Scots internally migrated within Scotland in the 1800s-1900s due to various "pull factors" that attracted them to urban areas. Some key pull factors included better job opportunities in industries like shipbuilding, access to higher wages that improved standards of living, improved housing compared to rural areas like the Highlands, proximity to family and friends who had also migrated, and access to amenities like healthcare, education, and entertainment not available in rural communities. The expansion of the railway network in Scotland in the mid-1800s also helped facilitate internal migration by making travel across the country easier.

1. Migration &
Empire,
1830-1939
Internal migration –
Pull Factors

2. In today’s class I am learning to:
• Identify factors which led to Scots
moving elsewhere in Scotland
• Explain why each factor led to Scottish
migration
Internal migration – Pull Factors

3. Although many Scots emigrated in the 1800s and
1900s, others left their homes to move elsewhere in
Scotland (mainly moving from rural to urban).
Internal migration – Pull Factors

4. Pull factors encourage
people and their families
to move elsewhere in the
hope of getting a better
life in their new homes.
Scots internally migrated
due to issues like jobs,
higher wages,
entertainment, family,
schooling and housing.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

5. Job
opportunities
Internal migration – Pull Factors

6. The Lowlands had many
more job opportunities
than the Highlands.
Men could work in
different industrial sectors,
including the shipyards of
Glasgow, mines in
Ayrshire, steel mills of
Lanarkshire and mills in
Dundee.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

7. Highland women also
came to the Lowlands for
work, including in
factories and mills, such
as in Dundee.
Others found work in
domestic service. In 1871,
55% of all women workers
in Edinburgh did jobs such
as maids and cleaners.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

8. Highlanders affected by
the potato famine found
jobs elsewhere in
Scotland, often sending
money to their family.
The Free Church of
Scotland arranged for
3000 Highland men to go
to the Lowlands to work
on building railways.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

9. Wages and
money
Internal migration – Pull Factors

10. On average, jobs in the
Lowlands tended to pay
more money than jobs in
the Highlands and other
rural areas.
This meant that families
could earn more and have
a better standard of living
(such as food, housing or
entertainment).
Internal migration – Pull Factors

11. In 1860 - Across the UK as
a whole - average male
daily wages were (shillings
per day):
• Farm workers, 23.6
• Miners, 41.8
• Building labourers, 34.5
• Building craftsman,
52.7
Internal migration – Pull Factors

12. Also, farm wages were
often ‘in kind’, meaning
the employer gave a house
and food to their worker.
Places such as shipyards,
factories and mines paid
money, which gave more
freedom in how this
would be spent, and let
people change employer.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

13. Better
housing
Internal migration – Pull Factors

14. 1800s housing in urban
areas had numerous
problems – but it was still
often better than that
found in the Highlands.
Many Highlanders lived in
blackhouses. These
homes – without heating
systems - were sometimes
shared with animals.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

15. In the 1800s, Scottish
cities had slum clearances
(knocking down and
replacing poor housing).
Starting in 1866, 88 acres
of Glasgow city centre
housing was knocked
down, replaced with 39
new streets and 12
improved ones.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

16. In addition, many
Highlanders found their
low wages meant they
could not afford rent.
However, the higher
wages they received in
urban workplaces meant
they could more easily
afford to pay this, stopping
homelessness.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

17. Family and
friends
Internal migration – Pull Factors

18. Having family already in
towns and cities led to
more internal migration.
Family members wrote
letters encouraging
people to move.
They were also able to
help with finding jobs or
homes.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

19. Many Highlanders and
other people from rural
Scotland had moved into
towns and cities.
In the east end of
Glasgow, part of the
Bridgeton area was known
as ‘Glengarry’ due to the
number of people from
near Loch Garry.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

20. Other Highland people
moved to places such as
Perth or Dundee.
They set up organisations
to keep up their Highland
heritage; this included
church services in Gaelic
or Highland Clubs who
arranged social events and
charity too.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

21. Entertainment
Internal migration – Pull Factors

22. Life in the Highlands could
be very lonely. Some
people lived miles from
other communities, and
had few transport options.
This meant they had no-
one to socialise with, or
even that they had to
spend their spare time
with their employer.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

23. On the other hand, cities
had lots of entertainment
options where people
could spend free time.
This includes music halls,
sport and – in the early-
1900s – cinemas.
The first moving pictures
film shown in Scotland
was in Edinburgh in 1896.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

24. Football also attracted
thousands of fans. Women
were even given free
entry. Clubs that were set
up include:
• Queen’s Park (1867)
• Kilmarnock (1869)
• Rangers (1872)
• Celtic (1887)
Internal migration – Pull Factors

25. Better
healthcare
Internal migration – Pull Factors

26. Until 1948, there was no
NHS. In the Highlands, this
was an especially big
problem.
People often lived many
miles from their nearest
doctor or hospital. They
had to rely on folk
remedies and traditions,
rather than medicine.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

27. It could be expensive to go
to a doctor or get hospital
treatment, but there were
more of these services in
towns and cities.
In addition, charitable
hospitals in cities – such as
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary
– could also provide
healthcare.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

28. Better
education
Internal migration – Pull Factors

29. In 1872, a law was passed
which made primary
education compulsory for
all boys and girls in
Scotland.
In rural areas, this could
be harder to access. Often
families lived far from a
local school, meaning long
journeys to get there.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

30. The increasing
population of Scottish
towns and cities meant
there were many more
schools in these places.
This includes the High
Street School in
Kilmarnock, or
Kilmarnock Grammar
School.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

31. More education also
encouraged people to
move to improve their
living conditions.
As Highlanders gained
more knowledge and
skills, they wanted
more prosperous lives
than that found in their
local areas.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

32. Railways and
distance
Internal migration – Pull Factors

33. In 1832, the first
passenger railway in
Scotland opened,
connecting Glasgow to
Garnkirk in Lanarkshire.
Soon passenger trains
spread across Scotland,
travelling as far as Wick
and Thurso in the north of
Scotland.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

34. By 1865, there were 2200
miles of railways in
Scotland, connecting large
parts of the country.
At this stage, Scotland had
more miles of railways
lines in proportion to her
population compared with
all other countries in
Europe.
Internal migration – Pull Factors

35. Trains made it easier to
travel across Scotland.
more easily travel across
the country, making it
simpler to do so.
Living elsewhere in
Scotland also meant that
people could return home
if needed (for example, in
the event of a death).
Internal migration – Pull Factors

36. Trains also helped some
people move for work on
a temporary basis.
Some Highlanders worked
on farms at planting and
harvest times. However
when there was no work
in the Winter, they went
south to towns or cities to
work in factories.
Internal migration – Pull Factors