John,
More recent research has put a question against the earlier belief that 18th
century coal miners in Scotland were 'slaves who could be bought and sold
with the
mines.' In a sense it is true, but in a sense not quite like what it
sounds.
At one point it was thought that they were made to wear collars of brass to
identify them. But since then it is realized that only one such collar has
been found, so it has been re-thought as a universal concept.
Also it has been realized that they (the coal miners) were no different in
their sense of 'tenure' from
the farmers who were (or are) tenants on an estate. When the estate was or
is sold, their leases held or hold for the original length of time but
whether the new owner chooses to renew the lease is for the owner to decide.
However, today the tenant farmers are protected by law which they were not
so much in the 18th century, and it is hard to get a tenant to leave if they
do not want to go.
Scotland has long suffered from the fact that most of those tenants who
wanted to be owners left the country - even in the fifties they were still
going to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and not a good choice as time has shown) or
Australia or Canada. Many of those who were left in Scotland had a
strong preference for renting, then if their circumstances changed they
could leave and also they were not responsible for the upkeep of buildings,
fences etc., unless it was specified. In long leases (often 99 years) the
lesee was responsible for maintenance.
My ancestor (whose father had a store in Falkirk), worked in a mine near
there in the
late 18th century and then later, I suspect when he had experience,
took a tack (lease) of it as 'supervisor'. I have also read an academic
paper which points
out that the earlier 18th century miners were always in a very strong
position
because only they had the skill to mine and shore up and the like,
and so the owners (or lease holders) were dependent on their co-operation as
skilled 'engineers'. Their fellow miners were their extended family and so
many did not always want to move, but it has also been proven that they
could move
if they wanted to do so. I am not saying that conditions were not terrible
or that
the use of child labour was a healthy idea, but that the early mining tended
to be more run by the miners. It was when the industrial revolution of the
late 18th and the 19th century brought in organization with initial
profit-focused concepts of efficency and management that the exploitation of
people become severe.
Diarmid
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Shearer" <jk_shearer(a)btinternet.com>
To: <CAMPBELL-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 11:37 PM
Subject: Re: Coal Mining Campbell background...
Some of my Cambell ancestors were miners in Fife, on the east coast
of
Scotland.
Until the end of the 18th Century miners in Scotland were slaves who could
be bought and sold with the mines.
Cheers
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Diarmid Campbell" <diarmid(a)diarmid.fsnet.co.uk>
> Mike,
>
> Ayrshire and Renfrew had coal mines from quite an early date, they are
> counties on the south side of the Clyde and Ayrshire contains the estate
of
> the Campbells of Loudoun who were there from the fourteenth century.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Campbell" <brainiac(a)nbnet.nb.ca>
> >
> > Diarmid et al:
> >
> > Tracing my Campbell family tree has led me down some obscure and
> > strange, though admittedly rarely boring paths.
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