Highland clearances
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Scotland in the late 17th century
was a country of two distinct cultures. Although the population
was quite widely dispersed, the main settlements were in the
fertile Lowlands - such as the coastal areas of the rivers Forth
and Tay, the lower Clyde valley, and Aberdeen and Moray. Edinburgh
and Glasgow were now emerging as rapidly expanding centres of
urban growth, whilst Dundee and Aberdeen were the next biggest
towns. |
Highland poem, 1747
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Highlands and Lowlands
To those who lived in the Lowlands, the Highlands were virtually
uncharted territory - and James VI's description of Highlanders
as 'utterly barbarous' was symptomatic of the contempt Lowlanders
felt towards their fellow countrymen, who were often referred
to as the 'Irish'. This clash of cultures was rooted in the
differences that existed between them. The most obvious was
language: few people in the Highlands spoke English, Gaelic
being the dominant tongue. In respect of religion, the impact
of the Reformation had been muted: some areas were Roman Catholic,
others Episcopalian, whilst others retained traditions that
were pagan in origin. |
The most important difference, however,
was the existence of the clans, which gave the Highlands a tribal
character. The clans were headed by respected, powerful men
who could call upon tenants for military service in times of
crisis and who - like landowners in the Lowlands - held private
courts in which they were effectively judge and jury. |
Abolition of heritable jurisdictions
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Letter concerning
heritable jurisdictions, 1748
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During the first half of the eighteenth
century, the Highlands began to experience changes. The power
of the clan chiefs had, for some time, been declining from its
most extreme, and Highland society began to adopt Lowland codes
of behaviour. The military character of the Highlands also weakened
in some respects, although it was still fundamentally martial.
Social factors remained as obstacles to economic forces that
could have had more far-reaching effects but were not yet powerful
enough to bring about real change. |
The Highlands and the '45
For some time, support in the Highlands for the Jacobite
cause had stimulated suspicion of Highlanders. The massacre
of the Macdonalds of Glencoe in 1692 had resulted from an
attempt to secure the allegiance of clan chiefs to William
and Mary in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1689-90. Subsequently,
the participation of Highland clans in the rising of 1745
confirmed the worst fears of Protestant Whigs
in the Lowlands and in London, and at Culloden in April 1746
they took their revenge.
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List of Highland clans
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After Culloden came legislation
designed to change the nature of Highland culture. This is
now seen by historians as the culmination of a process of
extending state control over the Highlands. The carrying of
firearms in the Highlands was banned, as was the wearing of
Highland dress and the playing of bagpipes. As part of the
strengthening of government in Scotland following the Act
of Union of 1707, the judicial powers of landowners (which
had been exercised through private courts) were abolished,
along with the holding of land in return for military service.
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The actual effect of these measures
and the significance of Culloden are open to question, and the
disintegration of Highland society should be seen in the context
of the longer-term decline of the power of the clans and the
impact of economic forces. Certainly those who had long been
eager to introduce changes into the Highlands now had the opportunity
to do so. |
Thoughts concerning the Highlands
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At the same time, an
increasing demand for Highland goods, such as cattle, wool and
fish, regenerated the economy and led to changes such as the
introduction of enclosure
and new agricultural techniques designed to raise productivity.
Inevitably the old social structures gave way to less hierarchical
communities. In particular, tacksmen
- who had been a central feature of the old social structure
- were gradually eliminated and many of them emigrated to North
America. |
The clearances
In some areas these economic developments brought benefits,
but in others by the 19th century a society had emerged that
was based around small landholdings heavily dependent on potato
crops. The pressure of an increased population relying on
scarce resources caused continuing poverty and consequently
an increase in numbers seeking a new life elsewhere. The new
farming methods themselves resulted in what later became known
as 'clearances' - the forced removal of people, sometimes
to new agricultural activities in new locations. |
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Of particular significance was the
decline in the Highland economy after 1810, which left sheep
farming as the only profitable activity. The consequences for
tenants were catastrophic. Sheep farming was generally undertaken
by outsiders and tended to push existing tenants to the fringes
of the available land. Worse still, it was an option adopted
by landlords, which resulted in tenants being displaced in large-scale
clearances. In Sutherland between 1807 and 1821, in order to
make way for sheep, some 6-10,000 people were evicted and moved
to new settlements on the coast. During the rest of the 19th
century, other factors ensured that the depopulation of the
Highlands continued.
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