Tobacco Lords
Encyclopedia
The Tobacco Lords were Glasgow
merchants who, in the 18th Century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco from Great Britain's
American Colonies.
In 1707, the Treaty of Union
between Scotland and England gave Scottish merchants access to the English overseas territories
, especially in North America. Glasgow’s
position on the River Clyde
, where the Trade Winds
first hit Europe gave its merchants a two to three week advantage over other ports in Britain and Europe. This position was enhanced by the French monarchy
granting it a monopoly
for the importation of tobacco
into French territories, (1747) and, later, by the deepening of the Clyde in 1768. Moreover, Glasgow ships were American built specifically for the Atlantic crossing and were generally bigger than those of other ports. However, the main advantage of the Glasgow merchants seems to have been their extensive and personally supervised networks across Britain, Europe and the Americas.
The tobacco trade was part of the trade linking exports of consumer and manufactured goods from Britain and Europe to the North American and Caribbean
colonies, who supplied tropical goods, including tobacco
, sugar
and rum
in return. Later, a third leg on the transatlantic trade was added by English merchant carrying slaves from West Africa
- thus establishing the so-called Triangular trade
.
Glasgow merchants made such fortunes that they adopted the style of aristocrat
s in their superior manner and in their lavish homes and churches. Their Calvinist background made sure, however, that display was always of rich but sober materials - black silk
clothes, (though startlingly set off by scarlet cloaks), black three-cornered hats, silver
- (or even gold
)-tipped ebony
canes, mahogany
furniture, and classical architecture
for their domestic and public use. Their mansion
s were laid out on the western boundaries of the 18th century city, where they gave their names to later streets in what is now called the Merchant City
section of modern Glasgow. Other streets recall the triangular trade more directly - Virginia Street and Jamaica Street especially. Among the important Tobacco Lords whose mansions gave their names to streets were Andrew Buchanan, James Dunlop http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/smihou/smihou044.htm, Archibald Ingramhttp://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSA01053&t=2&urltp=searchq.php%3Fqsearch%3DArchibald+Ingram%26amp%3Bstart%3D0%26amp%3Bend%3D20%26amp%3Bft%3D4%26amp%3Bl%3Dy, James Wilson, Alexander Oswald http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glasgow/glasgow3_29.htm, Andrew Cochranehttp://www.theglasgowstory.com/story.php?id=TGSBH11 and John Glassford
http://www.theglasgowstory.com/story.php?id=TGSBH02. The Virginia Mansion of Alexander Speirs gave Virginia Street its name, and Alexander gave his surname to Speirs Wharf in Port Dundas
.
An idea of the grandeur of the Tobacco Lords’ houses - which often dramatically punctuated the ends of the streets named after them - can be seen in the Gallery of Modern Art whose kernel is the grand mansion built, at a cost of £10,000, for William Cunninghame in 1780. A more modest "Tobacco Merchants House" (by James Craig
, 1775) is being restored at 42 Miller Street. St Andrew’s Parish Church in St Andrew’s Square, built 1739 - 1756 by Alan Dreghorn was the Tobacco Lord’s ostentatious parish church, in a prestigious area being laid out by such merchants as David Dale
, (David Dale was not involved in the Tobacco or 'Triangular' Trade). In the same area was the grand house of Alexander Speirs.
The American War of Independence (1775 - 1783) may have brought an end to the tobacco trade, but the canny Glasgow merchants merely switched attention to other profitable parts of the triangular trade, particularly cotton
in the British West Indies
.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
merchants who, in the 18th Century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco from Great Britain's
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
American Colonies.
In 1707, the Treaty of Union
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...
between Scotland and England gave Scottish merchants access to the English overseas territories
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, especially in North America. Glasgow’s
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
position on the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, where the Trade Winds
Trade wind
The trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator...
first hit Europe gave its merchants a two to three week advantage over other ports in Britain and Europe. This position was enhanced by the French monarchy
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
granting it a monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
for the importation of tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
into French territories, (1747) and, later, by the deepening of the Clyde in 1768. Moreover, Glasgow ships were American built specifically for the Atlantic crossing and were generally bigger than those of other ports. However, the main advantage of the Glasgow merchants seems to have been their extensive and personally supervised networks across Britain, Europe and the Americas.
The tobacco trade was part of the trade linking exports of consumer and manufactured goods from Britain and Europe to the North American and Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
colonies, who supplied tropical goods, including tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
in return. Later, a third leg on the transatlantic trade was added by English merchant carrying slaves from West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
- thus establishing the so-called Triangular trade
Triangular trade
Triangular trade, or triangle trade, is a historical term indicating among three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come...
.
Glasgow merchants made such fortunes that they adopted the style of aristocrat
Aristocracy (class)
The aristocracy are people considered to be in the highest social class in a society which has or once had a political system of Aristocracy. Aristocrats possess hereditary titles granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges, or deriving, as in Ancient Greece and India,...
s in their superior manner and in their lavish homes and churches. Their Calvinist background made sure, however, that display was always of rich but sober materials - black silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
clothes, (though startlingly set off by scarlet cloaks), black three-cornered hats, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
- (or even gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
)-tipped ebony
Ebony
Ebony is a dense black wood, most commonly yielded by several species in the genus Diospyros, but ebony may also refer to other heavy, black woods from unrelated species. Ebony is dense enough to sink in water. Its fine texture, and very smooth finish when polished, make it valuable as an...
canes, mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
furniture, and classical architecture
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
for their domestic and public use. Their mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s were laid out on the western boundaries of the 18th century city, where they gave their names to later streets in what is now called the Merchant City
Merchant City
The Merchant City is a district in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland.- History :The medieval Glasgow Cross was located on the road between High Street and Saltgait. Its modern replacement was built to the south-east of the original location to aid traffic. The town's tron was placed on the...
section of modern Glasgow. Other streets recall the triangular trade more directly - Virginia Street and Jamaica Street especially. Among the important Tobacco Lords whose mansions gave their names to streets were Andrew Buchanan, James Dunlop http://gdl.cdlr.strath.ac.uk/smihou/smihou044.htm, Archibald Ingramhttp://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSA01053&t=2&urltp=searchq.php%3Fqsearch%3DArchibald+Ingram%26amp%3Bstart%3D0%26amp%3Bend%3D20%26amp%3Bft%3D4%26amp%3Bl%3Dy, James Wilson, Alexander Oswald http://www.electricscotland.com/history/glasgow/glasgow3_29.htm, Andrew Cochranehttp://www.theglasgowstory.com/story.php?id=TGSBH11 and John Glassford
John Glassford
John Glassford of Dougalston and Whitehill was a Scottish Tobacco Lord, considered by his contemporaries to be the greatest of the era. He owned tobacco plantations in Virginia and Maryland.-Background and family:...
http://www.theglasgowstory.com/story.php?id=TGSBH02. The Virginia Mansion of Alexander Speirs gave Virginia Street its name, and Alexander gave his surname to Speirs Wharf in Port Dundas
Port Dundas
Port Dundas is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre. It lies to the north of Cowcaddens, and to the west of Sighthill, with Hamiltonhill and Possilpark to the north-west.-History:...
.
An idea of the grandeur of the Tobacco Lords’ houses - which often dramatically punctuated the ends of the streets named after them - can be seen in the Gallery of Modern Art whose kernel is the grand mansion built, at a cost of £10,000, for William Cunninghame in 1780. A more modest "Tobacco Merchants House" (by James Craig
James Craig (architect)
James Craig was a Scottish architect. His brief career was concentrated almost entirely in Edinburgh, and he is remembered primarily for his layout of the first Edinburgh New Town.-Date of birth:...
, 1775) is being restored at 42 Miller Street. St Andrew’s Parish Church in St Andrew’s Square, built 1739 - 1756 by Alan Dreghorn was the Tobacco Lord’s ostentatious parish church, in a prestigious area being laid out by such merchants as David Dale
David Dale
David Dale was a Scottish merchant and businessman, known for establishing the influential weaving community of New Lanark, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland and is credited along with his son in law Robert Owen of being a founder of utopian socialism and a founding father of socialism-Early...
, (David Dale was not involved in the Tobacco or 'Triangular' Trade). In the same area was the grand house of Alexander Speirs.
The American War of Independence (1775 - 1783) may have brought an end to the tobacco trade, but the canny Glasgow merchants merely switched attention to other profitable parts of the triangular trade, particularly cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
in the British West Indies
British West Indies
The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...
.
Further reading
- Devine,TomTom DevineThomas Martin "Tom" Devine OBE FRSE FRHistS FBA is a Scottish historian. His main research interest is the history of the Scottish nation since c.1600 and its global connections and impact....
The Tobacco Lords: A Study of the Tobacco Merchants of Glasgow and their Trading Activities, 1740-1790 (John Donald, 1975)