Namier and John Brooke (eds) The history of Parliament: the House of Commons, 1754-1790 , 3 vols (London, 1985) LG The London Gazette NAS National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh NLS National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh NSA [Anon.], The new statistical account of Scotland , 15 vols (Edinburgh and London, 1845) OSA Sir John Sinclair (ed.), The statistical account of Scotland , 21 vols (Edinburgh, 1791-1799) Oxford DNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Online) SM The Scots Magazine Scots Peerage James Balfour Paul (ed.), The Scots peerage: founded on Wood's edition of Sir Robert Douglas's peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom, 9 vols (Edinburgh, 1904-14) SHR Scottish Historical Review TNA The National Archives, Kew Wodrow Correspondence Thomas M’Crie (ed.), The correspondence of the Rev. Robert Wodrow, minister of Eastwood, and author of the history of sufferings of the Church of Scotland , 3 vols (Edinburgh, 1842) vii Notes on the text - All dates have been provided in Old Style, with the year beginning in January. - Original spelling in primary sources has been maintained in quotations, but manuscript contractions have been expanded.