Sad Day learning about the Clearances

“1812-19 thousands of people were evicted from their black houses and holdings to make way for sheep”

Sutherland is located in the northern Scottish Highlands. There is a long history of Crofters, people of the land. Following the Battle of Culloden in 1746 – the Clans were outlawed and the lifestyle of the Highlands changed in fundamental ways that even today stirs deep emotions. There was a decision to clear the area of Crofters, many of whom were kin, I heard, not serfs, and turn the land over to pastures for sheep.

Some refused to leave and there was violence as shown in this children’s artwork in the Strathnaver Museum near Bettyhill. www.stathnavermuseum.org.uk

I hadn’t heard of Crofters and the Clearances prior to this pilgrimage. The visit to the small museum was a haunting experience that still lingers when I consider questions about different waves of migration to North America.

There is much talk about sustainability these days. Although these people were poor, and lived simple lives on the land, many written accounts in the museum from the people state they had been happy with their lifestyle.

“Between 1800 and 1939 over two million Scots men, women and children emigrate from the Lowlands as well as the Highlands. Some are forced out of their homes by landlords, many choose to leave. They mostly go to the USA, Canada and Australia. Almost half of the Scots who emigrate die young from hardship, fighting, accidents or disease.” from Volume 2 Scotland A very Peculiar History by Fiona Macdonald