Fifteen or so years after the Union of Parliaments, Daniel Defoe travelled through Scotland and concluded that the influence of the Union of Parliaments following on from the Union of Crowns, had not been as universally beneficial as he had expected. His picture of Kirkudbright illustrates his point.
I take the decay of all these seaport towns, which ’tis evident have made a much better figure in former times, to be owing to the removing of the Court and nobility of Scotland to England: for it is most certain, when the Court was at home, they had a confluence of strangers, residence of foreign ministers, being of armies, etc., and consequently their nobility dwelt at home [and] spent the means of their estates and the product of their country among their neighbours. The return of their coal and salt and corn and fish brought them in goods from abroad, and perhaps money. They sent their linen and other goods to England, and received the return in money: they made their own manufactures, and though not so good or cheap as from England, yet they were cheaper to public stock, because their own poor were employed. Their wool which they had over and above went to France, and returned ready money. Their lead went to Holland, and their cattle and sheep to England, and brought back in that one article over £100,000 per annum.
Then it was the seaport towns had a trade, their Court was magnificent, their nobility built fine houses and palaces which were richly furnished and nobly finished within and without. They had infinitely more value went out than came back in goods, and therefore the balance was evidently on their side; whereas now their Court is gone, their nobility and gentry spend their time, and consequently their estates, in England. The Union opens the door to all English manufactures, and suppresses their own, prohibits their wool from going abroad, and yet scarcely takes it off at home. If the cattle go to England, the money is spent there too. The troops raised there are in English service, and Scotland receives no premio for the levies, as she might have done abroad, and as the Swiss and other nations do at this time …
Galloway, as I hinted before, begins even from the middle of the bridge of Dumfries; the first town on the coast, of any note, is Kirkubright [sic], or, as vulgarly call’d, Kirkubry. It must be acknowledg’d this very place is a surprize to a stranger, and especially one whose business is observation, as mine was.
Here is a pleasant situation, and yet nothing pleasant to be seen. Here is a harbour without ships, a port without trade, a fishery without nets, a people without business; and, that which is worse than all, they do not seem to desire business, much less do they understand it. I believe they are very good Christians at Kirkubry, for they are in the very letter of it, they obey the text, and are contented with such things as they have. They have all the materials for trade, but no genius to it; all the opportunities for trade, but no inclination to it. In a word, they have no notion of being rich and populous, and thriving by commerce. They have a fine river, navigable for the greatest ships to the town-key; a haven, deep as a well, safe as a mill-pond; ’tis a meer wet dock, for the little island of Ross lyes in the very entrance, and keeps off the west and north west winds, and breaks the surge of the sea; so that when it is rough without, ’tis always smooth within. But, alas! there is not a vessel, that deserves the name of a ship, belongs to it; and, though here is an extraordinary salmon fishing, the salmon come and offer themselves, and go again, and cannot obtain the privilege of being made useful to mankind; for they take very few of them. They have also white fish, but cure none; and herrings, but pickle none. In a word, it is to me the wonder of all the towns of North-Britain; especially, being so near England, that it has all the invitations to trade that Nature can give them, but they take no notice of it. A man might say of them, that they have the Indies at their door, and will not dip into the wealth of them; a gold mine at their door, and will not dig it.
It is true, the reason is in part evident, namely, poverty; no money to build vessels, hire seamen, buy nets and materials for fishing, to cure the fish when it is catch’d, or to carry it to market when it is cur’d; and this discourages the mind, checks industry, and prevents all manner of application. People tell us, that slothfulness begets poverty, and that is true; but I must add too, that poverty makes slothfulness, and I doubt not, were two or three brisk merchants to settle at Kirkubry, who had stock to furnish out ships and boats for these things, they would soon find the people as industrious, and as laborious as in other places; or, if they did not find them so, they would soon make them so, when they felt the benefit of it, tasted the sweet of it, had boats to fish, and merchants to buy it when brought in; when they found the money coming, they would soon work. But to bid men trade without money, labour without wages, catch fish to have them stink, when they had done, is all one as to bid them work without hands, or walk without feet; ’tis the poverty of the people makes them indolent.
Again, as the people have no hands (that is, no stock) to work, so the gentry have no genius to trade; ’tis a mechanism which they scorn; tho’ their estates are not able to feed them, they will not turn their hands to business or improvement; they had rather see their sons made foot soldiers, (than which, as officers treat them now, there is not a more abject thing on earth), than see them apply to trade, nay, to merchandize, or to the sea, because those things are not (forsooth) fit for gentlemen.
In a word, the common people all over this country, not only are poor, but look poor; they appear dejected, and discourag’d, as if they had given over all hopes of ever being otherwise than what they are. They are, indeed, a sober, grave, religious people, and that more, ordinarily speaking, than in any other part of Scotland, far from what it is in England; conversation is generally sober, and grave; I assure you, they have no assemblies here, or balls; and far from what it is in England, you hear no oaths, or prophane words in the streets; and, if a mean boy, should be heard to swear, the next gentleman in the street, if any happen’d to be near him, would cane him, and correct him; whereas in England, nothing is more frequent, or less regarded now, than the most horrid oaths and blasphemies in the open streets, and that by the little children that hardly know what an oath means.
But this we cannot cure, and, I doubt, never shall; and in Scotland, but especially in this part of Scotland, you have none of it to cure.