Tutor: Dr Harvey Osborne

Department: History
Module: Clearance and Famine: British Rural Society 1760-1850
Assessment 2: Essay
Title: To what extent were the years following the potato famine of
1846 a watershed in the history of the Western Highlands and
Islands?
Student Number: S231054
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To what extent were the years following the potato famine of 1846 a
watershed in the history of the Western Highlands and Islands?
The years following the failure of the potato crop saw significant upheaval to the Western Highlands
and Islands. While the famine exposed the fragility of the Highland economy, it also created far-
reaching changes that impacted the lives of its inhabitants. Looking at the social, economic and
political changes of the period, the years following the famine can be assessed on its influence in
these areas to understand its position as a watershed moment. However, it is crucial to analyse
these changes in comparison to other factors, such as that of the Clearances and efforts of
modernisation. This approach will help determine whether the famine was a distinct turning point or
an event that exacerbated existing challenges.

Economic impacts
Firstly, the decimation of the Crofting economy and establishment of poor relief serve as another
example of the Famine as a watershed moment. The famine is largely to blame for the decimation of
the existing crofting economy, as the potato served as the subsistence crop most crofters relied on
directly for food. According to Eric Richards, “The potato was one of the most important means by
which the population grown was sustained”1 As a result, the famine saw widespread destitution and
bankruptcy. as crofters frantically sold their cows and other livestock for food, which at the time
served as their main income. Unfortunately, economic strain had decimated cattle herds, with
numbers per family going from five to seven in 1790 to “in places, to two” by 18402. Additionally,
with the population having steadily increased before the famine making population density issue
even worse, while the collapse of traditional industries like kelp eliminated sources of employment
and income, the Highlanders were in a precarious and potentially inevitable situation.

The strain of this was felt by landowners and landlords. These Landlords, who on top of the relief
they were expected to provide, faced financial pressure as tenants struggled to pay rents, which
remained their main source of income. Devine notes that “the loss of income and the rising
expenditure which the crisis forced on many landed families should not be underestimated” 3, it was
a key factor in determining the course of action during the famine. With rents unlikely to be paid,
many chose to evict or assist in migrating their tenants so they could replace them with alternative
income sources. Some historians such as Robert Dodgshon suggest that the famine brought about a
second wave of clearances, as “Once the fragility of the smallholder economy had been exposed by
the 1840s famine, estates responded by seeking a nineteenth-century solution”. As a result, “the
years either side of 1850, saw some of the most comprehensive clearances for sheep in the
Hebrides”4. Such clearances, such as those done by Gordon of Cluny were particularly awful, being
responsible for “some of the most widely publicised acts of inhumanity” in particular relation to his
treatment of the Catholic island of Barra.5 With sheep prices on the rise - Cheviot wedders increased

1
E. Richards, Debating the Highland Clearances, (Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 2007), p.35.
2
M. Gray, ‘The Highland Potato Famine of the 1840’s’, Economic History Review, 7, 3, p.365.
3
T.M. Devine, The Great Highland Famine: Hunger, Emigration and the Scottish Highlands in the Nineteenth
Century, (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2021), p. 304.
4
R. Dodgshon, No Stone Unturned: A History of Farming, Landscape and Environment in the Scottish Highlands
and Islands, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015), p. 232.
5
E. Richards, The Highland Clearances, (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2000), pp.440-441.
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from around 21 shillings in 1843 to around 30 shillings in 1847 – it is unsurprising that sheep farming
was rapidly introduced to replace most crofting communities. Tom Devine supports Dodgshon’s
view, stating how the “famine clearances” have a “special significance in the history of the Highland
clearances as a whole. They were the last in the cycle of great eviction which transformed Gaelic
society”6, and in such cases as Gordon, did so in a barbaric way. Evidently, the famine had a
significant impact on the economy causing tumultuous upheaval and change in most facets of life.

However, it can be argued the economical changes attributed to the famine was not a watershed, as
the key transformations had been already set in motion prior to the famine. Clearance as a process
had long been in effect since mid-way through the eighteenth century and the economic pressures
suffered by both crofters and landlords were not solely due to the famine, but instead part of the
wider trend of economic modernisation in response to the rapid industrialisation of the period. As
Devine points out, “Between about 1800 and 1850, around two-thirds of Highland properties were
sold to wealthy Lowland and English interests.”7 The Highlands themselves had become victim to
market forces, for its suitability to breed and rear sheep and the prospect of profit by those
completely foreign to the land. Furthermore, the pre-existing vulnerability of the crofting economy,
being heavily dependent on a single crop and characterised by an unsustainable population density,
suggests these changes were inevitable even without the impact of the famine.

Social Impacts
Secondly, demographic shifts occurring at the time provide evidence of the famines potential as a
watershed moment. While “the failure of the potatoes did not lead to a mass exodus in the short
term”8, it is estimated the Highland population went from around four-hundred thousand to three-
hundred and fifty thousand by the end of the 19th century9. The famine can be directly tied to this
change in two ways by addressing the forced and voluntarily migration occurring at the time.

With the lack of potato production, the economic backbone of the Highlands had ground to a halt as
families tried to find any way to buy what food they could. This put strain on Scottish landlords, who,
to make way for better forms of income, ‘assisted’ in migrating many of the most destitute of
people, with at least sixteen thousand being emigrated this way to Canada and Australia 10. Assisted
emigration was expensive and most landlords at this time were insolvent and under trusts, so only
under the most extreme circumstances for the landlords would such a policy be enacted, especially
for the poor. Devine contends it was “a social watershed in Highland emigration as for the first time
the poorest made up the bulk of the emigrant parties”11, marking a significant shift in the social
makeup of Highland emigrant parties as a result of the famines influence.

Otherwise, those who were able took to temporary migration to find employment in the Lowlands,
which was much more industrially developed and held better opportunities. Here they hoped to
escape the situation until they could return when it had improved. According to Devine, “Between
1851 and 1891 about 25% of all women engaged in private households were of Highland origin, a
6
T.M. Devine, Clanship to Crofters’ War: The Social Transformation of the Scottish Highlands, (Manchester:
Manchester University Press, 2013), p. 62.
7
Devine, Clanship to Crofters war, p. 59.
8
Devine, Clanship to Crofters war, p. 188.
9
T.M. Devine, ‘Temporary Migration and the Scottish Highlands in the Nineteenth Century’, Economic History
Review, 32, 3, p. 355.
10
Devine, Clanship to crofters war, p. 187
11
Devine, Clanship to crofters war, p. 187
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figure markedly higher than that of any other migrant group”.12 This figure illustrates the prevalence
of temporary migration as an adaptation to the failed crofting economy, establishing the famine as a
watershed in terms of migration.

What must be noted is that migration was already occurring with the existence of the Highland
clearances and industrialisation. Much of these efforts by landlords to assist their tenants in
migration to replace them with sheep farming for profit was part of a long-standing change
occurring since the 1750’s. While most went to the newly created crofting communities, some may
have left abroad or migrated South. As noted, many also migrated to the lowlands during the
famine, but this was also not uncommon beforehand. The “typical crofter had to be able to obtain at
least 200 days of additional work outside his holding in order to avoid chronic destitution” 13, so
temporary migration for work in lowland fields and fisheries was rather normal for the time, which
may explain the issue and evolvement of migration as a precedent already established within normal
culture.

With the blistering rate of industrialisation occurring in key Lowland cities, many were further
attracted in search of new prospects. Trends in European countries saw the countless attracted to
the modernising active cities of the new age, which unsurprisingly also found its way into the
Highlands. While migration from these factors never saw the steep drop in population seen with the
famine, their existence certainly influenced why demographic shifts were one of the largest impacts
attributed to the famine. Consequently, it is essential to recognise the famine did not solely drive
these changes. Rather, it exacerbated existing migratory trends and amplified the demographic
transformation that was already underway.

Political impacts
Finally, the Famine served to influence political opinion, reform and government assistance which
caused significant changes to politics. Some of the earliest relief in response to the famine came in
the form of Destitution boards, which between 1847 to 1852 distributed meals in return for work 14,
establishing a precedent of poor relief and assistance that would carry into the future and came into
effect due to the severity of the famine. Additionally, the work of the Central Board between 1847
and 1850 helped provide necessary relief that landlords could not provide and that which the
crofters needed. It also served ostensibly to highlight the inadequacy of the almost non-existent
poor relief, which saw expansion of the poor law system in the region and the establishment of local
Parochial Boards. However, state relief was limited, withdrawing support in 1847. The central board
which bore the majority of the relief burden, wound up operations as well in 1850 15 and in the end it
was the responsibility of the landlords to support their tenants.

These Poor Laws in question put substantial pressure on landlords and “By the early 1850’s. the poor
rate in three of the parishes on the MacDonald Estate in Skye amounted to 15 per cent of the gross
rental”16. Following the famine, these pressures convinced landlords to establish further clearances.
Namely, the consolidation of and extension of sheep farming estates led to the remaining crofters
12
Devine, ‘Temporary Migration’, p. 355.
13
Devine, Clanship to Crofters War, p. 48.
14
‘Poor Relief Records’, National Records of Scotland Website,
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/research-guides/research-guides-a-z/poor-relief-records, accessed
on 17 April 2023.
15
Devine, Clanship to Crofters War, p. 56.
16
J. Hunter, The making of the Crofting Community, (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2018), p. 194.
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being “‘confined within narrow limits’ – with congestion and overcrowding, it followed, being as bad,
if not worse, than they had ever been.”17 While there was not ever widespread resistance against
the clearances caused by the famine, the famine did expose the flaws of the clearances. The
awareness of these flaws and the continuing erosion of crofter existence coupled with minimal
efforts to improve it led to the emergence of the Highland Land League political force.

The League, which advocated for the rights of crofters and the improvement of their living
conditions, played a crucial role in pushing for reform. Their efforts culminated in the Crofters
Holdings Act in 1886, which “actually had the effect of ring fencing crofts and their economy from
the more disruptive effects of wider market change”18. The Act granted Crofters various rights, which
included security of tenure and fair rents. For Divine, the act represented the future of state
involvement and argues that the “social and economic conditions and relations in the Western
Highlands and Islands could never be the same again.”19 The role of the famine in pushing landlords
to further the clearances acted as a reminder for what could happen again. The Famine provided the
crofters with the necessary motivation to mobilise and change this. In this context, the famine can
be seen as a watershed moment in political change, as it provided the necessary motivation for
crofters to mobilise and push for reforms that would improve their lives and communities.

It is important to pay attention to the extent by which these processes effected real change. With
the Crofters Act, much of the territory was “arguably, non-Highland and which had only been
influenced minimally by crofting”20. The Act, for the most part, was unable to secure what the
crofters wanted (rights to the land), so by extension, the importance of the famine for making
change to the political landscape and the lives of crofters is debatable.

In conclusion, the Highland potato famine played a significant role in shaping the economic, social,
and political landscape of the Western Highlands and Islands. While it can be argued that the famine
acted as a catalyst for far-reaching changes in these areas, it is also essential to acknowledge the
context of pre-existing trends, such as the clearances and efforts of industrialisation of the wider
European area. The famine's impact on the crofting economy, demographic shifts, and the push for
political reform and land rights cannot be understated. However, it is crucial to recognize that these
changes were often an acceleration or intensification of processes that were already underway,
rather than entirely new developments triggered by the famine alone. As such, the Highland potato
famine can be seen as a significant and transformative event, but it is not an isolated watershed
moment. Instead, it should be understood as a key factor in a broader historical context that
contributed to shaping the Western Highlands and Islands' evolution during this period.

Word Count: 2,067

Bibliography

17
Hunter, The making of the Crofting Community, p. 252.
18
Dodgshon, No stone Unturned, p. 277.
19
Devine, Clanship to Crofters War, p. 228
20
E.A. Cameron, ‘The Scottish Highlands as a Special Policy Area, 1886 to 1965’, Rural History, 8, 2, p. 198.
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‘Poor Relief Records’, National Records of Scotland Website,

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/research-guides/research-guides-a-z/poor-relief-records,
accessed on 17 April 2023.

E. Richards, Debating the Highland Clearances, (Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 2007).

E.A. Cameron, ‘The Scottish Highlands as a Special Policy Area, 1886 to 1965’, Rural History, 8 , 2,
pp.195-215.

J. Hunter, The making of the Crofting Community, (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2018), p. 194.

M. Gray, ‘The Highland Potato Famine of the 1840's’, Economic History Review, 7, 3, 1955, pp.357–
368.

R. Dodgshon, No Stone Unturned: A History of Farming, Landscape and Environment in the Scottish
Highlands and Islands, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015).

T.M. Devine, ‘Temporary Migration and the Scottish Highlands in the Nineteenth Century’, Economic
History Review, 32, 3, pp. 344-359.

T.M. Devine, Clanship to Crofters’ War: The Social Transformation of the Scottish Highlands,
(Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2013).

T.M. Devine, The Great Highland Famine: Hunger, Emigration and the Scottish Highlands in the
Nineteenth Century, (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2021).