Enlightenment Glasgow flourishes

Glasgow was arguably the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.

It was Francis Hutcheson, Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University, who paved the way for a more moderate Church and inspired Enlightenment thinking.

Many of Edinburgh's Enlightenment leading lights were first recognised and given professorships in Glasgow. Joseph Black and Adam Smith both lectured in Glasgow. James Watt was a close friend Joseph Black and was employed by Glasgow University as appointed as a mathematical instrument maker.

The Earl of Buchan noted that in 1762:

'I attended the Lectured of your worthy Leechman, of Adam Smith, Joseph Black, John Anderson, and John Millar, a Groupe not equalled in their Departments at that time at any University in the world.'

Glasgow was a major trading port in the 18th century. The city boomed as ships criss-crossed the Atlantic between the Clyde and America. Tobacco barons invested the profits of the slave trade in lavish country houses. Wide modern Georgian streets and squares reshaped the city. Adam Smith connections with Glasgow's merchants directly influenced 'The Wealth of Nations'.

Picture credit: Photo of the Trades Hall in Glasgow. Taken by Steven Cadman and published on Flickr.