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The Changing Face of The Highlands (Chapter Three)

© Simon Hill

Throughout the clearances there was little protest action from the crofters when compared to the Irish but the situation in Ireland was different. Absentee alien landlords were the main focus of dissent and protest for the Irish rural population. In Scotland the population of the Highlands seems to have had difficulty in accepting the change in relationship between landlord and tenant. They often still expected the landowners to fulfil certain social obligations and failed to realise the relationship had become purely economic. This led to the naïve belief that the Factor was responsible for all the bad things and that if the landowner only knew the situation they would certainly help. This attitude would have helped the landowners enormously and greatly reduced the likelihood of protest. It should be mentioned that not all landowners ignored perceived social obligations however, those who did not found it difficult to remain profitable. The crofters of the 1870's no longer had these expectations and so had less of a problem with protesting about the landowners actions.

The lack of protest, although there were fifty known incidences between 1780 and 1855 of challenges to the authority of the law, was only really suprising when compared to Ireland. It was not unusual compared to the rural class in many other countries who, lacking legal rights and money, did not want to take on the government with all their resources. It must have been obvious to many that they could not possibly win, and generally, while the police may have been defied, the sight of troops was always enough to disperse the protesters. The level of violence rarely rose above stone throwing or sheep mutilation as there was not the same intensity of feeling as in Ireland. Violence in Ireland was more intense due to the combination of greivances, not just land issues but independence and religion were at stake.

The Gaelic language was an important feature of Highland identity and along with Highland life it had been culturally devalued. It had been seen as backward and in many places had almost dissappeared being replaced by English which had become almost universally required for life in Scotland by the 1870's. The demise of the Gaelic language had been aided by the temporary migration of crofters to the lowlands and by a greater demand within the Highlands for English to be taught in schools. This movement was reflected in the Education Act of 1872 which included no provision for the teaching of Gaelic. This act would also have improved education in the Highlands, which had previously been poor. The improvement in education paved the way for the politicisation of the Highland population.

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