In the battle of Culloden in 1745 most of one generation of my male ancestors were either
slain during the battle or beheaded afterwards by the British army. This last stand of the
Jacobite uprising, (defending independence against England), failed, ending forever the
clan system of the Scottish Highlanders. The Scottish clearances followed, making
refugees of the remaining people. The Highlanders along with slaves, serfs and itinerant
peasants were herded into the lowlands and collared and forced into the emerging
workforce that was fuelling the bourgeoning Industrial Revolution. The industrialisation
of work and the rise of the capitalist brought a new class of people into existence: the
working class. In 1838, two generations after Culloden, Daniel Mcintosh survived the
Chartist dispute in the Scottish mills. Once again the British Army was involved,
shooting at the men on the picket line. The solidarity of the men, formed through work,
held firm in the face of extreme danger. This thesis is about the descendants from the
original working class. It is also about that bond amongst men at work in the bluecollared
working class in contemporary society.
According to E. P. Thompson in The Making of the English working Class, 250 years
ago employers outlined miners as turbulent, passionate and rude. Mike Donaldson in
1991 in, Times of Our lives, says little has changed in employers' views on workingclass
men since then.