Mackenzie's History of the Highland Clearances, Scotland : The Hebrides etc

The History of the Highland Clearances

By Alexander Mackenzie

Published by Alex. Maclaren & Sons, Glasgow, 1946. Second Edition. Hardback book with dust jacket. 286 pages.

CONDITION
A good copy of the second edition. The dust jacket is in good condition with a little wear to the top of the spine. Boards and spine are good. Bookplate and sticker to front endpaper. Pages very clean throughout. Overall a very good copy.

ABOUT THE CLEARANCES
The Highland Clearances were the forced evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860.

The first phase resulted from agricultural improvement, driven by the need for landlords to increase their income – many had substantial debts, with actual or potential bankruptcy being a large part of the story of the clearances. This involved the enclosure of the open fields managed on the run rig system and shared grazing. These were usually replaced with large-scale pastoral farms on which much higher rents were paid. The displaced tenants were expected to be employed in industries such as fishing, quarrying or the kelp industry. Their reduction in status from farmer to crofter was one of the causes of resentment.

The second phase involved overcrowded crofting communities from the first phase that had lost the means to support themselves, through famine and/or collapse of industries that they had relied on. This is when "assisted passages" were common, when landowners paid the fares for their tenants to emigrate. Tenants who were selected for this had, in practical terms, little choice but to emigrate. The Highland Potato Famine struck towards the end of this period, giving greater urgency to the process.