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28-570: The Agricultural Revolution in Scotland was a series of changes in agricultural practice that began in the 17th century and continued in the 19th century. They began with the improvement of Scottish Lowlands farmland and the beginning of a transformation of Scottish agriculture from one of the least modernised systems to what was to become the most modern and productive system in Europe. The traditional system of agriculture in Scotland generally used

56-442: A regular (probably annual) basis of individual parts ("rigs") of the arable land so that families had intermixed plots in different parts of the field. The term Scottish Agricultural Revolution was used in the early 20th century primarily to refer to the period of most dramatic change in the second half of the 18th century and early 19th century. More recently historians have become aware of a longer processes, with change beginning in

84-607: A self-made Glasgow businessman, died when he was two months old; his mother went to live with her brother, a friend and pupil of Richard Arkwright , and managing partner of cotton-works at Deanston . Smith attended Glasgow University before entering his uncle's factory and becoming manager aged 18. Aged 24, his invention of the reaping machine won him a medal from the Imperial Agricultural Society of St Petersburgh. In 1823 Smith came into possession of his uncle's farm, and set about systematically draining

112-646: Is the more populous and industrialised part of Scotland compared to the sparsely populated Highlands. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period , when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. Geographically, Scotland is divided into three distinct areas: the Highlands , the Central plain ( Central Belt , in

140-650: The Central Lowlands . However, in normal usage it refers to those parts of Scotland not in the Highlands (or Gàidhealtachd ). The boundary is usually considered to be a line between Stonehaven and Helensburgh (on the Firth of Clyde ). The Lowlands lie south and east of the line. Some parts of the Lowlands (such as the Southern Uplands ) are not physically "low", Merrick for example reaching 2,766 feet (843 m), while some areas indisputably in

168-619: The Central Lowlands ), and the Southern Uplands . The Lowlands cover roughly the latter two. The northeast plain is also "low-land", both geographically and culturally, but in some contexts may be grouped together with the Highlands. The Lowlands is not an official geographical or administrative area of the country. There are two main topographic regions: the Lowlands and the Southern Uplands . The term "Lowlands" mainly refers to

196-475: The cottars , who often shared rights to common pasture, occupied small portions of land and participated in joint farming as hired labour. Farms also might have grassmen, who had rights only to grazing. Three acts of parliament passed in 1695 allowed the consolidation of runrigs and the division of common land. After the union with England in 1707, there was a conscious attempt among the gentry and nobility to improve agriculture in Scotland. The Society of Improvers

224-513: The runrig system of management, which had possibly originated in the Late Middle Ages . The basic pre-improvement farming unit was the baile (in the Highlands) and the fermetoun (in the Lowlands). In each, a small number of families worked open-field arable and shared grazing. Whilst run rig varied in its detail from place to place, the common defining detail was the sharing out by lot on

252-663: The "Midland Valley". This area mainly encompasses the basins of the Rivers Forth and Clyde , and houses approximately 80 percent of Scotland's population (3.5 million in the Central Belt ). Historically, the Midland Valley has been Scotland's most agriculturally productive region. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, it experienced significant industrialisation and urbanisation, driven by coal deposits. While coal mining and heavy industry have declined ever since,

280-715: The Highland Clearances. A handful of powerful families, typified by the dukes of Argyll , Atholl , Buccleuch , and Sutherland , owned enormous sections of Scotland and had extensive influence on political affairs (certainly up to 1885). As late as 1878, 68 families owned nearly half the land in Scotland. Particularly after the end of the boom created by the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815), these landlords needed cash to maintain their position in London society. They turned to money rents and downplayed

308-658: The Highlands (although historically also in the lowlands until the 15th century and 18th century in Galloway), to the Scottish history and to the Scottish clan system, as well as in family history and genealogy . Military units associated with the region at various times include the Lowland Brigade , the Royal Scots and the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division . James Smith (inventor) Smith's father,

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336-531: The Highlands (such as Islay ) are low-lying. For other purposes, the boundary varies; but if the Boundary Fault is used, then the traditional Scottish counties entirely in the Lowlands are Ayrshire , Berwickshire , Clackmannanshire , Dumfriesshire , East Lothian , Fife , Kinross-shire , Kirkcudbrightshire , Lanarkshire , Midlothian , Peeblesshire , Renfrewshire , Roxburghshire , Selkirkshire , West Lothian , and Wigtownshire . Prior to 1921,

364-855: The Lowlands. Many ancestors of the Scotch-Irish , as they are known in the United States, or Ulster-Scots , originated from the lowlands and borders region before migrating to the Ulster Plantation in the 17th century and later the American frontier , many prior to the American Revolution . The term Scottish Lowlands is used with reference to the Scots language in contrast to the Scottish Gaelic spoken in

392-579: The Midland Valley's economic importance endures. Today, it remains a central hub of the Scottish economy, with a focus on electronics, computer manufacturing, and service sectors like telecommunications, computer software, and finance. The southernmost counties of Scotland, nearest the Anglo-Scottish border , are also known as the Borders . They are sometimes considered separately from the rest of

420-490: The counties of East Lothian, Midlothian, and West Lothian were known as Haddingtonshire, Edinburghshire, and Linlithgowshire. Traditional Scottish counties which straddle the Boundary fault include Angus , Dunbartonshire , Stirlingshire , Perthshire , Kincardineshire , Aberdeenshire , Banffshire , and Moray . The term "Lowlands" is sometimes used to refer specifically to the " Central Lowlands ", an area also known as

448-522: The farms and small holdings their families had occupied for hundreds of years, or adapting them to the Scottish Agricultural Revolution. Improvement continued in the 19th century. Innovations included the first working reaping machine , developed by Patrick Bell in 1828. His rival James Smith turned to improving sub-soil drainage and developed a method of ploughing that could break up the subsoil barrier without disturbing

476-785: The flat cards on an endless chain, allowing them to be regularly cleaned. Smith was appointed by Robert Peel to the Commission into the sanitation and health of manufacturing towns, which led to the 1848 Public Health Act : Smith pressed to make liquid manure useful to agriculture. Smith was also an active member of the Royal Agricultural Improvement Society of Ireland , and a member of the Glasgow Philosophical Society , contributing papers to their Transactions . This United Kingdom business-related biographical article

504-470: The foreigners', pronounced [ə ˈɣauɫ̪t̪əxk] ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland . The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands . This area includes cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow and is known for its fertile farmland, historic sites, and urban centres. It

532-427: The lack of legal protection for year-by-year tenants under Scots law , and the abruptness of the change from the traditional clan system. The result was a continuous exodus from the land—to the cities, or further afield to England, Canada, America or Australia. The Lowland and Highland Clearances meant that many small settlements were dismantled, their occupants forced either to the new purpose-built villages built by

560-822: The landowners such as John Cockburn's Ormiston or Archibald Grant 's Monymusk on the outskirts of the new ranch-style farms, or to the new industrial centres of Glasgow , Edinburgh , or northern England. Tens of thousands of others emigrated to Canada or the United States, finding opportunities to own and farm their own land. In the Highlands, many that remained were now crofters , living on very small rented farms with indefinite tenure used to raise various crops and animals. For these families kelping , fishing, spinning of linen and military service became important sources of additional revenue. Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( Scots : Lallans or Lawlands , pronounced [ˈlɑːlən(d)z, ˈlo̜ːl-] ; Scottish Gaelic : a' Ghalldachd , lit.   'place of

588-418: The late 17th century and continuing into the mid-19th century. The expansion of the period covered has led some to question the concept of a revolution. Before the 17th century, with difficult terrain, poor roads and methods of transport there was little trade between different areas of the country and most settlements depended on what was produced locally, often with little in reserve in bad years. Most farming

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616-399: The soil and working it with a subsoil plough. In 1831 he published his agricultural recommendations as a small pamphlet, Thorough Draining and Deep Working , which attracted attention in the agricultural crisis of 1834. Smith also introduced mechanical innovations in spinning : in 1834 he improved Archibald Buchanan's self-stripping card, filing a patent (British patent no. 6560) for fixing

644-405: The topsoil. Previously unworkable low-lying carselands could now be brought into arable production and the result was the even Lowland landscape that still predominates. While the Lowlands had seen widespread agricultural improvement, the financially broken Highland lairds took to replacing Highland agricultural practice with its own system of labour with Lowland agricultural practice plus labour in

672-611: The traditional patriarchal relationship that had historically sustained the clans . One result of these changes were the Highland Clearances , in which many tenants in the Highlands were evicted as lands were enclosed, principally so that they could be used for sheep farming. The clearances followed patterns of agricultural change throughout the UK, though were notorious as a result of the introduction of Lowland farmhands or practice into Highland agricultural land or practice, plus

700-540: Was based on the lowland fermtoun or highland baile , settlements of a handful of families that jointly farmed an area notionally suitable for two or three plough teams, allocated in run rigs , of "runs" (furrows) and "rigs" (ridges), to tenant farmers . Most ploughing was done with a heavy wooden plough with an iron coulter , pulled by oxen, which were more effective in the heavy Scottish soil, and cheaper to feed than horses. Those with property rights included husbandmen , lesser landholders and free tenants. Below them were

728-480: Was founded in 1723, including in its 300 members dukes, earls, lairds and landlords. In the first half of the century these changes were limited to tenanted farms in East Lothian and the estates of a few enthusiasts, such as John Cockburn and Archibald Grant . Not all were successful, with Cockburn driving himself into bankruptcy, but the ethos of improvement spread among the landed classes. The English plough

756-639: Was increasing specialisation, with the Lothians became a major centre of grain, Ayrshire of cattle breeding and The Borders of sheep. Although some estate holders improved the quality of life of their displaced workers, the Agricultural Revolution led directly to what is increasingly becoming known as the Lowland Clearances , with hundreds of thousands of cottars and tenant farmers from central and southern Scotland emigrating from

784-427: Was introduced along with foreign grasses, the sowing of rye grass and clover. Turnips and cabbages were introduced, lands enclosed and marshes drained, lime was put down, roads built and woods planted. Drilling and sowing and crop rotation were introduced. The introduction of the potato to Scotland in 1739 greatly improved the diet of the peasantry. Enclosures began to displace the runrig system and free pasture. There

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