Leith is located to the north of Edinburgh on the south side
of Firth of Forth. Following the loss
of Berwick to the English it became Scotland’s premier port and remained so for
several centuries.
In the early centuries Leith’s trade was with the Hanseatic
League and the Low Countries. The
main imports at this time were wine and claret from Bordeaux with timber from
the Baltic and linen, lace and fancy goods from the Low Countries. The principal exports were whisky, wool and
hides. This trade is evident from many
of the Leith street names such as Baltic Street, Elbe Street, etc. In later centuries the main exports were
coal and dry and salted fish.
The history of Leith is in many ways the history of Scotland
in miniature, Leith’s fortunes or misfortunes reflecting those of
Scotland. Because of its importance to
Edinburgh, as the capital of Scotland, it was the gateway for kings, queens and
princesses entering Scotland from Margaret who became wife of Malcolm III to
Mary Queen of Scots, mother of James VI and his wife Anne of Denmark and to
George IV, the first monarch to return to Scotland since Charles II.
Until 1833 Edinburgh had the superiority over Leith but the
Burghs Act of 1833 gave Leith its independence which it retained until it
became part of the City of Edinburgh in 1920.
Leith’s history is not, however, all about kings and
queens. It is also about the “ordinary”
people who lived and worked in Leith – the docks, shipbuilding and heavy
industries as well as the many shipping companies with headquarters in Leith
employed the majority of Leith men.
The history of Leith is about its people, it has always had
cultural and religious tolerance and accepted many from different cultures into
the fold. It has much to offer people
interested in social, maritime and industrial history of the port.
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