History of Edinburgh Page 4
Commerce
The city's focus was now on the New Town, while the Old Town fell into disrepair.
Commerce, however, still had its place and printing, publishing and brewing were
important industries.
Among the most famous sons of Edinburgh from the 18th and 19th Centuries are
three writers; Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle. Scott was a great patriot and his writing is credited with stirring
resurgence in nationalist feeling. The adventurous stories of Stevenson and Conan
Doyle have captured the imagination of readers the world over. In many respects,
during the Victorian era and the first years of the 20th Century, Edinburgh was
eclipsed by Glasgow. Photo: Sir Walter Scott Statue
After World War One, Edinburgh's City Council began clearing
people from their homes in the Old Town, offering new accommodation in peripheral
housing schemes. Unlike other cities, which embarked on similar ventures, the
new council housing in Edinburgh was built in a sympathetic style and generally
of good quality. The clearance provided the opportunity to renovate parts of the
Royal Mile. While Edinburgh continued to attract writers, artists and
intellectuals, unrest was brewing. Resentment of the Roman Catholics in the city
led to mass protests and riots headed by John Cormack who demanded that all
Catholics should leave Scotland. But the unrest was short lived and Cormack soon
disappeared from prominence, despite retaining a seat on the council until
1962.Around the same time, administrative control of Scottish affairs returned to
Edinburgh in the form of the Scottish Office. A new building to serve as the
headquarters of the Secretary of State was designed for Calton Hill opposite the
Royal High School. After World War Two, Edinburgh consolidated its reputation as a
cultural centre with the first Edinburgh International Festival in 1947.
Edinburgh Today
More than 50 years on, the summer festival remains the largest arts festival in
the world. The banking and insurance industry, always strong in Edinburgh
following the establishment of the Bank of Scotland in 1695, and the Royal Bank of
Scotland in 1727, took on a new importance in the post-war years. In the late
1960s, the city's first merchant bank was founded and within a few years
Edinburgh was a commercial and financial centre to rival London or Zurich.
Now,
Edinburgh, as well as being a commercial and cultural centre, is once more a seat
of government following the opening, in 1999, of the first Scottish Parliament for
almost 300 years. Photo:Princes Street Gardens
Edinburgh History, page 1
Edinburgh History, page 2
Edinburgh History, page 3
Edinburgh History, page 4
|
