Did Slavery make Scotia great?

Abstract

The relationship between slavery, the slave trade and British economic development remains a contested field of eighteenth century history. This article examines one hitherto unexplored aspect of the subject, the significance, if any, of profits derived from the slave-based economies of the Atlantic in Scotland's Great Leap Forward in the later eighteenth century. It is argued that because of the distinctive nature of Scottish development, compared to that of England, and the intimate connections between Scotland and plantation economies the question does merit serious consideration. The article, however, supports the traditional view that slave trading direct from Scottish ports was very limited, although Scottish merchants and mariners were often heavily involved in slave trafficking from London, Bristol and Liverpool. The key Scottish link was with the tobacco and sugar trades, plantation ownership in the Caribbean and as merchants, physicians, attorneys and overseers in the plantation economies. It is argued that in terms of both capital transfers and market opportunities slavery can indeed be considered one of the factors facilitating development in Scotland and was possibly a much more significant influence north of the border than in the industrialisation of England.