Second City of the Empire - Glasgow

Travelling around the World, I am very struck by how similar the principal cities of the British Empire must have looked at the start of the 20th Century. This is a view down Hope Street in Glasgow towards Central Station, but similar views could have been found in Melbourne, Montreal, Cape Town, Bombay and elsewhere.

"Glasgow, the Second City of Empire”, was how the host of the Commonwealth Games used to be known. Glasgow’s imperial past is shown by placenames throughout the city centre - Virginia Street and Jamaica Street - and by the names of tobacco barons like Buchanan Street and Ingram Street.

A quarter of the world’s locomotives and a fifth of its ships were built on the banks of the River Clyde in the second half of the 19th Century. These were used to transport goods and people around the Empire. The route from Glasgow to America was much shorter than the passage from London, and as a result goods such as tobacco, cotton and sugar were all transported from and stored by the Clyde. More tobacco was transported through Glasgow than the rest of the United Kingdom combined. This added to the wealth of so-called “tobacco lords”. There are prominent landmarks to these barons' existence, like the Gallery of Modern Art, formerly the mansion of wealthy tobacco merchant William Cunningham.

Of course, this historic prosperity has a sinister side: many of the goods involved were produced on slave plantations in America and the Caribbean. In 1834, at least 15% of the British slave owners claiming compensation were from Scotland.

Glasgow’s imperial activities also contributed to the Scottish diaspora. Scotland, and particularly Glasgow, sent men and women as government representatives, missionaries, workers and owners to the World. There was a particularly rich tradition of sending Scottish-trained medical men to other parts of the Empire, often as part of the Army. Scottish regiments constituted a crucial part of military expeditions, extending and maintaining colonial rule.

Scotland played a key part in creating and sustaining the British Empire. People living in Glasgow during the 19th and 20th Centuries were made very aware of the reach of the British Empire. Glasgow hosted a number of exhibitions, which displayed both objects and people from the colonies. The first was held in 1888 in Kelvingrove Park and was known as the International Exhibition of Science, Art and Industry. It included collections from all over the world, but the central area was focused on India. As part of this, Indian artisans were sent to Glasgow to provide live demonstrations of their skills.

In 1938, Glasgow hosted the “Empire Exhibition” in Bellahouston Park. The last British imperial showcase, it took place five years after Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa had become members of the Commonwealth. The Exhibition was partly an attempt to boost the pride felt by Glaswegians for their role in building up the Empire.