Scottish burghers

E120502

Scottish burghers were urban middle-class residents of Scottish towns, often merchants and tradesmen, who held civic rights and played a significant role in the country’s political and religious movements.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf social class
urban population group
associatedWith burgh charters
royal burghs of Scotland
country Scotland
duty defence of the burgh
service on town councils
economicRole control of local markets
development of Scottish urban commerce
participation in overseas trade
educationLevel relatively high literacy for the period
governedBy burgh law
hasCharacteristic civic rights holder
town-dwelling
urban middle class
historicalPeriod early modern Scotland
late medieval Scotland
influenced municipal institutions in Scotland
urban political culture in Scotland
involvedIn Covenanter movement
political conflicts of 17th-century Scotland
language Scots
Scottish Gaelic (in some regions)
legalStatus burgess
burgh freeman
participatedIn election of burgh magistrates
regulation of trade and crafts
politicalRole participation in Scottish burgh councils
representation in the Parliament of Scotland
relatedConcept burgess ticket
burgh
guilds in Scotland
religiousAffiliation predominantly Protestant after the Reformation
religiousRole involvement in Scottish Reformation
support for Presbyterianism
right right to own property in the burgh
right to participate in burgh governance
right to trade within the burgh
socialFunction formation of urban elites in Scotland
socialStatus above rural peasants
below landed nobility
taxObligation payment of burgh taxes
typicalOccupation merchant
tradesman
typicalResidence Scottish burgh ports
Scottish market towns
Scottish royal burghs

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Scottish Covenanters participant Scottish burghers
Three Estates of Scotland hasPart Scottish burghers
this entity surface form: Third Estate of Scotland
James Oswald partOf Scottish burghers
this entity surface form: Glasgow merchant community