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Anne Law

Forfar And The Rise Of The Coarse Linen Trade, C. 1727-1830

M Phil by research

Contact: jalaw1@btconnect.com

This research investigated why Forfar, the county town of Angus became the principal source for manufacturing osnaburg linen in Scotland over the course of the eighteenth century. It concludes that proto-industrialisation was the backbone of the osnaburg economy in Dundee's hinterland, exploiting the combination of sustained cheap labour, imported flax, available capital, the proximity of the port of Dundee merchants and the backing of its merchants, and the presence of key entrepreneurs of William Tod and George Dempster.

[COMPLETED 2008]