Peer power : the 5th Duke of Buccleuch, land, industry and paternalism, c.1820-c.1884

Abstract

This thesis investigates the understudied Buccleuch estates and their industrial context during the dukedom of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry (1820-1884). It sets out the first industrial history of the Scottish estates, examining the evolution of trade unionism and its relation to the customary paternalism of the aristocracy which underwent a resurgence during the lifetime of the 5th Duke. It also lays out the political landscape within which the Duke operated and effectively controlled as the de-facto leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland during a tumultuous time for the party. Finally, it examines the religious history of the estates of one of the biggest private landowners in Scotland and the impact of the conversion of his wife, Duchess Charlotte Anne to Catholicism at a time of significant religious disruption in Scotland. This thesis unpacks a crucial period in Scottish history, when the country was undergoing significant social and economic change and explores the role played by the traditional (and in Scotland, exceptionally powerful) landed aristocracy. The weight of historiography has always underpinned analysis and understandings of the Highlands of Scotland: the Lowlands lack in-depth historical analysis. This allows this thesis to contribute to giving an overall picture of how Scotland developed during the Victorian period with one of the most important and notable members of the British aristocracy playing a central role.