Towns > Dundee > 1822 - Dundee delineated; or, A history and description of that town, its institutions, manufactures and commerce

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ered to be one-sixth part of the Inhabitants, rtiak-
g the whole amount to more than 12000.
After that dreadful calamity, and especially after
he withdrawing of Cromwell's troops, a very great
iminution of the inhabitants was too evidently ob-
erved. The loss of the shipping, and consequent
ecay of trade, the long famine which ensued to-
ards the end of that century, hurt the town so
nuch, that the decrease of the inhabitants conti-
nued. In the reign of Charles II. there was a po-
lulation only of 7172, being a deficiency of 875 ;
tnd during the short reign of James II. about the
fear 1786 or 7, there was a still farther deficiency
bf 1420, leaving only 6627 inhabitants in a place
vhich, in less than half a century before, had been
;o flourishing.
It must, however, be observed, that the above
lumbers are deduced from a calculation on the
fnarriages v/hich happened during the several pe-
iods, as there was no written record or document.
[t is well known that after the union of the sister
kingdoms, the trade of Dundee was severely hurt,
whatever may have been the general benefit aris-
ng from that event. The staple commodity of the
xade was then coarse woollen, called plaiding,
which was exported to the continent ; but, by the
loss of the privileges of a free trade with France
and Holland, the whole business was completely
mined. This, of course, greatly injured the popu-
lation, as persons were obliged to remove to those
Iplaces where they could find employment for them-
elves and bread to their families.
The population continued to languish for along