The Highlands had traditionally been a problem area for the British government. In the 18th century Highlanders had been viewed as barbaric, backward and dangerously violent. The Jacobite rebellion stirred up most support among the highlanders. When the Jacobites had been defeated there was an attempt to assimilate the Highlands more fully into the British state. By 1815 the image of the highlander had transformed to that of proud and heroic defender of the British Empire. The subsequent romanticisation of the Highlands was aided by authors such as Sir Walter Scott and by the highland people's contribution to the British army. This paved the way for a later assertion of Highland culture.
In the late 18th century a number of Highland societies began to appear mostly interested in Highland dress and the preservation rather than promotion of the Gaelic language. These included the Highland Society of Scotland founded in 1784 and the Gaelic Society of London founded in 1878. The membership of these clubs tended to be wealthy and landowning.
They helped make Gaelic more recognised and respected and also helped the massive growth in popularity of highland dress, particularily tartan and the kilt. Their effect did not end there as Durkacz put it in The Decline of the Celtic Languages "Tory romantics re-Celticised them [the highland people] into a polite, politically sterile charicature of themselves". The popularised and romanticised view of the Highlands that had been created was far removed from reality.
The reality included land shortage, famine, poverty, emigration and clearances. Although Gaelic culture was more assertive in this early period and Highland symbols were adopted as Scottish national symbols there were serious problems not being addressed. The Highlanders lacked political power and influence and so most people remained in the dark about the situation.
The Highlanders saw themselves differently from how the outside world saw them. It was the middle and upper classes, mostly in the Lowlands who were wearing kilts not the crofters. One important aspect of Highland identity was religion. Evangelical Protestantism had performed well in the Highlands and after the Disruption of 1843 the Free Church became well established. The religious divide helped to aggravate the tension between the landowning class and the crofters. In some areas the local landowners refused to grant sites for the Free Church. Although this would have created more tension it is an over generalisation to suggest the religious divide was strictly along class lines. The Free Church was an important part of Highland identity and a source of pride which helped restore confidence among crofters. It helped to define the new Highland identity and acted as a consolidating factor for the crofters. Also although the Free Church was often sympathetic towards the crofters plight it had no set policy or campaign to support the crofter movement and involvement often came down to the individual.
