The Galloway Levellers -A Study of the Origins, Events and Consequences of their Actions

By Alistair Livingston(Matriculation number 0609570)A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of Glasgow, for the degreeof M. Phil.(Research) in HistoryMay 2009

Contents

Abstract : page 3List of plates and maps : page 4Introduction : pages 5 - 9Chapter OneLand Use and Land Ownership : pages 10 -31Chapter TwoReligious and Political Background : pages 32-50Chapter ThreeThe Events of 1724 : pages 51-742Chapter FourResponses to the Galloway Levellers : pages 73-87Chapter FiveThe Transformation of Galloway 1760-1840 : pages 88-97Chapter SixThe Mechanical Age : pages 99-110Bibliography : pages 111-117

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to cast fresh light on the uprising of the Galloway Levellers in 1724. Toachieve this objective, the study takes as its starting point patterns of land use and land ownership inGalloway as they evolved through from the late sixteenth to the beginning of the eighteenth century.The important influence of the plantation of Ulster on the development of Galloway's cattle trade isdiscussed in this part of the study. Since the society of Galloway in 1724 was still deeply influenced by the religious and political conflicts of the later seventeenth century, this background is thenconsidered. Local responses to the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 are discussed within this context sincethere was an anti-Jacobite element within the rhetoric and actions of the Galloway Levellers. Fromthese foundations, and having established a chronology for the events of 1724, much of theconfusion which previously surrounded the actions of the Galloway Levellers and responses to their actions can be clarified. It has been possible to identify and provide a history for most of the peopleand places involved, including some of the Levellers themselves. This evidence in turn has revealedthat the actions of the Galloway Levellers did have an impact on the later eighteenth centurydevelopment of Galloway through a more cautious approach to agricultural improvement and thecreation of industrial settlements to provide employment for surplus labour. Finally, a previouslyunrecognised connection between late eighteenth century Galloway and the theory and practice of the industrial revolution is explored.