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Pre-clearances - The Gaels

To understand the Clearances fully it is necessary to understand life as it used to be in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, home of the Gaels. The Gaels are the original Scots who arrived from Ireland about 1,500 years ago.

People in the lowlands began to copy the English way of life and to speak more like the English.

Many lowlanders thought the Highlanders were barbaric.

Even one of Scotland's own monarchs, King James VI said:

"As for the Highlanders, I comprehend them all in two sorts of people: the one that dwelleth in our mainland that are barbarous, and yet mixed with some show of civility; the other that dwelleth in the Isles and are all utterly barbarous."

This view was the commonly held one throughout the rest of Britain. The popular image of the Highlander was that he was dirty, lazy, untrustworthy and without honour.

The Highlands and Islands at this time were very remote and difficult to access and few people South of the Highland glens had ever been there. Despite its remoteness it was the most densely populated area of the whole country.

In 1755, 51% of the Scottish population lived in the Highlands and were Gaelic speakers. By 1981 the figures had dropped to only 21% living in the Highlands but 74% now living in the Central Lowlands.

In the 18th century the British Army was waging war in various foreign lands, mainly against the French. Many of the soldiers fighting these foreign wars were in fact Highlanders and all contemporary writings on the Army of the day note that the Highland regiments were the bravest, toughest and most loyal of the entire British Army. They had an exemplary discipline record with no soldier of any of these regiments ever having been disciplined. The complete opposite of the commonly held view of the lazy, untrustworthy, dishonourable Highlander.

In fact although life in the Highlands was harsh the Gaels were educated and artistic. Members of a family often all learned the same profession and became famous as a family of doctors, lawyers, poets, musicians, wood carvers, or metal smiths. There were centres of learning and libraries of precious books throughout the Highlands.