The Port of Glasgow, 1866 - 1916.
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Although the Clyde was a recreational site, it was an important industrial centre, since between 1831 and the late 1850s, thanks to the presence of numerous shipyards and mechanical engineering companies, the Clyde became the first

shipbuilding centre in Britain. In 1871, nearly 80% of the workers in this industry worked in the Clyde region, this rate reached 90% on the eve of the First World War. Between 1890 and 1914, the Clyde built 20% of the tonnage of the world's shipbuilding.

At the end of the 1870s, about 180,000 workers worked directly or indirectly for shipbuilding, whether in shipyards, foundries, or at engine manufacturers. According to Eric Hosbawm, at that time, 75% of mechanical plant workers were skilled workers, and he estimates this rate

at 50% in shipbuilding. They formed a part of the working-class aristocracy: they earned higher wages, had indispensable know-how, controlled the organization of their work and their unions were respected by employers.

Thirty years later, as Britain prepared for war and desperately sought to increase its naval production, the situation of shipbuilding workers was paradoxically not the same: wages had fallen and employers had formed powerful associations that were determined to oppose the

labour movement. This is why the Port of Glasgow was a place of negotiation and then a place of major conflict in the 1910s. Red Clydeside is a controversial subject among historians: interpretations differ on the influence of the socialist movement on the organization of

strikes and government policy at that time, and also on the importance of the political dimension of these strikes. Were they the beginnings of a social revolution that ultimately did not take place? Was it a political movement or a movement linked to economic concerns?

The purpose of this communication is not to provide a definitive answer to this question; it will shed light on some of the causes of these strikes: it will attempt to explain the root causes of the strikes that broke out between 1866 and 1915 in Glasgow's shipyards and

armaments factories, drawing on primary sources: government archives and archives of shipbuilding companies and subcontractors.

At the time of wooden shipbuilding, marine carpenters were the main construction workers. Then, with the advent of iron and then steel, the ships became more complex and other workers, coming from the metallurgical, mechanical engineering industries, brought their respective

know-how. Shipbuilding was a particular industry, due to the presence of these segregated, specialised trades, very attached to traditional working practices. The multiplicity of trades and trade unions in shipbuilding was the result of the technological revolution: although

the number of semi-skilled and unskilled workers increased, this activity still required highly skilled workers.
Then, when steam began to compete with the sailing navy, the shipyards began to integrate a large number of skilled trades, nearly fifty : the workers working

the metal were divided into many subgroups: the workers in charge of cutting iron plates (platers),those who fixed the plates with rivets (riveters),those who drilled the plates (drillers). There were also blacksmiths and those who worked copper. For the layout of the ships,

painters, carpenters of electricians, plumbers were needed. In addition, all of these skilled workers had assistants, semi-skilled and unskilled workers, who were exploited; very little unionized at first, they were gradually integrated into the shipyard unions

(Shipwrights ' Association, Amalgamated Society of Engineers, United Society of Boilermakers and Iron and Steel Ship Builders).
- end of part 1 -
sources will be listed at the end.