Diseases and plagues have rocked world history, causing untold damage and claiming countless lives. Although still prevalent in the world today, modern advances in medicine and detection have made life a lot easier for those living today.
Dundee History Archive
How to use the archive
Just keep scrolling down to see the most recent posts, and click previous at the bottom of the page to see more – be warned there are over 130 stories here! If you’re looking for something specific, use the search bar (there’s one in the footer on every page if you keep scrolling down, you’ll find it!) or click on any category (like crime and death, or wars and battles – the ones with the coloured backgrounds below each post) or one of the words in the tag cloud below to see all posts in a specific theme.
We hope you enjoy reading all the stories about Dundee’s dark history we’ve put together for you, but if you’re looking for things to do in Dundee why not take one of our walking tours!
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The Howff
The Howff is an iconic landmark in Dundee’s city centre, a calm oasis and a peaceful resting spot to sit in the shade of the well kept trees and shrubs. But as well as housing the graves and crypts of Dundee’s great and the good, the land itself also has a dark history.
Debauchery
Surprisingly little in the way of research has been undertaken into the history of sex, gambling and drunkenness in Dundee. There is a lot of information from the late-nineteenth and early twentieth-century about the lives of the mass female workforce in Jute Mills
The Mars Training Ship
For sixty years, the Mars Training Ship lay anchored on the River Tay at Dundee and it became a famous local landmark, embedded in Dundee history.
Murder in Dundee
Dundee recently earned itself the notorious title of “Murder Capital of Scotland”, based on it’s percentage of murders to overall population. It’s certainly not something we as a city should be proud of.
Black magic & the occult
For decades, there have been rumours about supposed black magic rituals being undertaken in well-known local sites such as Balgay hill, the Law, Ballumbie, Templeton Woods and Claypotts Castle, to name but a few.
The Meal Riots
In 16th century Scotland, a series of riots began to unfold along the East coast of Scotland. Believed to have started in Fife, the riots quickly escalated and involved hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of angry protestors.
The Storming of Dundee
On the 1st of September 1651, General George Monck, Commander-in-chief to Oliver Cromwell, captured the town of Dundee. A bloody battle ensued, provoked by Cromwell’s outrage at the Royalist stance of it’s people.
Tay Rail Bridge Disaster
In the midst of a terrible storm, a train travelling over the Tay bridge to Dundee plummeted into the murky waters of the River Tay, taking with it every life on board. The evening of 28th December 1879 will always be remembered in Dundee’s dark history.