316:, among which were economic stresses arising out of the perceived unfairness of the Anglo-American tobacco trade. The market in tobacco was dominated by the Tobacco Lords, who American colonists claimed manipulated prices to the detriment of planters in Maryland and Virginia, who by the time of the outbreak of war in 1775 had accumulated debts of around £1,000,000, a huge sum at the time (equivalent to £191 million in 2023). These debts, as much as the taxation imposed by Parliament, were among the colonists' most bitter grievances. It was this extension of cheap credit that made the Tobacco Lords different. English merchants simply sold American tobacco in Europe and took a commission. The Scots, on the other hand, bought the crop at pre-arranged prices and made large (and potentially risky) loans to their customers.
22:
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320:"Clockwork Operation" of fast ships coupled with ruthless dealmaking and the manipulation of credit. Planters in Maryland and Virginia were offered easy credit by the Tobacco Lords, enabling them to buy European consumer goods and other luxuries before harvest time gave them the ready cash to do so. But when the time came to sell the crop, the indebted growers found themselves forced by the traders to accept low prices for their harvest in order to stave off bankruptcy. At his
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The impact of the
Tobacco Lords on Glasgow's architectural heritage remains today. St Andrew's in the Square is today Glasgow's Centre for Scottish Culture, promoting Scottish music, song and dance. William Cunninghame's (greatly expanded and embellished) mansion now houses the Glasgow Gallery of
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Prior to 1740, the
Tobacco Lords were responsible for the import of less than 10% of America's tobacco crop, but by the 1750s Glasgow handled more of the trade than the rest of Britain's ports combined. Heavily capitalised, and taking great personal risks, these men made immense fortunes from the
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A powerful engine for this was the giving of good prices and credit to the planter till they got him more immersed in debt than he could pay without selling lands or slaves. They then reduced the prices given for his tobacco so that…they never permitted him to clear off his
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I conversed with Mr G--ssf--d, whom I take to be one of the greatest merchants in Europe. In the last war, he is said to have had at one time five and twenty ships with their cargos – his own property – and to have traded for above half a million sterling a
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for the importation of tobacco into French territories. The deepening of the Clyde in 1768 provided a further advantage because
Glasgow ships were built specifically for the Atlantic crossing and were generally bigger than those of other ports.
345:
After the war, few of the enormous debts owed by
American colonists would ever be repaid. Despite these setbacks, after the war the Tobacco Lords switched their attention to other profitable parts of the triangular trade, particularly
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St Andrew's in the Square still survives today and is considered one of the finest classical churches in
Britain, Today it is Glasgow's Centre for Scottish Culture, promoting Scottish music, song and dance. The church is located in
148:. Celebrated in his lifetime, Glassford was the most extensive ship owner of his generation in Scotland and one of the four merchants who laid the foundation of the commercial greatness of Glasgow through the tobacco trade.
207:. Other streets recall the triangular trade more directly, with modern streets bearing names like Virginia Street and Jamaica Street. Among the important Tobacco Lords whose mansions gave their names to streets were
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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
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in their domestic and public use. Their mansions were laid out on the western boundaries of the 18th century city, where they gave their names to later streets in what modern
Glasgow now calls the
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Some idea of the grandeur of the
Tobacco Lords' houses - which often dramatically punctuated the ends of the streets named after them – can be had in the original core of Glasgow. The
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to sell or exchange for slaves which they transported to
America and the Caribbean. On the third leg back to Europe they carried tobacco, rum, cotton, sugar and the like.
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The tobacco trade was part of broader trade that linked exports of consumer and manufactured goods from Europe with the North
American and Caribbean colonies. Operated on
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fueled by slave labour, these colonies supplied products that found a ready market in Europe. The triangle involved merchants carrying manufactured goods from Europe to
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hit Europe as well as in other places like
Bristol, Nantes, or Bordeaux, may have been an opportunity for its merchants. The French monarchy granted Glasgow in 1747 a
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336:, accused British-based merchants of unfairly depressing tobacco prices and forcing Virginia planters to take on unsustainable debt loads. In 1786, he remarked:
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From 1710, Glasgow became the centre of an economic boom which lasted nearly fifty years. The Tobacco Lords personified this boom and were the
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63:, these merchants utilised their fortunes, which were also partly made via the direct ownership of slaves, to construct numerous
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246:, which today occupies the (greatly expanded and embellished by later reconstruction as the Exchange) mansion built for
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144:. Glassford entered the tobacco trade in 1750 and soon acquired a fleet of vessels and many tobacco stores across
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was the Tobacco Lord's ostentatious parish church, in a prestigious area being laid out by such merchants as
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272:(who was not involved in the tobacco trade). In the same area was the grand house of Alexander Speirs.
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The Tobacco Lords: A Study of the Tobacco Merchants of Glasgow and their Trading Activities, 1740-1790
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William Cunninghame's neo-classical mansion on Queen St, Glasgow, built in 1780 at a cost of £10,000
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saw his liabilities swell to nearly £2,000 by the late 1760s (equivalent to £350,162 in 2023).
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of the mid-eighteenth century. Arguably the most successful of these merchants was either
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in 1780, at a cost of £10,000 (equivalent to £1.68 million in 2023). A more modest
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Tobacco Culture: the Mentality of the Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution
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gave Virginia Street its name, and Alexander gave his surname to Speirs Wharf in
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in their superior manner and in their lavish homes and churches. The merchants'
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595:"TheGlasgowStory: 1560 to 1770s: Personalities: John Glassford of Dougalston"
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539:"The old country houses of the old Glasgow gentry: XLIV. Garnkirk House"
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Mungo Naismith. It was the first Presbyterian church built after the
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Glasgow merchants made such fortunes that they adopted the style of
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between Scotland and England gave Scottish merchants access to the
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who made substantial sums of money via their participation in the
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581:"TheGlasgowStory: 1560 to 1770s: Personalities: Andrew Cochrane"
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288:, on the edge of the City's East End. The church, inspired by
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slave plantation, future President of the United States
649:. Glasgow Buildings Preservation Trust. Archived from
608:
TGS - 1560 to 1770s - Personalities - Alexander Speirs
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were a group of Scottish merchants active during the
332:, on the verge of losing his own slave plantation
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258:, 1775) is being restored at 42 Miller Street.
438:History of Maryland in the American Revolution
292:in London, was built between 1739 and 1756 by
231:, and John Glassford. The Virginia Mansion of
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152:wrote of a meeting with Glassford in 1771:
29:, his family and an enslaved Black servant
264:in St Andrew's Square, built 1739–1756 by
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426:John McCall of Black house and Belvedere
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16:Group of 18th-century Scottish merchants
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723:. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1985.
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467:, Phoenix, Orion Books, London (2009)
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495:from the original on 9 December 2022
710:. New York: Henry Holt &, 1998.
59:. Concentrated in the port city of
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71:and other buildings in Scotland.
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764:Industrial Revolution in Scotland
517:The Expedition of Humphry Clinker
485:"Lost Glasgow: The tobacco lords"
553:"TheGlasgowStory: Ingram Street"
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51:, primarily through dealing in
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527:– via Project Gutenberg.
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373:Andrew Buchanan of Drumpellier
138:Andrew Buchanan of Drumpellier
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754:Tobacco in the United Kingdom
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30:
401:Andrew Cochrane of Brighouse
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625:"St Andrew's in the Square"
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387:Andrew Caskie of Kilcreggan
25:A portrait of Tobacco Lord
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647:"St Andrews in the Square"
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262:St Andrew's Parish Church
178:St Andrew's in the Square
739:18th century in Scotland
708:George Washington a Life
627:. Gazetteer for Scotland
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406:George Bogle of Daldowie
312:between Britain and its
252:Tobacco Merchant's House
704:Randall, Willard Sterne
314:North American colonies
290:St Martin-in-the-Fields
443:Fur Barons of Montreal
411:Logan Lowe of Aberdeen
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201:classical architecture
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83:The "Triangular Trade"
55:that was grown in the
53:slave-produced tobacco
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465:A History of Scotland
367:Notable Tobacco Lords
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244:Gallery of Modern Art
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567:"History of Glasgow"
162:Palaces and churches
121:plantation economies
676:Oliver, Neil, p.340
460:(John Donald, 1975)
391:William Cunninghame
352:British West Indies
304:American Revolution
248:William Cunninghame
103:'s position on the
769:History of tobacco
759:Wealth in Scotland
749:History of Glasgow
744:Economy of Glasgow
514:Smollett, Tobias.
308:During the 1760s,
278:St Andrew's Square
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774:Trade in Scotland
326:George Washington
57:Thirteen Colonies
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416:Alexander Oswald
383:Archibald Ingram
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233:Alexander Speirs
225:Alexander Oswald
217:Archibald Ingram
97:in North America
93:English colonies
49:triangular trade
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41:Tobacco Lords
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651:the original
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497:. Retrieved
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396:James Dunlop
363:Modern Art.
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322:Mount Vernon
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294:Master Mason
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221:James Wilson
213:James Dunlop
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107:, where the
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45:Georgian era
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455:Devine, Tom
298:Reformation
256:James Craig
237:Port Dundas
184:aristocrats
146:New England
125:West Africa
105:River Clyde
34: 1767
733:Categories
523:4 February
449:References
334:Monticello
270:David Dale
109:westerlies
65:townhouses
657:23 August
631:23 August
188:Calvinist
493:Archived
489:Scotsman
432:See also
197:mahogany
113:monopoly
69:churches
499:5 March
350:in the
280:, near
195:canes,
101:Glasgow
75:History
61:Glasgow
358:Legacy
348:cotton
472:Notes
341:debt.
193:ebony
157:year.
659:2009
633:2009
525:2009
501:2023
284:and
254:(by
39:The
140:or
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667:^
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31:c.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
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