Edinburgh

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is an ancient settlement, archaeological evidence pushing its history back over 4,000 years. A fine defensive site, the growth of the city stretched from the castle along glaciated ridges in medieval times to Canongate and the abbey of Holyrood and southwards by Cowgate to Kirk o' Field. The growth of Edinburgh involved the incorporation of districts outside the castle and the development of trade and industry.

The ‘Old Town’ by 1700 was teeming with people, its population huddled in great tenements. The building of a ‘New Town’ across the deep troughs, gouged by glaciers centuries before, was a consequence of further population growth. The wealthy were the first to move into a neo-classical grid-square suburb with wide streets and magnificent Georgian houses. By 1801 Edinburgh and Leith housed 83,000 people, but the vibrant ‘Old Town’ housed the university (1583) and remained the centre of religious, legal, and social activity. Linked by bridges (1772–1857), the ‘New Town’ became a major shopping area, and financial services—banks and insurance companies—also took root in its spacious squares.

Edinburgh's development in the 19th and 20th cents. involved the absorption of previously isolated industrial and farming communities—for example, Burdiehouse, Cramond, Corstorphine, Colinton, Dean Village, Gilmerton, Leith, Liberton, Portobello, Swanston—and the deliberate relocation of population to large corporation housing estates from the 1930s. In 2000 the city's population numbered 450,000.

From Leith to Sighthill a swathe of industries and factories gave the city considerable economic diversity during these two centuries. Industry was represented by mining, paper-making and printing, tanning and leatherware, rubber, flour- and saw-milling, sugar-refining, ropeworks, cement, brick, tile, soap, glass, and pottery production, brewing, distilling, shipbuilding, and engineering, all served by excellent transport and port facilities; the Union canal (1822), the railways (1836–50), and the improvement of Leith docks reinforced the changing industrial economy.

Employment in the 20th cent. was increasingly dominated by the service sector. The Scottish banks, investment trusts, building societies, and insurance companies provided jobs in financial services; the supreme courts of Scotland—the Court of Session (1532) and the High Court of Justiciary—are located in the Old Parliament House (1640), and together with city courts are an important component; the universities (including Heriot-Watt (1964) and Napier (1992) ), the merchant company, private and public schools serve a wide constituency. Retailing and the distributive trades, hospitals, and other care institutions added to career opportunities for women. As the capital, Edinburgh was the administrative centre of Scotland, and from the 1930s the departments of the Scottish Office greatly added to service employment: since 1999 the revived Scottish Parliament has met in the city. Leisure and tourism have become major civic industries, the International Festival being a particular attraction. By 1981 about 80 per cent of Edinburgh's employment was in service industries.

From 1832 until 1885 the Liberals dominated parliamentary elections; with the split in the Liberals on religious issues and Irish Home Rule politics became more competitive and remained so, although Labour replaced the Liberals as a major force after 1920. At the general election of 2001, five of Edinburgh's seats at Westminster went to Labour, Edinburgh West to the Liberal Democrats.

John Butt