The Clans
Around 250 years ago, the glens of the Scottish Highlands were full of bustling townships where people lived by farming. The Highlanders spoke Gaelic and had a rich culture of music, poetry and storytelling. The land was owned by the chief who was head of the clan. He protected his people and the men fought for him when the need arose.

After Culloden
Not all the clans fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden, but the British government punished them all. New laws were passed and government troops (the Redcoats) patrolled the Highlands.

The people were not allowed to own weapons or play bagpipes. Worst of all, they could not wear tartan or kilts. The clan chief was stripped of his law-making powers, and the clan system was destroyed.

The Great Improvers
Scotland in the 18th century was changing. People moved to the cities for work and no longer grew their own food. The British Army, at war with France, had to feed its soldiers. Landowners began using new farming methods to meet demand. The clan chiefs now realised that they could make more money from sheep farming than renting their land to tenant farmers.

Fire and Famine
Sheep farmers brought a new breed of sheep which needed sheltered grazing in the winter. Tenant farmers were using valuable grazing land and were forced from their townships. Thousands of people were evicted, often with appalling cruelty. Their homes were set alight to stop them returning, and their possessions burned. Many old and sick people died as a result. The rest began a life of poverty and hardship.

Q: What do you think the Clan Chiefs should have done?

	The Highland people could do one of four things, or face starvation. What would you have done? Coast to Coast Many families were forced to live on the coast, to make a living from fishing, kelp gathering (seaweed), or crofting (small farms). But the soil was poor and, if they improved it, the landowner put up their rent. Often, there were no fish to catch. When the price of kelp fell in 1811, crofters faced poverty once more. Cotton and Coal Thousands of people headed south to find work in the Lowland factories, shipyards and coal mines, but city life was no better. Families lived in cramped unhealthy conditions and many died of cholera or smallpox. Work in the factories was very hard, and the hours were long. Wages were low, yet they still had to pay rent and feed their families. A Soldier's Life The government rewarded clan chiefs who raised a regiment of soldiers. The chiefs called on clan loyalty, or promised the young men that their families would not lose their homes. Tens of thousands of Highlanders fought in Britain's wars abroad. Their courage and fighting skills were admired by their comrades and enemies. The New World Those who could afford a fare emigrated to America, Canada and Australia in search of a better life. Some landowners and charities paid the fares of their tenants. Around 100,000 Highlanders left for the New World, taking their language and culture with them.

The End of the Clearances
By the 1850s, there were few people left to evict. Those that remained began to stand up for themselves. They had been betrayed by their chief and let down by their church, which believed the Clearances was God paying them back for their sins.

In 1883 the government carried out the Napier Enquiry to find out why the crofters were angry. The Crofters Act was passed in 1886 which protected crofters from eviction and unfair rents.

Recently, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 has given crofters more rights, such as the right to buy the land they farm. But many feel that it does not go far enough.

	The Clans A clan is a group of people with close family links, often with the same family name. The word 'clann' in Gaelic means 'children'. Members of a clan lived in the same area. Living from the Land The chief leased land to tacksmen who rented small farms to the tenant farmers. Cottars were workers who helped the farmers with ploughing, harvesting, looking after the cattle, and cutting peat. Families lived on what they produced, or would trade goods with neighbours. Runrigs The fertile land around the townships was divided into strips, called rigs. The runrig system was the sharing of these rigs amongst the tenant farmers. They also shared pastures for grazing livestock. Q: What crops do you think they grew?

Glossary

Township
A village of tenant farmers sharing land for growing crops, and pastures for grazing livestock.