The post Willie McLeod, Carding Miller portrays Willie's dilemma, which required him to move from Clachan, change his occupation, or both. Moving to Paisley was a reasonable alternative for a carding miller like Willie. What would await him and his family there?
Over the previous fifty years, Paisley had morphed from a quiet market village into a world-class industrial center for weaving and thread-making. A 1786 magazine stated, “No town in the kingdom, or perhaps in Europe, has made such rapid progress in population and wealth as the town of Paisley.” The next half-century, however, proved to be turbulent for two main reasons: the economy and the industrial revolution.
The weaving industry was riding an economic roller coaster. Despite the boom described above, the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 triggered a depression. Weavers’ incomes dropped by 80%. In 1819, thousands of unemployed weavers gathered for a public meeting to persuade the government to transport them to North America. The government countered with an offer of passage to Africa, which the weavers refused. A second public meeting attracted 12,000-18,000 people and ended in a riot.
The industrial revolution was a mixed blessing, for it came at the expense of social upheaval. The craft of weaving shifted from a cottage industry to industrial factories with automated looms. One mill just outside of Paisley “could employ 1,800 people on 25,000 spindles.” No wonder the one-man operations could not compete. Despite their size and automation, however, power mills struggled to stay afloat. For example, the mill built to employ 1,800 workers employed only 75—less than 5% of its capacity.
To withstand such hardships, workers had formed Friendly Societies. These were not unique to Paisley, but found throughout Europe. They originated from ancient Greek and Roman artisan burial societies. The European and British guilds broadened the concept. If a member fell ill, his society subsidized his lost income. If he died, it would pay a death benefit to the family. Some societies evolved into commercial insurance companies which still exist today. Others transformed into service clubs, such as the Oddfellows.
Thirty-six such Friendly Societies emerged in Paisley to mitigate the economic pendulum on its downward swings. By 1824, the economy surged, money was abundant, labour was well paid. Within two years, however, it plunged into another depression. “In Paisley at this time there were three thousand looms idle; in Kilbarchan [a nearby village], three hundred out of seven hundred….” In spite of the roller-coaster economy, over the next 15 years, Paisley's population grew.
By 1843, Paisley had a population of about 32,000 and it was in its worst economic state yet. The "number receiving relief…rose to 14,791." Over half of Paisley’s mills went bankrupt (67 of 112). The weavers were desperate. To stimulate the market, they persuaded the Prime Minister to send thirty Paisley Shawls to Queen Victoria. The young queen purchased seventeen of them and single-handedly boosted the popularity and revived sales of the Paisley Shawl—an excellent example of celebrity branding!
In spite of this marketing success, the economic crisis dragged on. By 1843 only four of the original 36 friendly societies had survived. The town itself went bankrupt. During this time of Paisley's greatest decline, William and Mary McLeod arrived from Clachan with their three young sons. It was the worst timing possible. To add to their pressures, Mary gave birth to a fourth child. As the sobering reality set in, Willie realized the economic pressures in Paisley were worse than in Clachan.
Not that Clachan was without its challenges. Next post, we will return there to see how young John Darroch’s plans are turning out.
References:
The quotations above are found at the following sites:
1. https://archive.org/stream/historyofpaisley02brow/historyofpaisley02brow_djvu.txt, quoting Scots Magazine, vol. xlii., December, 1786 (accessed June 22, 2014). 2. [ii] http://www.ainslie.org.uk/genealogy/kilbarchan/history.htm (accessed September 22, 2015).
3. [iii] https://archive.org/stream/historyofpaisley02brow/historyofpaisley02brow_djvu.txt (accessed May 19, 2014). 4. [iv] http://rlhf.info/wp-content/uploads/15.3-Paisley-Burgh-Eadie.pdf (accessed November 17, 2017).