The Triumph of Textiles – Industrial Dundee c1700-1918

Chris Whatley (University of Dundee) and Jim Tomlinson (University of Glasgow) will give an illustrated talk based on their new book The Triumph of Textiles: Industrial Dundee, c. 1700–1918

The Triumph of Textiles is an account of Dundee’s remarkable rise as one of the world’s leading textile manufacturing centres. It reveals that before ‘Juteopolis’. Dundee was the UK’s number one coarse linen producer – the basis of jute’s success. The authors challenge received opinion about the rise of linen and jute, for example by questioning the assumed importance of whale oil, and pointing to the vital role of canvas, carpets and rugs amongst the industry’s product mix. They wonder too if the image of Dundee’s workers is in need of revision; for a long time, Dundee was a magnet for migrant workers and a place of social harmony as exemplified by the occasion of the opening of Baxter Park in 1863. It was from the 1870s that social conditions came under scrutiny and industrial relations became more fractious.

Christopher A Whatley OBE, FRSE is Emeritus Professor of Scottish History at the University of Dundee where, during better times, he was Vice-Principal. He has written widely on aspects of Scotland’s history and literature. His interests range from salt manufacturing through the everyday life of ordinary people to the legacy of Robert Burns and Dundee.

He is best known for his work on Scotland’s place within the UK union. His most recent books are: Pabay: An Island Odyssey (2019), a history of and part autobiographical account of his family’s life on this small inner Hebridean island; Salt: Scotland’s Newest Oldest Industry (2022), and, with Jim Tomlinson, The Triumph of Textiles: Industrial Dundee, 1700-1918 (2024). This is the culmination of the History of Dundee project which he initiated in 1997, and which has produced three multi-authored books on Dundee’s history, along with numerous articles and papers.

Jim Tomlinson is Emeritus Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow. He has published widely on the historical political economy of modern Britain, most recently Managing the Economy, Managing the People. Narratives of British Economic Life from Brexit to Beveridge (2017) and with Jim Phillips and Valerie Wright, Deindustrialisation and the Moral Economy in Scotland since 1955 (2021).

He was Bonar Professor of Modern History at the University of Dundee from 2004 to 2013, and his books related to Dundee include Dundee and the Empire: ‘Juteopolis’, 1850-1939 (2014); Churchill and Industrial Britain: Liberalism, Empire and Employment, 1900-1929 (2025) and, with Chris Whatley, The Triumph of Textiles. Industrial Dundee, 1700-1918 (2024).

The talk takes place in Lecture Theatre 2, Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee starting at 6.30pm with refreshments served from 6pm. All are welcome – donations are requested from non-members.

Image: Opening of Baxter Park, 1863