Highland Clearances
E29177
The Highland Clearances were a series of forced evictions and social upheavals in 18th- and 19th-century Scotland that displaced many Gaelic-speaking tenant farmers to make way for more profitable sheep farming and reshaped the culture and demographics of the Scottish Highlands.
Aliases (2)
Statements (67)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
agrarian restructuring
→
forced evictions → historical event → social upheaval → |
| affectedGroup |
Gaelic-speaking Highlanders
→
crofters → tenant farmers → |
| alsoKnownAs |
Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal
→
Highland evictions → |
| country |
Scotland
→
|
| culturalImpact |
memorialization in Highland diaspora communities
→
romanticization of the Highlands in literature → themes of exile in Gaelic song and poetry → |
| economicActivity |
commercial pastoralism
→
sheep farming → |
| endTime |
19th century
→
|
| hasEffect |
creation of crofting communities
→
decline of Scottish Gaelic language in the Highlands → depopulation of the Scottish Highlands → displacement of Gaelic-speaking tenant farmers → expansion of sheep farms → long-term cultural trauma among Highland communities → mass emigration from Scotland → social unrest in the Highlands → transformation of traditional clan society → |
| historicalDebate |
controversy over extent of coercion and violence
→
debate over economic inevitability versus landlord responsibility → |
| languageContext |
English
→
Scots → Scottish Gaelic → |
| mainCause |
agricultural modernization
→
introduction of large-scale sheep farming → landlord pursuit of higher rents and profits → |
| memorial |
Clearances memorial at Bettyhill
→
Emigrant Statue at Helmsdale → Highland Clearances monument at Golspie → |
| notableAgent |
James Loch
→
Patrick Sellar → |
| notableLandowner |
Clan MacLeod chiefs
→
Duke of Argyll → Duke of Sutherland → Macdonald of Sleat → |
| region |
Scottish Highlands
→
|
| relatedTo |
Crofting Acts
→
Enclosure movement in Britain → Irish Famine emigration → Scottish clan system → |
| replaced |
run-rig agriculture
→
subsistence mixed farming → traditional clan-based landholding → |
| resultedIn |
emigration to Australia
→
emigration to New Zealand → emigration to North America → growth of Lowland Scottish industrial workforce → |
| significantPlace |
Assynt
→
Glencalvie → Isle of Barra → Isle of Lewis → Isle of Mull → Isle of South Uist → Outer Hebrides → Ross-shire → Skye → Strathnaver → Sutherland → |
| startTime |
18th century
→
|
| timePeriod |
c. 1750–c. 1860
→
|
Referenced by (3)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Highland Clearances
("Highland evictions")
→
|
alsoKnownAs |
|
Scottish Highlands
→
|
historicalEvent |
|
Scottish clans
("Highland clearances")
→
|
relatedTo |