''A People's History of Scotland'' is a 2014 book by
Chris Bambery.
Written from a
far left
Far or FAR may refer to:
Government
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Military and paramilitary
* Rebel Armed Forces (Spanish: '), a defunct guerilla organization ...
perspective, the book briefly covers Scottish ancient history, before documenting events from the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
until 2014, focussing on the struggle of workers and Scottish perspectives on the UK's political parties and sense of national identity.
Publication
''A People's History of Scotland'' was published in 2014 by
Verso Press. It has 374 pages.
It was written by
Trotskyist
Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
Chris Bambery.
Synopsis
The book has fifteen chapters before its conclusion.
It briefly mentions
ancient history
Ancient history is a time period from the History of writing, beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian language, ...
before delving into the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
,
documenting the historical urbanisation of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and the role of Scots in
British colonisation campaigns. It notes the pattern of a few Scottish urbanites profiting from colonial conquests and sending their earnings to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, rather than benefiting the Scottish people. It notes the rising
worker solidarity, from 1880s onwards, comparing the most robust rise of
class consciousness
In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that persons hold regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their common class interests. According to Karl Marx, class consciousness is an awa ...
with
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, both more widespread than in England. The book notes the
Labour Party leader
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
's support for
austerity
In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
measures, costing the party support in Scotland in the 1930s. Bambery writes about the influence of
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
on the Scottish sense of
national identity
National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language".
National identity ...
and as a tool to advance pacifism. He also notes the Scottish discomfort with the
Communist Party of Britain
The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) is a communist party in Great Britain which emerged from a dispute between Eurocommunists and Marxist-Leninists in the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1988. It follows Marxist-Leninist theory and su ...
and the influence of
Thatcherite
Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...
politics, prompting the
1997 Scottish devolution referendum
The Scottish devolution referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Scotland on 11 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a Scottish Parliament with devolved powers, and whether the Parliament shou ...
, devolution, and the creation of the
Parliament of Scotland
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. The book notes Scottish "disgust" for the
Iraq War
The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
amidst wider protests against
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
's "
neoliberalism
Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
".
Bambery describes
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
opportunism as deceptive, painting the party's politicians as being closer to neoliberalism than they claim. He describes Scottish independence voters as seekers of democracy.
The book's conclusion covers the increasing
wealth gap
The distribution of wealth is a comparison of the wealth of various members or groups in a society. It shows one aspect of economic inequality or heterogeneity in economics, economic heterogeneity.
The distribution of wealth differs from the i ...
in Scotland.
Critical reception
Paul Buhle
Paul Merlyn Buhle (born September 27, 1944) is an American historian, who is (retired) Senior Lecturer at Brown University, author or editor of 35 volumes, including histories of radicalism in the United States and the Caribbean, studies of pop ...
, writing in ''
Monthly Review
The ''Monthly Review'' is an independent socialist magazine published monthly in New York City. Established in 1949, the publication is the longest continuously published socialist magazine in the United States.
History Establishment
Following ...
'', described the book as "splendid".
Seán Damer, of
Edinburgh University's School of Social and Political Science, described it as "well-written, well-documented, readable and provocative", crediting the author for telling history from the perspective of working-class Scots. He describes the book as being written from a
Marxist
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
perspective.
gave the book a mixed review describing it as good and readable, but also characterising it as campaigning ahead of the
2014 independence referendum scheduled a few months after the book's publication.
See also
* ''
Bought & Sold: Scotland, Jamaica and Slavery'' (2022 book)
*
People's history
A people's history, or history from below, is a type of historical narrative which attempts to account for historical events from the perspective of common people rather than leaders. There is an emphasis on disenfranchised, the oppressed, the ...
*
Scotland in the Middle Ages
Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century.
From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a serie ...
References
External links
Publisher's webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:People's History Of Scotland, A
2014 non-fiction books
Books about Scotland
History of Scotland
History books about Scotland
Verso Books books