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Paper short abstract:

Following the Napoleonic wars Scottish Romantic antiquarians contributed to the craze for Scottish tartans. This influenced the marketing of Turkey red cottons from the Vale of Leven, contributing to a transoceanic trade in cotton which was entwined with colonialism, capitalism and slavery.

Paper long abstract:

Between the French Revolution and the mid 19th century Romantic antiquarians broadened historical enquiry by studying local customs and manners and by amassing the tangible material evidence of the past--in short, by pushing history into everyday life- and by marrying a concern with primary sources with an imaginative grasp of history, involving the marriage of internal and external realities.

This was a period that saw the emergence of ethnographic museums and an increased interest in remote rural communities. Often a source of embarrassment to 20th century anthropologists, who preferred to stress the philosophical roots of anthropology, Romantic antiquarianism helped to shape the ethnographic project in ways that remain poorly acknowledged, even now.

At the same time that Romantic antiquarianism was flourishing the cotton trade had become a large part of the Scottish economy. Most cottons were made for export. Scottish firms specialising in Turkey red went to great lengths to ensure their designs would be acceptable to specific regional markets, not only in India but in remote islands in the Pacific that had become a focus of overseas missionary activity in the 19th century.

To understand the reception of imported Turkey red calicos, and their impact, we need recognise the importance of textiles across the Pacific region, the ritual use of cloth and also the importance of the colour red, which was valued across the whole Pacific. In other words, in order to achieve a more nuanced understanding we need a broader focus with a wider geographic and temporal range.