The ''Edinburgh Courant'' was a

broadsheet newspaper A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid–compact formats. Historically, the broadsheet f ...

from the 18th century. It was published out of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Its first issue was dated 14–19 February 1705 and was sold for a

penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

. It was Scotland's first regional newspaper and it was produced twice weekly for five years, thereafter continuing as the ''Scots Courant'' until April 1720.

History

The paper was first printed in 1705 by James Watson printer but only 55 copies were issued. In 1706 it briefly continued under the name "Scots Courant" before becoming dormant. In 1718, the ''Edinburgh Evening Courant'' began publication, as an evening newspaper, being first printed by James MacEwan, or McQueen or McEwen on the High street section of the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

, published three times per week as a Whig publication in opposition to the Jacobite paper the

Caledonian Mercury The ''Caledonian Mercury'' was a newspaper in Edinburgh, Scotland, published three times a week between 1720 and 1867. In 2010 an online publication launched using the name. 17th century A short-lived predecessor, the '' Mercurius Caledonius'', ...

. passing to his protege, Alexander Kincaid in 1735. It survived until the ''

Edinburgh Evening News The ''Edinburgh Evening News'' is a daily newspaper and website based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded by John Wilson (1844–1909) and first published in 1873. It is printed daily, except on Sundays. It is owned by National World, whic ...

'' came into existence in 1873. It was founded by

James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biology, molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper in ''Nature (journal), Nature'' proposing the Nucleic acid ...

(who had also published the '' Edinburgh Gazette'' from 1700) and had its main printing office was at Craigs Close at 170 High Street on the

, the premises generally being known as the King's Printing House. In 1725, during the time of the Scottish

Malt Tax riots The malt tax riots were a wave of protest against the extension of the English malt tax to Scotland. The riots began in Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton on 23 June 1725 and soon spread throughout the country. The fiercest protests, the Shawfield rio ...

, rival political factions used – or at least attempted to use – newspapers including the ''Edinburgh Evening Courant'' and the ''Caledonian Mercury'' as their "mouthpieces", as a letter from the then book trade apprentice Andrew Millar indicates. Millar was apprenticed to James McEuen, who had been printer, editor, and principal bookseller of ''The Edinburgh Evening Courant'' since 1718. Like other Scottish newspapers of the period, the ''Edinburgh Evening Courant'' published advertisements offering rewards for the return of runaway slaves that had been brought to Scotland, since slavery was still assumed to be legal on Scottish soil. An advertisement placed in the ''Edinburgh Evening Courant'' on 13 February 1727 stated that:

Run away on the 7th instant from Dr Gustavus Brown’s Lodgings in Glasgow, a Negro Woman, named Ann, being about 18 Years of Age, with a green Gown and a Brass Collar about her Neck, on which are engraved these words ��Gustavus Brown in Dalkieth his Negro, 1726.”Whoever apprehends her, so as she may be recovered, shall have two Guineas Reward, and necessary Charges allowed by Laurence Dinwiddie Junior Merchant in Glasgow, or by James Mitchelson Jeweller in Edinburgh.

Editors

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

, author of the 1719 novel ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

'', and then based at Moubray House, was its editor in the early 18th century. James Hannay, Naval History writer, was its editor from 1860 to 1864.

References

External links

''Concise History of British Newspapers''The Word of the StreetAncestry.com

''The Scotsman''
{{Scottish newspapers 1705 establishments in Scotland 1873 disestablishments in Scotland Publications established in 1705 Publications disestablished in 1873 Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Mass media in Edinburgh History of Edinburgh

History

Editors

Archives

References

External links