ABSTRACT
Scotland's 'revival' in the second half of the eighteenth century rested on acceptance of ideological, social and economic provincialisation within the new polity. The way Scotland was being run, politicians operating within legitimate politics were obliged to play to English minister's prejudices because it was in London that all the crucial decisions were taken. On occasion, this inevitably put Scotland's economic interests in jeopardy at Westminster. The only alternative source of social authority, given that the Kirk rapidly became discredited by its relationship with the Whig regime, were the lairds. Agricultural improvement on English lines accordingly became more and more fashionable in Scotland from the 1740s, and the general rule from the 1780s, because of the increased rents it offered landowners. Textile manufactures were the engine of the industrial revolution in England; in 1780 there were only 25,000 full-time weavers of all kinds employed in the whole of Scotland.
