Glasgow: The Real Mean City: True Crime And Punishment In The Second City Of Empire
by Malcolm Archibald /
2013 / English / Mobipocket
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There cannot be many cities where crime could mean anything from
stealing a ship to singing a seditious song, but nineteenth century
Glasgow was a unique place with an amazing dynamism. Immigrants
poured in from Ireland and the Highlands while the factories,
shipyards and mills buzzed with innovation. However, underneath the
bustle was a different world as an incredibly diverse criminal
class worked for their own profit with total disregard for the law.
Robbers infested the highways and byways, a glut of garrotters
gathered to jump on the unwary; drunken brawls disfigured the
evening streets, prostitutes lured foolish men into dark corners,
conmen connived clever schemes and perfidious poisoners plotted.
There were dark and dangerous places such as the Tontine Close and
always the possibility of a major riot - with religion the excuse -
as a volatile population became angry at unjust poverty and poor
housing. It was perhaps not surprising that Glasgow formed
Britain's first professional police force and men such as
Superintendent James Smart fought to stem the crime that at times
seemed to overwhelm the city. The forces of law had to be mobile,
with the robbery of the Paisley Bank involving a coach chase as far
as London, while the robbery of Walter Baird's shop in the Argyll
Arcade took Acting Superintendent George McKay over the sea to
Belfast. The police had an often thankless task and "The Real Mean
City" chronicles the century long struggle of the forces of law and
order to bring peace to a troubled city.
There cannot be many cities where crime could mean anything from
stealing a ship to singing a seditious song, but nineteenth century
Glasgow was a unique place with an amazing dynamism. Immigrants
poured in from Ireland and the Highlands while the factories,
shipyards and mills buzzed with innovation. However, underneath the
bustle was a different world as an incredibly diverse criminal
class worked for their own profit with total disregard for the law.
Robbers infested the highways and byways, a glut of garrotters
gathered to jump on the unwary; drunken brawls disfigured the
evening streets, prostitutes lured foolish men into dark corners,
conmen connived clever schemes and perfidious poisoners plotted.
There were dark and dangerous places such as the Tontine Close and
always the possibility of a major riot - with religion the excuse -
as a volatile population became angry at unjust poverty and poor
housing. It was perhaps not surprising that Glasgow formed
Britain's first professional police force and men such as
Superintendent James Smart fought to stem the crime that at times
seemed to overwhelm the city. The forces of law had to be mobile,
with the robbery of the Paisley Bank involving a coach chase as far
as London, while the robbery of Walter Baird's shop in the Argyll
Arcade took Acting Superintendent George McKay over the sea to
Belfast. The police had an often thankless task and "The Real Mean
City" chronicles the century long struggle of the forces of law and
order to bring peace to a troubled city.