1. Migration & Empire,
Scottish emigration –
Pull Factors

2. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
In today’s class I am learning to:
Identify factors which attracted Scots to emigrate during the 1800s-1900s
Explain why each factor led to Scottish emigration

3. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Although many Scots chose to emigrate due to problems faced in Scotland, there were also various positive reasons that Scots decided to move abroad.

4. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Pull factors are when people are attracted to move elsewhere by the prospect of a better life in their new homes.
Scots were encouraged to move due to employment, higher wages, land, family, religion and better housing.

5. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Job
opportunities

6. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Scots had a much higher chance of getting a job, if they were prepared to make the journey.
Many travel companies did not simply advertise transport abroad; they also included the promise of work on arrival in places like Canada.

7. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Scots used their skills - such as factory work and trades - to get jobs in their new homes.
Scots worked in the Indian Civil Service, helped establish sheep farming in Australia, and became miners in places like Canada and the USA.

8. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
It was not just manual or industrial workers that emigrated – professionals were recruited too.
British and Colonial governments encouraged doctors, lawyers and teachers to travel, often due to guaranteed jobs or better wages.

9. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Many Scots did not just want to go and work for someone else – they wanted to set up their own businesses.
Foreign countries offered the chance of owning businesses such as trading goods or as part of the farming trade.

10. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Higher
wages

11. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Britain’s Empire colonies needed workers with a variety of skills, including farmers, factory workers, miners and professionals.
One of the ways that they tried to attract these people was with the promise of higher wages than in Scotland.

12. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
On average, emigrant Scots with a job could expect to earn more overseas than they could back home.
For instance, in the late 1800s, granite workers in the USA could earn more than three times their income in Scotland.

13. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Free or cheap land

14. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Many Scottish emigrants were farmers who lived in poverty, with too little land to make a living.
In the Highlands they lived on land owned by someone else, and lived with the risk of paying higher rents or being evicted from their homes.

15. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Countries such as Canada and Australia needed experienced farmers to grow crops on their land.
Emigrant Scots were offered cheap or even free land if they travelled, allowing them to become a landowner and giving security against eviction.

16. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
The Scots made great use of these opportunities.
Scots helped develop Australia’s wool industry, and Scottish farmers prospered in parts of Canada because they had experience growing crops and tending animals in a similar climate.

17. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Better
housing

18. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Many emigrant Scots had the chance of better housing abroad.
This was partly because they often moved to areas which did not have the same overcrowding problems as was the case in towns and cities across Scotland.

19. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Other Scots had better housing standards because they were able to build their own.
Farming Scots who were given free or cheap land built their own homes, and could do this to a higher standard than they’d previously had.

20. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Family and friends

21. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Family and friends played a crucial role in attracting Scots to move to other countries.
People in Scotland often received letters from abroad describing better lives abroad and encouraging them to make the journey too.

22. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Family and friends were also able to help arrange jobs and housing for emigrant Scots before they had even travelled.
In addition, knowing people overseas meant that Scots knew they could continue their culture, such as religion.

23. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Religious reasons

24. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Some Scots chose to journey abroad due to their religious faith.
They believed it was their duty to spread the Christian message around the world, and so travelled to parts of the Empire where Christianity was not properly established.

25. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Missionary societies helped support, including giving training and paying for travel.
Famous missionaries include David Livingstone (who became an explorer) and Mary Slessor, who also campaigned for women’s rights.

26. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
Steam ship
travel

27. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
In the 1800s travelling by sail ship to the USA and Canada could take up to one month, and it was potentially three months to get to Australia or New Zealand.
These long, dangerous and difficult journeys put some Scots off travelling.

28. Scottish emigration – Pull Factors
The development of steam ships in the mid- 1800s hugely reduced travel times. For instance it was possible to get to the USA in only one week.
This made the journey less unpleasant, and also meant Scots could possibly return home.