Scottish

Towns

Dundee History

Traces of there having been a Roman settlement have been found both on Dundee Law (which offers a magnificent panorama) and in the surrounding areas. It was from Dundee in AD 834 that Kenneth MacAlpine set off to conquer the Picts, a success which made him King of the Scots. The Abbey of Lindores was established by the Earl of Huntington, who had lands around here and it was in the 12th century that his brother, William the Lion, granted Dundee its royal charter. The Earl also founded the Church of Saint Mary, on the site of which now stands the parish church with it's great bell tower - known as the Old Steeple - which is a focal point of Dundee. The original church was no sooner completed when it was burned again by the English army in 1385 (Edward I having already burned the town and church in 1296). However, the people responded to this by rebuilding an even bigger and more elaborate church. Yet again the church was destroyed, this time by an invading English fleet that sailed up the river Tay 1547 to beseige the city but as before, the church of Saint Mary's rose again in splendour. It was burned once again and all that remains today is the Bell Tower, although there is now another church on the original site with serves the city today. Dundee supported the 1715 Jacobite Rising with the Old Pretender (James VIII - who visited Dundee in 1716) being proclaimed at the Mercat Cross. Although the Act of Union (1707) had all but destroyed Dundee's traditional woollen trading it began to bring new prosperity in the form of both flax and linen. Gradually it became clear that to support the Jacobite cause was in conflict with this new and considerable prosperity. When news reached Dundee of the Duke of Cumberland's victory over the Jacobite's at Culloden (1745) it was ordered that the town publicly rejoice. The Duke also had conferred upon him the Freedom of the Burgh in recognition of his victory. Dundee then enjoyed a long period of growing prosperity. In the early decades of the 19th century the East India Company sent to Dundee samples of a new fibre, namely jute. The whaling industry in nearby Broughty Ferry supplied ample oil which when added to the jute fibres made it more flexible and easier to weave. This, together with the fact that Dundee had an ample work force of women trained and experienced in the spinning and weaving of linen gave Dundee all the ingredients to become a boom town, which in did. The prosperity of Dundee had the affect of attracting those outwith the city who left agriculture to enter the jute mills. The 1820's record a population for Dundee of 35,000 but by the 1870's it had soared to over 130,000, with hurried shops, factories, mills and housing appearing all over the city to accommodate and serve its booming numbers. Dundee's 'jute' prosperity was to last for over 100 years, until India came to develop her own capacity to manufacture and process the raw material. © The Perfect Solution Last updated November 1999