Use of Horses

1. Use of Horses two hundred thousand horses were working on farms in Scotland; but by the 1950s this total had dropped dramatically to several hundred as mechanised farm equipment took over. Many of these horses were taken to be used for transporting war supplies, cavalry and to move guns.

2. Iron and Steel By 1900 new technology had made possible the mass production of a new wonder metal – steel. Now demand for steel created Boomtowns such as Airdrie, Coatbridge, Mossend and Wishaw. The naval race with Germany, in the build up to the war, provided a huge boost for these industries.

3. Shipbuilding depended heavily on international trade, carrying Scottish exports around the world. When Beardmores company opened their shipbuilding yard at Dalmuir in 1902 there were already 40 different yards on the Clyde.

4. Coal Between 1880 and 1914 coal was Scotland’s fastest growing industry and in 1900 more than 150,000 miners worked in Scotland’s coal mines. The coal seams in the west of Scotland were dying out while the fastest growth was in fife and Lothian. Leith, grangemouth and methil exported across across the North Sea to Eastern Europe and Russia.

5. Fishing • The spread of the railways allowed fresh fish to be transported across Britain and fishing ports began to prosper. By the 1880’s trawling had become established in Aberdeen and these trawlers specialised in white fish such as cod and haddock.

6. Textiles • Jute was a good example of an industry dependant on international trade. The raw material for sacking, jute. Was grown in Bengal. Jute was brought to Dundee and was softened by whale oil.