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A place that people have migrated away from (rural to urban)
St Kilda, Scotland
Location:
50km Northwest of the Western Islands. The Western Islands are found 75km Northwest off mainland Scotland.
Climate:
It is the windiest place in the British Isles (209km per hour). It can rain 2-3 weeks without stopping. However in late summer there are long sunny days because of the northerly location.
Background:
The 1851 census revealed a self-sufficient community of 180 people. From the mid-nineteenth century there were increasing links with the Scottish mainland. With better opportunities offered in industrial cities like Glasgow, the Western Islands of Scotland began to suffer from depopulation. None was affected more than St Kilda.
Life on St Kilda:
People lived in rented crofts, a single storey cottage with a hectare of land around it. Sheep and cattle were kept on the holding in winter and the moorland in summer. Oats and barley were grown close to the house and ground to make porridge. Fishing took place in summer and bird fowling was essential for survival with boiled seabird a staple part of the diet. Survival relied on co-operation. The men held ‘parliaments' each morning to plan the day's work. Women were more concerned with child rearing, weaving and spinning, tending animals and harvesting the crops.
Reasons for leaving:
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Push Factors
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Pull Factors (Scottish mainland)
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Less males so birth rate and marriages fell
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In the ninetieth century men left for better prospects in industrial Glasgow
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Extreme climate in winter
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More calls by passing ships
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Lack of food
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VHF radio broadened islanders horizons about life elsewhere
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Interesting:
The winter of 1929-1930 was the worst on record. There was no mainland contact from August to March. Food was running out. The 36 people who were left had had enough. The island was given to the National Trust for Scotland in 1954. Today the only people to visit the island are ornithologist (bird watchers), campers and tourists. The island no longer has any permanent residents.
S.Simms 2008
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