The Kit-Cat Club or How Pies Created One of London's Most Influential Clubs.

Jacob Tonson, founder of the Kit-Cat Club, portrait by Godfrey Kneller, 1717. 

It would be hard for Christopher 'Kit' Cat ( or Catling')  to imagine that his pies and more importantly, his tavern, The Cat and Fiddle, would be the origin of one of the most prominent literary organisations from the 1690s to the early eighteenth century, The Kit-Cat Club.

Over feasts of mutton pies and cheesecake and other baked goods, in The Cat and the Fiddle, that the bookseller and publisher,  Jacob Tonson, created the Kit-Cat Club.  The Kit-Cat Club was believed to be either named after the baker or the pie itself, which was called a 'Kit Kat.'  [1]. The club started up as a publishing rights deal by Tonson, who would establish professional friendships in a weekly meeting over baked goods, in the return that 'The bookseller's friends would give him the refusal of their juvenile productions.' [2]  It was by feeding these members of his club, that Tonson hoped to obtain the loyalties by their stomachs and in the hopes for long-term profits. The Kit-Cat Club was not the first of its kind, and could actually be regarded as an extension of the coffee house, which had the reputation as the 'penny university,' in the early modern period. The Kit-Cat Club different itself though due to the fact that had multiple interests and it had political, cultural, and professional purposes, compared to other organisations such as trades guilds, which tended to have one purpose. [3].


The members of the Kit-Cat Club were Whigs politically, and they were wanting to challenge the preconceived notions of being a Whig. In the Civil War and the Restoration periods in British history, Whig clubs had the reputation of being a hot-spot for treachery and were against the monarchy. The Kit-Cat club tried to distinguish itself from this pre-conceived notion and would try and make gentlemen's clubs fashionable for Whig Gentlemen with an emphasis on literature and culture. [4].  This emphasis on creativity and culture on the club was a major attraction for the 50 members of the club, especially as writing for money was condemned by Renaissance critical theory, which had limitations on the authors imaginative freedom, and that writing in the seventeenth century was often for the wealthy and those who had private income.

The Kit-Cat Club was created in a great change of public opinion when it came to literature and creativity. In 1695, there was the lapse of England's Licensing act, which saw the surge in the number of printed materials, such as books, papers and pamphlets getting printed, especially political material.   This led to more creative freedom and allowed anyone to get published, not just the aristocracy. This increased freedom still left the possibility of printers and authors being arrested under obscenity and blasphemy laws, such as pro-Jacobite material. Despite this, it led to around 21,000 books getting published in Britain in the 1710s. [5]

The Kit-Cat Club was best known for its desire to be involved in high-brow culture and also in creativity.  Many of the members of the Club were music, opera, and theatre aficionados. One of the members, Joesph Addison, produced the opera of Rosamond along with his play that he wrote, Cato, a tragedy,  and The Spectator magazine.  [6] The building of the new Haymarket Theatre was designed by member Vanbrugh. Club members would eventually hold ten exclusive music recitals between November 1703 and March 1704, in the Drury Lane and the Lincoln's Inn Theatres. [7 ]

Issac Bitterstaff, the 'author,' of The Tatler and Spectators, but was in fact, the pen name of Sir Richard Steele, from the frontt cover of the 1759 Tatler cover. 

As well as being a club which was based around high-culture, the Kit-Cat Club was a political organisation, especially by 1705, when it was noted in A Kit- Kat C-B Described, that they had become more than just a dining club. [8]  The political activity of the Kit-Cat Club was focused on their publications, and were prominent in the magazines of The Tatler and The Spectator which were created by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. These magazines would be based on local and fictionalised gossip and were political satires. Tonson and other members would publish political pamphlets, which some will be linked below. The Spectator was one of the most prominent Kit-Cat Club publications, which Addison believed that there were twenty readers for each of the 3,000 issues printed and the publications were spread among the coffee houses and homes. There was a vast readership and Addison believed that there were at least 50,000 readers and there was demands for new papers daily. The paper would be a place for national announcement and it had political and social influence for the readers among all classes.  The Spectator declared the education of women as a priority and also tried to act as a guide to good manners, and also associated Whiggist behaviour around Englishness, which this identity was influenced by the Kit-Cat Club.  [9]. 

Godfrey Kneller, Joseph Addison (1672-1719), and Sir Richard Steele (1672-1729),

 The club focused on Wiggish politics of the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, there were many leaders of the Whig political party who were members. Some of the members of the club were political figures, such as Sir Robert Warpole, who would later become Prime Minister and The Earl of Stanhope, and Thomas Wharton, who would eventually become the Lord Luitenant of Ireland. [10]  in  The Club also believed in the whig policies of a limited monarchy with a strong parliament, resistance to the French aggression, the union of Scotland and England, and most importantly, the support of the House of Hanover. [8] The Kit-Cats were involved in politics in the reign of Queen Anne, due to the Whigs being against the government. In 1703,  it was believed that Tonson was involved in a political mission when he went to Holand.  Kit-Cat meetings were believed to have been held and had considered parliamentary action to remove Abigail Masham, one of Queen Anne's favourites from her service. In the final illness of Queen Anne in June 1914, meetings were held every night. [9]   In November 1713, Tonson was in Paris, investigating a Jacobite plot. [11]

The Kit-Cat's attempted to stage a public demonstration against the Tories on 17 November 1911. They had managed to get at least one thousand pounds from subscribers. They made effigies of the Pope, Devil,  various Jesuits and religious figures, and they were to be burned. They had apparently distributed money for a riot to take place with this demonstration. The Kit-Cat Club's activities were thwarted by Tory ministers who took the effigies and held them until the riot was over. [12]


The Kit-Cat Club was believed to have been ended by 1720, and it was believed that it was Tonson which was the force which kept the Club in full swing. It is believed that it was Tonson's absence in Paris from 1718-1720, which brought the club to the end. [13]   The once so very influential club which had its fingers in political and creative pies has almost been forgotten, and there has been shockingly little written about this club, especially as they helped to shape England politically, creativity, and more importantly, influenced social and political behaviour of the public through their publications.

Despite the influence of the members of the Kit- Cat Club, there has been little written about them, one of the prominent pieces of literature is by Ophelia Field, which has been the foundation of this study.  The Kit-Cat- Club is best remembered not for their publications or their political activity, however for their toasting.  The tradition of toasting for the club was part of their dinner ritual which was initiated by Tonson once he signalled that the meal was over. The toast would be given to the 'beauties,' among the ladies of the town, who would have to be Whig and beautiful, one these toasties would be Lady Mary Wortley Montegue.  This would involve balloting the women to pick which one was toasted and the woman who was nominated would have her name engraved on a drinking glass. However, there are no surviving 'Kit-Cat glasses' with the names of women. [14]

A. Gow, The Introduction of Lady Mary Wortley Montague to the Kit Kat Club, 1873

Despite the influence of the Kit-Cat Club and its members who would have careers in literature, politics and other pursuits, it is difficult to name them and their activities have been forgotten. The  42 'Kit-Cat Club', portraits by Sir Godfrey Kneller which are held in the National Portrait Gallery, London, show the members of this once influential society. Unfortunately, there is not a portrait of Christopher Cat, the Baker, who arguably started it all, and who inspired the name of this organisation. Very few bakers are remembered in history and it is not often that mutton pies help to establish a prominent London Club, but Christopher Cat and his pies managed to do both.

[1] C.J. Barrett, The History of the Barn Elms and the Kit Cat Club, now the Ranelagh Club, (London, 1889), pp. 37-38.
[2] Ophelia Field, The Kit-Cat Club (London, 2009), pp. 32-33: J. Caulfeild, Memoirs of the Celebrated Persons Composing the Kit-Cat Club: With a Prefatory Account of the Origin of the Association (London, 1889) pp. 240-241.
[3] Field, , p. 32
[4] ibid, p.34.
[5] Caufield, Memoirs of the Celebrated Persons Composing of the Kit-Cat Club, (London, 1889),  pp. 132-146, 112-116,  70-84.
[6]  ibid., pp.184-204.
[7] Field, The Kit-Cat Club (London, 2009),  pp.132-135
[8] Anonymous,  A Kit-Kat C-b described. Being a satirical character of a member of the Kit-Cat Club, (London, 1705).
[9]  Field, The Kit-Cat Club (London, 2009), pp.248-257.
[10]Caufield, Memoirs of the Celebrated Persons Composing of the Kit-Cat Club, (London, 1889), pp. 34-41.
[11]ibid, pp. 182-204.
[9]  K. M. Lynch, Jacob Tonson, Kit-Kat Publisher, (Knoxville, 1971), p.37.
[10] ibid, pp. 58-63.
[11]ibid., p63.
[12] ibid., p.62.
[13] ibid.,  pp.65-66.
[14] Field, The Kit-Cat Club (London, 2009), pp. 56-58.

Some Kit-Cat Club Members publications which are easily available online, but there is a lot more that is not as accessible.  The Spectator and The Tatler are the more prominent publications and volumes of them are easily found online, especially on Archive.com. 
A Kit-Kat C-b described. [Being a satirical character of a member of the Kit-Cat Club], 1705.
The Spectator :
The Spectator Volume 5 https://archive.org/details/spectatorvolume04steegoog/page/n18
The Spectator Volume 6,  https://archive.org/details/spectator03steegoog/page/n26.
The Spectator  Volume 8, https://archive.org/details/spectator21steegoog/page/n4

The Tatler https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.175706/page/n1

Volume one of the Tatler https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13645/13645-h/13645-h.htm.

Additional material:
C. J. Barrett, The history of Barn Elms and the Kit Cat Club, now the Ranelagh Club  (London, 1889). https://archive.org/details/historyofbarnelm00barr.

J. Caulfield, Memoirs of the Celebrated Persons Composing the Kit-Cat Club (Londo, 1889), https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9ThCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA246&dq=members+of+the+kit-cat&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0_eWLo9nmAhUDm1wKHel1D24Q6AEIMzAB#v=onepage&q=%20opera&f=false.

Sir Godfrey Knelller, The Kit-Cat Club portraits,   https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/set/347/The+Kit-cat+Club+portraits%3A+by+Sir+Godfrey+Kneller.

Perth Prison and the Women's Suffrage Movement

The women's suffrage movement is normally thought of as a fight which took place in London, and Scotland is often left out of the narrative when it was actually a national phenomenon. In terms of historiography which includes Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow tend to dominate the narrative as centres of suffrage activity in Scotland, and smaller towns and cities are forgotten altogether. In the Tayside area, Dundee was the first city where Suffragettes were imprisoned and they were on hunger strike, Perth Prison, was where the majority of force-feedings took place in Scotland [1].

Due to force-feedings in Perth prison, it had turned Perth into a hot-spot of the suffrage movement in the summer of 1914. Despite the attention which Perth had recieved in the later years of the women's suffrage movement in the twentieth century, there has been little mention of Perth. The historical novel of 'A Petrol Scented Spring,'  by Ajay  Close, shone some light to the public about the women's movent in Perth, but there has been little attention brought to the subject, other than Leah Leneman's book, 'Martyrs In Our Midst, Dundee, Perth Forcible Feeding of Suffragettes,' which has been the only book which has used Perth prison as a case study.

Ethel Moorehead, radical suffragette, and the first to be force-fed in Scotland. 

An Introduction to the Woman's Suffrage Movement in Scotland and Militancy in Perth.

The first three of the women's suffrage societies in Britain were established in 1867, with Manchester, London, and Edinburgh. The Edinburgh society would branch itself as the 'Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage,' and while Edinburgh was the headquarters, branches of the organisation were established in many towns including Perth. The Edinburgh National Society's activities were centred on Edinburgh, but suffrage activity went around the whole of Scotland and societies were established among all areas of Scotland. [2] There were 95 public suffrage meetings which were held in Scotland in 1872. By 1874, this led to local women's suffrage societies based around the whole of the country, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Tain, and Wick.[3]

The first suffrage organisations were predominantly middle-class movements to begin with, which would use non-militant forms of protests such as heckling politicians, petitioning, which had little impact on progressing women's suffrage. [4].  Despite the fact that non-violent methods of protest made little progress, it had established the image of the suffragette through newspapers and by anti-suffrage propaganda. The image of the suffragette, as seen as the one bellow, would portray the suffragette as ugly and as man-hating, and were just simply unflattering which reflected attitudes of the period.



Due to the lack of progress for the vote, Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst established the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in 1903, and this broke the traditional method of non-violent tactics to attain women's suffrage, and that militancy would be used.  There were other suffrage societies other than the often talked about militant WSPU, and they were often law-abiding groups, but they would still copy militant methods used by other groups.

In 1910 and 1911, Nannie Brown of the Women's Freedom League in Edinburgh was involved in activities such as heckling politicians, arranging dances, and being involved in open-air meetings.  In October 1912, there was publicity grabbing 400-mile suffrage march and it was from Edinburgh to London, and it would be used to gather signatures for a petition to Asquith. There would be open-air meetings held every evening and talks to be given in villages, which would lead to a rally in London. [5].

Suffrage March in Edinburgh, October 1912, National Library of Scotland,https://digital.nls.uk/suffragettes/sources/source-10.html

The use of militancy brought attention to the suffrage cause and publicity stunts would be used to obtain further newspaper coverage, making the cause impossible to ignore.  This leads to the need of discussing the militancy which happened in Perth. Suffrage militancy was not limited to London and even small counties, such as Perthshire and in Tayside. It is impossible to list all militant acts, but I've included some highlights, such as local incidents and several incidents from women who were in Perth prison.

One of the most prominent suffragette protests which took place in Perth wan the King was in Perth on July 10th 1914, during the campaign against force-feeding.  Once the Royal motor-car was going through Country Place, and a suffragette Rhoda Fleming of Glasgow was dressed in black, and had a petition against force-feeding, ran to the car and grabbed the handle and she was dragged forty yards and had apparently smashed the glass of the window when she was not able to get into the car.  Flemming was not maimed or killed, and believed was saved when a riot took place and police had to beat off the crowd. [6]   Another Incident in Dundee took place on the same day, where a woman dressed in green, threw leaflets for women's suffrage at the car at Victoria Road. The women also held an umbrella and tried to dash for the car before guards police pulled her out of the way. [7] 


Ethel Moorhead was force-fed in Perth prison and she was involved in several incidents. In December 1910, she threw an egg at Winston Churchill in Dundee.   In September 1912, she smashed the glass of the Wallace Monument, which resulted in her being held in a police cell in Stirling for the night, before serving seven days at Perth Prison. [8] Moorhead also participated in incidents such a throwing cayenne pepper into the eyes of a police constable in 1913.  Moorhead also whipped a man with a dog whip after she found out that he had ejected her from a meeting in Edinburgh, but she was not arrested.  [9]

One of the main figures who were in Perth prison was Arabella Scott, and she was the main figure in Close's novel, A Petrol Scented Spring.  Arabella was a militant who was convicted of attempted to set fire to Kelso racecourse in May 1913, and when she was arrested, she would participate in hunger strike when she was arrested. [10]

Maude Edwards was sent to Perth prison for three months in July 1914, after slashing the portrait of King George V with a hatchet at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. [11]Other incidents would involve the tampering of letterboxes, windows being smashed.  Arson was a common tactic which was used by suffragettes and it led to the burning of Perthshire Cricket club in April 1913.  House of Ross, Perthshire, and Allt-an-Phionn mansions, St. Fillians, Perthshire, was destroyed by 'Rhoda Robinson,' on 5th of February 1914. [12] There was attempted to blow up Burns Cottage, Alloway, by Janet Parker, who was in Perth prison in July 1914.

Perth Prison and Force Feeding.

A Suffragette Being Force-fed in England, in The Suffragette by Sylvia Pankhurst, 1911.

The suffragette on hunger strike is one of the most common images of the militant suffragette in public memory. The use of militant acts had kept the suffrage cause going and newspapers had become the predominant tool to get attention and sympathy for the suffrage cause. Before the start of the First World War,  the suffragette in Scotland was often portrayed as an arsonist and a vandal, who would be force-fed. Coverage of force-feeding of suffragettes in Perth Prison brought attention to Perth. [13]

In 1909, the first hunger strike took place and it was believed to have originated by Marion Wallace Dunlop after she was arrested for defacing St. Stephen's Hall with suffrage slogans, and she went on hunger strike. This protest was picked up by other figures of the movement and it was not until 1914, that hunger strikes took place in Scottish prisons. [14]  The hunger strike and the force-feeding which took place, attracted a lot of attention in newspapers and it leads to Perth being a centre of suffrage activity.

It was decided in June 1914 that all suffragettes convicted in Scotland would be sent to Perth Prison and they would be forcibly fed by Dr Fergus Watson.   In the summer of 1914, four women were force-fed in Perth, and this included Ethel Moorhead, Arabella Scott, Frances Gordon and Janet Arthur. [15]

  It was viewed by historians that the hunger strike was a physical sacrifice for a suffrage cause and that they were mimicking a political tactic which was used by men. The hunger strike would also have brought a lot of attention, as it was challenging conventional behaviour for middle-class Edwardian women. [16] Imprisoned suffragettes would go on hunger strike once they were arrested, and as part of the Cat and Mouse Act, they would be allowed to be taken out of prison once their health was in danger, and once they had recovered, they would be placed in prison.

Conditions for the women who went to Perth Prison went through a horrifying ordeal. They were placed in solitary confinement up to five weeks, apart from then they were force-fed. The force-feeding of Ethel Moorhead was a shock to the public, especially as it was believed that it was a barbaric act that only took place in England and that it was something that took place in the middle ages. [17]

Horrifying accounts from Arabella Scott were written for the Suffragette and it allowed the horrors of force-feeding to be spread to a large audience, and it mobilised protests in Perth, such as the Rhoda Flemming jumping on the royal car.

'On the removal of the gag, my head was seized . . ., my chin dragged upwards and backwards, my jaws and lips held tightly together. Sometimes voluntarily, sometimes involuntarily the food would be returned into my mouth, and unable to escape would burst through my nose. Then my nose would be pinched, and I was ordered to swallow it again. I wouldn't and struggled for breath. Then they would say, "We will let you breathe when we see you going purple."'[18]

Arabella Scott, Suffergette and force-feeding victim when she was in  Perth prison. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/force-fed-tube-funnel-barbaric-6429281

 The Reaction in Perth

 One of the first reactions to the treatment of suffragettes in Perth resulted in the WSPU forming a 24-hour picket around the prison from 3 July 1914, and it helped to bring the attention of the prisoners to the public of Perth. There was also fear of a siege of the prison as well. It was noted on the 12th of July that suffragettes and their followers singing hymns outside the prison. On the 20th of July, it was recorded that there was a suffragette meeting outside of the prison gates which attracted an audience which was about 2000 to 300 people.

As well as the picket around Perth prison, further protests took place which raised the attention of the suffragettes in prison. At King's Cinema in Perth on 18th July, a  woman stood up and brought attention to the women in prison when the film showed a scene of a convict. There were also protests in St. Ninan's Cathedral, when a group of suffragettes prayed for Emmeline Pankhurst, Arabella Scott and other suffragettes in prison.  The most radical action which happened in Perth was during the royal visit.

The constant picket and the speeches and the demonstrations which are believed to have the greatest impact, and most importantly, the newspaper attention which surrounded Perth during the protests was great. It was also reported by the Dundee Advertiser that the Perth trades Council resolved to protest against the force-feeding of women in Perth and they were going to petition parliament on the matter.  It was reported by the secretary, Mr. J. M. Rae that:

'Twelve months ago a militant could not receive a hearing and was hooted and bawled at as if she were a fanatic. Now, large crowds nightly assembled to hear and express sympathy with them. No one could stand and listen to the recital of the sufferings of those confined in their prison unmoved.'[19]

It can be argued that militancy was key for the progression of the suffrage movement and that the hunger strike and the following force-feeding, helped to bring attention to women's suffrage, especially as women, were using drastic methods in order to have a basic right.   The force-feedings which took place in Perth brought sympathy for the women but was soon forgotten when the prisoners were free, and the  First World War had started and the WSPU had dropped the militant campaign. Perth is often neglected when it comes to recent history, especially in the suffrage movement, when in fact, it can be argued that it was the centre of the fight in Scotland in the later years of the moment, and this part of local history can not be forgotten.

A hunger strike medal awarded to Frances Parker in 1912 after her hunger strike in Perth Prison. https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/history/new-zealanders-and-british-suffrage-movement/who-was-frances-parker

References

[1] L. Leneman, Martyrs In Our Midst, Dundee, Perth, Forcible Feeding of Suffragettes, (Dundee, 1993), pp.7-10.

[2] Ibid, p.7.

[3] L. Leneman, The Scottish Suffragettes, (Edinbugh, 2000). p. 9.  

[4] ibid, pp. 9-10.

[5] ibid, pp. 64-65.

[6]  'Suffragettes and The King' Manchester Guardian, 11 July 1914 https://search.proquest.com/hnpguardianobserver/docview/475820172/fulltextPDF/769B7BD09E9543C0PQ/4?accountid=14547 &  The Freelance, 11 July 1914  https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1296&dat=19140711&id=II9UAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ro8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3905,1198550

[7] https://search.proquest.com/hnpguardianobserver/docview/475820172/fulltextPDF/769B7BD09E9543C0PQ/4?accountid=14547 'An Afternoon in Perth,' Manchester Guardian, 11 July 1914

[8] 'Sufferage Outrage At Wallace Monument,' The Stirling Observer,  September 3, 1912.https://www.stirling-lhs.org/sca-suffragette-action.html

[9]  Leneman, The Scottish Suffragettes, pp. 75-78; Leneman, Martyrs in Our Midst, pp. 15-16.

[10]  Leneman, Martyrs In Our Midst, p.21.

[11] ibid. p.29;  'Suffragette Sentenced', Edinburgh Evening Dispatch,  2 July 1914.https://www.scottisharchivesforschools.org/suffragettes/maudeEdwardsSource02.asp

[12] https://womenssuffragescotland.wordpress.com/appendix-ii-report-of-militant-attacks-in-scottish-newspapers/  :  'Suffragette tries to Blow up Burns Cottage', Glasgow Herald,  9 July 1914. https://digital.nls.uk/scotlandspages/timeline/1914.html

[13] S. Pedersen, 'Suffragettes and the Scottish Press during the First World War, Women's History Review, Vol. 27, pp. 534-550.

[14] S. Pedersen, The Scottish Suffragettes and the Press ( London, 2017)   pp. 111- 113.

[15] Leneman, Martyrs In Our Midst, p. 19.

[16] J. Purvis, The Prision Experiences of The SUffragettes in Edwardian Britain, Women's History Review Vol. 4. (1995), pp. 106-107.
[17]  Leneman, Martyrs In Our Midst, p. 18.
[18] ibid. p.23.
[19] ibid. pp. 35-39.

Scotland and Poland: Forgotten Connections

Hello there,

I thought that since this was my first post, I would write about something that I was most comfortable with and what is my main academic interest; Scottish migration to early modern Europe, more specifically, to early modern Poland. This interest was cultivated in my time in univeristy, as I had a class which was appropriately named; Scots in Poland, Poles in Scotland. 

When considering Scottish migration and diaspora, the narrative which exist and which has been placed in public memory is one of migration and exile to North America, Canada, and also to Australasia.  The 1707 Union was significant in Scottish history, especially as it had lead to an increase of Scottish contact to North America and thus lead to increased migration and settlement. Before the union, when a Scot would migrate, they would find a new future in England, Ireland, or in Europe. This diaspora is believed to have peaked from 1600 to 1650, but there was still some contact and migration in later centuries [1].

When regarding this more modern diaspora, it is obvious why it tends to exist in common memory, there are stories of family descendants who have come from the 'homeland,' and there are more primary sources and there is plenty of publications which exist and are always being produced. The study of Scottish migration to early modern Europe is plagued with several problems, primary sources have been lost and sources have been written in several languages, and there is a need for translation of these documents.[2] Thankfully, there have been some books of published documents which are on the internet, and I would recommend anyone who is intrested in the topic of Scots in Poland. I would heavily recommend the books, The Scots in Germany and Papers Relating to the Scots in Poland, which are both available online.

I hope that these next few posts will help to bring some light onto this almost forgotten diaspora, and I will hopefully inspire someone to look more into this subject! Due to the fact that this is a rather broad subject, I will start off by discussing what I will consider to be the main reason why Scots were in Poland in the early modern period, poverty and economic opportunity.  I hope that this post will be a good introduction into the matter of the Scottish pedlar and 'wealthy merchant,' in early modern Poland.

Stitched by Edmund Dudley from  http://www.scottishdiasporatapestry.org/

Poverty in Scotland and Economic Opportunities in Poland.

It has been argued by historians that Scottish migration to early modern Poland was of 'economic necessity', due to poverty in Scotland as being a main economic imperative for the migration. Scotland in the sixteenth and the seventeenth century faced problems such as famine, plague, and most importantly, low economic productivity on an agricultural-based economy. [3]  It was noted by Kowalksi in his study of Scottish migration to Krakow, that there was a presence of Scots applying for citizenship from the 1570s due to famine and economic crisis, which drove people from Abdereenshire to Krakow, where over 55 per cent of the Aberdonians applied for citizenship between 1580s and 1610s. [4]

Younger or illegitimate sons were often forced to migrate due to primogeniture, which prevented them from inheriting, and they were often made to seek fortunes as merchants or as soldiers. Compared to Scotland, Poland was a desirable location to obtain capital due to the fact that only two per cent of the Polish population was involved in trade and there was a demand for imported goods from Scotland and other parts of Europe, and it had encouraged the presence of Scottish economic migrants, and more specifically, pedlars into Poland. [5]   William Lithgow in the seventeenth century noted favourable conditions for Scottish immigrants who were looking to obtain economic capital and seek their fortune abroad, describing it as:

'And for áuspicuousness, I may rather tearme it to be a Mother and Nurse, for the youth and younglings of Scotland, who are yearely sent hither in great numbers, than a proper Dame for her owne birth; in cloathing, feeding, and inriching them with the fatnesse of her best things; besides thirty thousand Scots families, that live incorporate in her bowells. And certainely Polland may be tearmed in this kind to be the mother of our Commons, and the first commencement of all our best Merchants' wealth, or at least most part of them'. [6]



Poverty was the main reason which caused the Scottish presence in early modern Poland. One fantastic letter which is in The Scots in Germany  by King James IV in 1625 notes that:

'

'We greete you well. Whereas the grite number of young
boyes uncapable of service and destitute of meanis of liveing
yearlie transported out of that our kingdome to the East seas
and speciallie to the town of Dantzik and there manie tymes
miserablie in grite numbers dyeing in the streets have given
quite scandall to the people of those countreyis and laid one
foull imputation on that our kingdome'. [7]



The Scottish economic migrant often took form as the pedlar, who would bring the goods from the market to the countryside. It was noted that by Fyness Moryson  in his travels to Poland that Scots would :

' flocke in great numbers into Poland, abounding in all
things for foode, and yeelding many commodities. And
in these Kingdomes they lived at this time in great multi-
tudes, rather for the poverty of their owne Kingdome,
then for any great traffcke they exercised there, dealing
rather for small fardels, then for great quantities of rich
ware.' [8].

From the sources by Lithgow and Moryson, the theme of the Scottish economic presence in Poland starts to emerge, especially as Moryson suggests the presence of the Scottish pedlar. Historians have discussed the Scottish economic presence in Poland, and historiography  has discussed if the Scottish economic presence was restricted to predominantly peddling  or if Scottish commercial activity allowed them to be considered to be 'wealthy merchants.' I have a few opinions on this, especially as I had to write an essay on this matter! I do hope to share my thoughts on this!



[1] D. Worthington, 'Unfinished work and damaged materials’: historians and the Scots in the Commonwealth of Poland–Lithuania (1569–1795)', Immigrants & Minorities, vol 34 (2016). p.277.
[2] ibid.
[3] P. P. Bajer,  Scots in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 16th to 18th Centuries, The Formation and Disappearance of an Ethnic Group, (Lieden, 2012), pp.46-51.
[4] W. Kowalski, '“Kraków Citizenship and the Local Scots, 1509-1655.” In Britain and Poland-Lithuania: Contact and Comparison from the Middle Ages to 1795,  Richard W. Unger (ed.), (Leiden, 2008), pp.  274-275.
[5]P. P. Bajer, Scots in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 16th to 18th Centuries, The Formation and Disappearance of an Ethnic Group, (Lieden, 2012), pp.46-129.
[6]W. Lithgow,  The Total Discourse of the Rare Adventures & Painefull Peregrinations of Long Nineteen Years Travayles from Scotland to the most famous Kingdomes in Europe, Asia and Affrica (Glasgow, 1906), pp. 367-368.
[7]' Letter of James VI’, 22nd February 1625, in T. A. Fischer (ed.), The Scots in Germany (Edinburgh, 1902) pp. 242-243.
[8] Fynes Moryson, An itinerary vvritten by Fynes Moryson gent. first in the Latine tongue, and then translated by him into English: containing his ten yeeres travell throvgh the tvvelve domjnions of Germany, Bohmerland, Sweitzerland, Netherland, Denmarke, Poland, Jtaly, Turky, France, England, Scotland, and Ireland. Diuided into III parts Volume 1, (Glasgow,  1908) p.83.