Scotland and the Origins of the Modern World: An Interpretative History

Abstract

How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World Arthur Herman New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002 Scotland and the Origins of the Modern World: An Interpretative History The author reviews a work in which educational reform in Scotland, together with revitalized ways of looking at personal responsibility are seen as having been carried throughout the British Empire and young America by a spreading Scottish population of enormous talent and energy, and from these places extensively to affect the world. It is argued that Scottish achievements resulted in major contributions to numerous areas of scholarship famously including civil engineering, medicine, economic and political thinking as well as directly promoting the industrial revolution in the English speaking world and the wider expansion of the global economy notably since the mid-nineteenth century. Key Words: Scotland; Scots; Protestant reformation; Calvinism; British Empire; America; Scots-Irish; Economic development; Civil Engineering; Commerce; Family values; Democracy; Anti-authoritarianism; David Hume; Adam Smith. It is not too often when a hook comes from academia which the average lay reader can fully appreciate and enjoy. Historian Arthur Herman of the Smithsonian has produced a brilliant treatise of interpretative history: How the Scots Invented the Modern World. Such a title sounds presumptuous. This work combines history, biography and many obscure anecdotes to not only inform the reader about Scottish accomplishments for Western Civilization over the past three centuries, but also as to why and how the Scots did so despite their former poverty and their disproportionately small numbers. Before the Scots set about to invent the modern world, they were living in one of the poorest regions in Western Europe. War with England was frequent, and brutal clan feuds in both the Highlands and the Lowlands were all too common. The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries further saw wars over religion. What would inspire a people who only knew war and poverty to formulate new ideas to arise out of their poverty? The answer lies with the changes brought about by the Protestant Reformation in the 1560s. Reformer John Knox, and his disciples, had advanced a radical vision of having a school in every parish. It took time for this vision to be a reality, and by the early 1700s this unique education system transformed Scotland into one of the most educated and literate nations in Western Europe. The Scottish thirst for education went beyond studying the scriptures. With the Calvinist concept of the unity of knowledge Scots came to master the humanities, and also scientific and technical subjects. Education further heightened the expectations of the common people, as the sons of farmers and labourers advanced to business and to the professions. In the late 1700s and early 1800s self-made men like civil engineer Thomas Telford built roads, bridges and canals, and mechanic James Watt perfected the steam engine. Scottish universities had a non-elitist ethos, unlike Oxford and Cambridge, and hence gave a greater priority to academic excellence. With their high reputation, the Scottish centers of high learning attracted English students. Edinburgh University's School of Medicine became the best medical school in the British Isles, and Edinburgh emerged as the intellectual center (an Athens of the north) of a unique Scottish Enlightenment, at which philosophers like Lord Kames, David Hume, and Adam Smith emerged. Herman's analysis of Adam Smith should interest many readers. Herman points out that Smith was not an extreme libertarian who gave a green light to big business and materialism. He was more of an observer than an advocate, and he concurred with David Hume's pessimistic views of human nature, and really he saw that the free market was a check on human avarice. …