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The Douglas Family and the Leith Sugar House
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The Douglas Family and the Leith Sugar House
The
Leith Sugar House, established in 1677, was founded by
Robert Douglas and his partners.
This was one of the first sugar boiling and rum-distilling enterprises
set up in Scotland during the late 17th and early 18th centuries,
demonstrating Edinburgh's growing economic ties to the Atlantic economy
and the use of enslaved labour.
Robert Douglas, both the elder and
younger, were key figures in the Leith Sugar House. The elder Robert
Douglas was the son of William Douglas of Blackmiln, a minister in
Aboyne, and was known as Robert Douglas of Cruixton or Cruckstown. The
Douglas family claimed descent from Archibald Douglas of Glenbervie.
The Douglas family had connections to other prominent figures,
including Anna Douglas, Lady Boghall(1), who was a companion of Anne
Home, Countess of Lauderdale. Robert Douglas, both elder and younger,
were relations of Anna Douglas and benefited from a legacy she left
them.
As a merchant burgess of Edinburgh, the elder Robert
Douglas lived and worked as an "indweller in Leith," operating a
soap-boiling business that may have been the successor to an earlier
concession. He sold soap to local landowners and merchants, such as John
Clerk of Penicuik, who also purchased various sugar products.
To
help finance and operate the Leith Sugar House, Robert Douglas formed a
partnership with merchant Robert Baird of Sauchtonhall(2). They hired
expert sugar boilers from the Netherlands and England to refine the
sugar, which was initially imported from London, having originated in
the West Indies and Barbados.
Over time, the Leith Sugar House
became more self-sufficient, processing unrefined sugar that may have
come directly from the Caribbean. The Douglas family also expanded into
other businesses, including rum distillation, coal exports, and porpoise
processing.
The younger Robert Douglas continued to be involved
in the sugar industry, later partnering with Richard Morrow to operate
the Leith sugar works. He also had a brewery in Leith and acquired an
estate called Brockhouse. The Douglas family's involvement in the Leith
sugar trade appears to have ended around 1725.
The Leith sugar
industry continued in various forms after the Douglas family's
involvement, but the human cost of the sugar trade and its limited
profitability meant it was not a major driver of industrial growth in
the region.
Notes:
1. Anna Douglas was also known as 'Nan Keith' before her marriage to John Hamilton of Boghall.
2. Among Robert Baird's descendants is Sholto
Douglas, 18th Earl of Morton
3. George Douglas of Scotland (age 25) (Sugar House Close Coburg
St) Leith 1841 1841 census is listed amongst the Sugar Refiners &
Sugarbakers.
See also:
•
Sugar Refiners & Sugarbakers
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Source
Sources for this article include:
T.C. Smout , (1961). "The Early Scottish Sugar Houses, 1660-1720". The Economic History Review.Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae (Edinburgh, 1926)
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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