Glasgow was at the center of the development of a global carbon economy and was itself transformed by coal and then oil technologies during the nineteenth and twentieth century. Join this tour to explore some of the key locations in a story of invention, industry, empire and local and global justice and injustice. The tour will be led by Dr Ewan Gibbs from the University of Glasgow, who is a historian of Scotland’s energy industries. Starting at the Finnieston Crane and exploring its history of hauling locomotive engines on to steamships bound to far flung locations, walk along the Clyde and through sites at the city center. On the way we’ll meet imperialists, industrialists, dockers, locomotive engineers, urban planners, sailors, tram drivers, soldiers and suburban commuters. Over the course of seven stops, we’ll come to see that Glasgow’s heavy industries and role in commerce gave the city a central place in the globalized economy of the nineteenth century, including in the making of the early oil industry. As the tour progresses, the transformation of the urban environment and social life through the ripping up of older coalfuelled transportation and the rise of the car will also become clear. These choices were inherently political and inevitably had losers as well as winners. They also had a lasting impact on the local and global environment. The tour is open to all, and no previous knowledge is required. Dr Ewan Gibbs is a lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow. His research interests include energy history, work and labour and working-class politics and protests. He is the author of Coal Country: The Meaning and Memory of Deindustrialization in Post-war Scotland (University of London Press, 2021).

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