HNC: Social Sciences Investigation: The Highland Clearances

Thomas Rutherford
Rational
The Highland Clearances were one of key historical events in Scottish history because it was
the beginning of a period of great change for Scotland. The highland clearances where a
major factor in the large amount of emigration in Scotland from 1830 to 1939, this
emigration was a result of wealthy land owners forcing many people out of their homes in
order to clear land for more profitable endeavours such as cattle or sheep farming.
Additionally this period saw a marked change in Scottish culture with the decline of the can
system and a rise in a more anglicised style of government which lead to land owners
neglecting their social responsibilities and viewing the people who lived on their land not as
fellow clan members like in decades prior but as obstacles in the way of their profit. This
period also saw a distinct change in agriculture as a result of the highland clearances, the
people who were not forced of their land became far less reliant of subsistence farming and
more dependent on other sources of food such as fishing o temporary migration.
Research question
To what extent were the Highland Clearances an act of greed and betrayal on the part of the
ruling class in the Highlands?
Aim
This investigation sets out to explore the nature of the Highland Clearances. It will examine
primary and secondary sources in order to establish the economic, social, political and
cultural reasons for the clearances. It will examine the historical perspectives and reach a
conclusion on whether the clearances should be viewed as an act of greed and betrayal on
the part of the ruling classes)
Timescale

Date Activity Time Allocated

2/12/2019 Read through the Investigation pack 1 hour

First History class on topic - aftermath of Jacobite 3 hours

Rebellion 1745
9/12/19 Second History class on topic – the complex reasons for 3 hours
Highland Clearances.

Began the planning stage of the investigation and 2 hours

completed the plan
16/12/19
23/12/19 Looking or additional research and taking notes in order 3 hours
to advance my investigation

5/1/20 Writing the essay 2 hours

10/1/20 Fully proof reading the essay 2 hours

27/1/20 Essay due date

10/02/2020 Submitting final copy to ilearn 15 minutes

Methods
I will be using secondary methods as I have no way of conduction any form of primary
methods, additionally I will be using both a mixture of primary and secondary sources of
information as that will allow me to get a good balance of reliable information form the
individuals who experiences the highland clearances and accesses the expertise of historians
Bibliography
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland Online Service [online]
http://statacc.blogs.edina.ac.uk/tag/emigration/ [Accessed ]
Judah, B. Independent 15th December 2015 [online] Available from
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-highland-clearances-and-land-reform-in-
scotland-the-countrys-semi-feudal-great-estates-face-a6774631.html [Accessed ]

The Sutherland Clearances [online] available at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/scotland/highland/article_5.shtmlb [Accessed ]

McConville, B (2005) Clearing the air on the Clearances. The Scotsman 13.09.05 [online]
http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1272&id=1927552005 [Accessed ]

Learningonscreen.ac.uk. (2009). Home · BoB. [online] Available at:

https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/99295.
Learningonscreen.ac.uk. (2009). Home · BoB. [online] Available at:
https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/158726.
Learningonscreen.ac.uk. (2009). Home · BoB. [online] Available at:
https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/158729 [Accessed 16 Dec. 2019].

The Highland clearances

Thomas Rutherford
ID: 063350990
Content
Introduction
Explanation of methods
Findings
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction
During the 18th and 19th centuries there was a huge shift in the population of Scotland, in
the highlands a large portion of the population was relocated to places all across the British
Empire some moved to the low land while others went abroad to places like India and
Canada, this event was known as the “Highland clearances.” The issue of the highland
clearness is one that sill divides historians to this day, some claim that the clearances were
an act of brutality and greed where many were forced from their homes by landlords
looking to make profit and having no concern for the human cost of their efforts while
others claim that the clearances were nothing more than individuals seeking a better life for
themselves. In this essay I will address to what extent the highland clearances were an act of
greed and betrayal on the part of the ruling class of the highlands, I will do this by both
analysing primary and secondary sources and bringing in my own historical knowledge and
then coming to a conclusion on the issue of the highland clearances.
Methods
This research used a wide range of both primary and secondary sources
Findings
After the battle of Culloden in 1746 the Jacobite rebellion was finished, the rebels were
defeated and the powers that be were free to use their new land how they see fit, in order
to ensure that Scotland would remain pacified the government choose to eradicate the clan
system and the clan lords that supported the rebellion replacing them with new landlords
sympathetic to Britain after this the new landlords sought to make their land profitable they
did this by forcibly removing the people how lived on the land, according the source A which
an analysis of a book written by John Prebble just 40 years after the events of the clearances
making it a secondary source. According to the source the land lords “cleared the crofts of
men women and children using police and soldiers where necessary” (Source A) additionally
he wrote that the clearances were the “story of people and how sheep were preferred to
them, and how bayonet, truncheon and fire were used to drive them from their homes” this
source clearly supports the idea that the clearances were an act of greed by the ruling class
as it shows how many were forced from their homes to make way for more profitable
ventures. This source is useful as it provides a clear overview of the events being discussed.
During the clearances there were many changes occurring in the highlands improvements to
agriculture and the introduction of new livestock brought economic growth and wealth to
the region, one of the most prominent new livestock brought to the region were sheep who
played a huge role during the clearances as they were the primary reason many were forced
from their home. Another reason many were forced to leave their home was rent, many
landlord increased to rent to live on their land so much that most were unable to pay and
had to leave, and this was done by the landlords in order to make room for sheep farming
and for another of their most profitable endeavours, sporting estates these sporting estates
were used by many wealthy individuals for hunting and made the owners of such estates a
very large profit, this made them very attractive to the new highland lords and their new
land, all they needed to do to make the land suitable for one of these states was to clear off
the people living on it to make way for the wild life such as deer for the wealthy game
hunters to shoot.
While many people were forced to leave their homes in the highland by the landlords
looking to use the land for more profitable things such as sheep farming and sporting
estates many also choose to leave, migrating to the more industrialised lowlands or even
emigrating to other parts of the empire such as Canada, India or Australia. There were
many reasons why people left the highlands, those who moved to the lowlands often did so
in order to find better industrial jobs that were not available in the highlands these jobs
often paid better and were more flexible than other jobs available in the highlands which
encouraged people to migrate. The majority of the people who emigrated from the
highlands at the time were poor unskilled workers this was likely due to the change in
industrialisation that was taking place in Scotland at the time which left less room for
unskilled workers within society. This change put these workers way of life under threat as
long as the remained in the highlands so many chose to leave to try and find a better life in
other parts of the empire, but as many were poor they often could not afford to move on
their own, so many landlords and wealthy individuals set up emigration agency’s to help
support poor working class people to move across the world.
During this time the highlands were highlands were heavily overpopulated according to
source B which is an extract of a transcript of a parliamentary committee making it a
primary source there were 45-80,000 more people in the west highlands than needed to
sustain the region requiring around £70,000 to provide for them during the winter of 1836-
37. The government believed that the best option for dealing with this issue was to
encourage emigration to other parts of the empire. Another factor that pushed people to
leave the highlands was poverty, many people who lived in the highlands were desperately
poor adding on the increases in rent from the land lords and the recent potato famine that
devastated the regions food supply the only option left for people was to leave their home
and travel somewhere new.
Many historians believe that the clearances had a huge human cost, one such historian is
Alexander McKenzie who in her book which makes it a secondary source states that “Deaths
of vulnerable young and old who could not survive the harsh conditions many crofters found
themselves in when forced off their land” (McKenzie, 2012) this extract is useful as it shows
how many of the people in the highlands suffered due to the clearances. Another historian
who emphasized the human cost of the clearances was John Prebble, he shows the brutal
and horrific methods used by the landlord in his book “the highland clearances,” a
secondary source, where he says that “It [the highland clearances] was the story of people…
and how bayonet, truncheon and fore was used to drive them from their homes”(Prebble,
1972) this quote is useful as historical evidence as it shows the sheer levels of violence and
brutality used by the landlords in clearing people from their land as well as showing view
that the landlord took of the crofters claiming that “sheep were preferred to them” this
clearly show the contempt that the landlords had for the crofters seeing them as worth less
than animals proving just how little empathy that the land lords had and that their actions
where that of greed and betrayal.
While there are many historians that see the highland clearances as an act of greed and
betrayal on the part of the land lord there are some who doubt the forced nature of the
clearances one such historian is Michel fry from source D. This source was written long after
the clearances had finished making it a secondary source. He claims that the highland
clearances were similar to the housing policy of the post war labour government claiming
that they were “well-meaning but in the even misconceived” this source is useful as it show
how fry believes that while the clearances may have not been the best executed the
intentions behind them were good this is also evidenced by his claim that the clearances
were meant to give people “new homes and new livelihoods from new industries.” Fry
continues on to claim that the alleged clearances could not have been ruthless at all sighting
the increase in population in the region during the period asserting that many landlords
including the infamous duke of Sutherland were naïve liberals rather than the tyrannical
lords they were made out to be. This is useful as historical evidence as it show how fry
believed that rather than being heartless and cruel the land lords were benevolent only
trying to help their tenants, showing how their actions were not that of greed and betrayal.
Many historians of this period also point out the much wider social and economic reasons
for the clearances, one such historian is T.M Devine from source C a secondary source as it
was written after the clearances, in the source they point out that many background
influences played a significant role in the wave of clearances that occurred during this
period such as the economic recession that occurred in the 1820, the falling cattle prices
and the total collapse of the kelp manufacturing industry and the rise of modern chemical
industries, all the while the population of the highlands continued to increase. These
conditions according the Devine pushed landlords into removing the “redundant”
populations living on their and as they feared having to pay huge relief costs if they stayed
and with no other viable option the landlords were forced to start removing people. This
argument is useful as historical evidence as it gives a much wider view of the clearances and
show how many landlords may not have wanted to remove the people on their land out of
greed but rather they removed them out of necessity showing that the actions of the land
lords may not have been entirely one of greed and betrayal.
Conclusion
In conclusion there were many reasons for the highland clearances to have occurred and
there is much debate surrounding them with some believing that the clearances were an act
of pure brutality and evil from the landlords while other view is as a genuine attempt to
make people’s lives better, one of the more sinister reasons for the clearances was the
destruction of the clan system in order to pacify Scotland so it might never again threaten
England, a further reason was the pure pursuit of profit by greedy landlords who valued
sheep over human lives clearing people out of their homes to make way for farming and
hinting estates, however there were also much more benevolent reasons for the clearances
such as people voluntarily moving to seek a better life for themselves having been
supported to do so by the landlords as well as the high levels of poverty in the highland
which encouraged many to leave to get better paying jobs down south and in other parts of
the empire. In my opinion while some of the landlords may have believe that they had the
best interest of their tenants in mind the majority were unconcerned with the human cost
of their actions and pursued profit above all else making the highland clearances largely an
act of greed and betrayal on the part of the landlords.

Bibliography
Devine, T.M. (1987) The Highland Clearances Refresh 4 [online].
www.ehs.org.uk/dotasset/721f012e-8ccf-4ab8-9841-c7dfdb52ab9c.pdf [Accessed Jan 2020]
Evidence from the Parliamentary Select Committee on emigration 1841. Select Committee
on Emigration, Scotland: British Parliamentary Papers 1841, Vol VI, CMD Ref. (182), qq.
1491-2017.; CMSIED 9704154
McConville, B. (2005). Clearing the air on the Clearances. The Scotsman 13.09.05 [online]
http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1272&id=1927552005 [Accessed Jan 2020]
McKenzie, A. (2012). The History of the Highland Clearances HardPress Publishing, London
Prebble, J. (1972). The highland clearances. Penguin Books Ltd, London
The Sunday Herald. (2005) [online]. Now I can prove highland clearances were a myth
revisionist historian compared to Holocaust denier for claiming notorious evictions were
“well-meaning.”
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12406091.Author_Now_I_can_prove_clearances_w
ere_a_myth_revisionist_historian_compared_to_Holocaust_denier_for_claiming
notorious_evictions_were_well_meaning_apos_/ [Accessed Jan 2020]

Evaluation
3.1 One thing that could have been done differently is the essay could have been more
thoroughly spell checked in order to improve the quality of the essay as proper spelling is a
necessity. Another improvement that could have been made is a better explanation of the
nature of the sources as for some of the sources and explanation of them being primary or
secondary was not given.
3.2 The conclusion leave much open for further research and allows for additional research
questions to be asked such as, what are the long term impacts of the highland clearances on
Scotland.
3.3 Conducting this research had led to the development of many new skills as well is the
improvement of other skills. One such skill that has been improved is referencing,
conducting this research as significantly improved my ability to properly reference a work as
a significant amount of this essay needed to be properly referenced, another skill that has
been improved by conducting this research has been my research skills, this essay required
a large amount of research to be conducted before it could be written and because of this
my research skills have been heightened.
3.4 One strength of the research method used is that it provides a wide range of
information relevant to the subject area as well as a depth of knowledge useful for the
investigation, however one limitation of this method of research is that some sources can be
difficult to understand or interoperate as some primary sources are written in a manner that
may be difficult to understand for a modern reader making them less useful as historical
evidence.
3.5 One strength of the findings is that it near fully achieved what it set out to achieve as it
very thoroughly explores the period and provides strong evidence for a conclusion. Another
strength of the findings in this report is how well presented they are. The findings in this
report are presented in a manner that is consistent, methodical and easy to understand
making them more useful as evidence for the conclusion. A third strength of this reports
findings is the lack of bias, both sides of the argument over the highland clearances were
presented in a fair and clear way with no opinion being drawn until the conclusion making
the findings stronger as a result. One limitation of the findings of this report is the
availability of information. Some information that would have been important to the
findings of this report was not able to be found such as information on how the clearances
effected other parts of the British empire and the rest of the world as a whole making the
findings less useful as evidence for the conclusion.