The Scottish Agricultural Revolution and the subsequent Highland and Lowland Clearances were a centuries-long transformation of farming and land ownership that reshaped Scotland’s countryside and population, ultimately forcing tens of thousands of rural Scots to emigrate or move to industrial cities. This period, roughly from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century, replaced the old run-rig system of communal farming with large, enclosed, commercially oriented farms, a change that had radically different impacts in the Lowlands and the Highlands.
Background: The Old Farming System
Before the revolution, most of Scotland’s farmland was worked under the run-rig system, where tenants held scattered strips of land in large open fields. This was a communal arrangement: villagers decided together what to plant, and the land was re-allotted periodically. The system was inefficient by modern standards, with poor drainage, little crop rotation, and frequent famines. Livestock, especially cattle, were often kept on common grazing land, and the whole community depended on a delicate balance of crops and animals to survive the harsh Scottish winters.
Land was held by landlords, but tenants had customary rights to their strips and to common pasture. This was not a free market in land; it was a web of obligations and traditions that had evolved over centuries. The population was largely rural, and most people lived in small hamlets or scattered farmsteads. The old system could support a large rural population, but it did so at a low and precarious standard of living.
How the Agricultural Revolution Worked
The changes began in the Lowlands in the early 1700s, driven by improving landlords who adopted English techniques. The core ideas were:
- Enclosure: The open fields and common grazings were divided into private, fenced farms. This ended communal decision-making and allowed individual farmers to manage their land as they saw fit.
- Crop rotation: The old infield-outfield system (where one area was continuously cropped and another left fallow) was replaced by rotations like turnips, barley, clover, and wheat. Turnips fed livestock in winter, and clover restored nitrogen to the soil.
- Improved drainage: Wet, boggy land was drained with stone or tile drains, turning marginal land into productive arable.
- New implements: The Scottish plough (a lighter, more efficient design), horse-drawn drills, and threshing machines increased productivity.
- Selective breeding: Landlords and farmers imported improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and horses, and began to record pedigrees.
These changes were often introduced by the landlord, who would sign long leases with a single tenant farmer, rather than with the old multiple tenants. The new tenant was expected to invest in the land and follow the new methods. The result was a dramatic increase in food production, but it required far fewer workers per acre.
The Lowland Clearances
In the Lowlands, the clearances were less dramatic than in the Highlands but still displaced many people. As farms were consolidated, the old sub-tenants and cottars (landless labourers) were evicted. They had no right to the land, only to their labour. Many moved to the growing industrial towns, especially Glasgow, Paisley, and Dundee, where the textile mills and shipyards offered work. Others emigrated to North America or Australia.
The Lowland clearances were a slow, grinding process rather than a sudden catastrophe. They were often carried out by estate factors (managers) who were implementing the landlord’s wishes. The people who left were not always forced; many chose to leave because the new farming system offered them no future. However, there were cases of brutal evictions, with houses demolished to prevent reoccupation. The Lowland clearances are less well-known than the Highland ones because they were less violent and more spread out, but they were just as transformative for the people involved.
The Highland Clearances
The Highland clearances were the most notorious. They occurred later, mainly between 1790 and 1855, and were driven by a different economic logic. The Highlands had a large population supported by small-scale farming (crofting) and by kelping (gathering seaweed for kelp ash used in glassmaking) and fishing. When the price of kelp collapsed after the Napoleonic Wars (1815), and when sheep prices rose, landlords saw a better return from letting their land to sheep farmers than from collecting rents from a poor, crowded tenantry.
The clearances took two main forms:
- Sheep runs: Landlords evicted whole communities to create large sheep farms, often leased to Lowland or English sheep farmers. The evicted tenants were sometimes given small plots on the coast (crofting townships) where they were expected to fish or work as labourers, but these plots were too small to support a family.
- Emigration: Some landlords actively encouraged or even paid for their tenants to emigrate to Canada, the United States, or Australia. This was seen as a way to relieve poverty and avoid the cost of poor relief.
The evictions were often carried out with force, with houses burned and people left homeless. The most famous example is the Strathnaver clearances in Sutherland, carried out by the Countess of Sutherland’s factors, Patrick Sellar and James Loch, in the 1810s. Sellar was later acquitted of culpable homicide after a trial, but the evictions were so brutal that they became a symbol of the clearances. Other notorious instances include the Island of Skye and the Isle of Lewis, where many people were forced onto tiny coastal plots.
Common Misconceptions and Debates
One common misconception is that the clearances were a single, uniform event. In reality, they varied greatly by region and over time. Some landlords were relatively benevolent, offering assistance to emigrants; others were callous and violent. Another misconception is that the clearances were solely the result of English or Lowland greed. In fact, many Highland chiefs and landlords were themselves the instigators, often because they had become anglicised and no longer felt the traditional obligations of clanship.
There is also debate about how many people were actually evicted versus how many left voluntarily. The Highland population did not fall dramatically during the clearances; it continued to rise until the 1840s, then fell due to emigration and the Potato Famine (1846-1856). The clearances were a major factor in that decline, but not the only one. The potato blight, which destroyed the staple crop of the crofters, pushed many who had survived the evictions to leave.
Consequences and Legacy
The clearances had profound and lasting effects on Scotland:
- Demographic change: The rural population of the Highlands fell sharply, while the Lowland cities grew rapidly. Scotland became one of the most urbanised countries in Europe by 1900.
- Emigration: Between 1830 and 1914, over two million people left Scotland, many of them Highlanders. This created large Scottish communities in Canada (especially Nova Scotia), Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
- Land ownership: The clearances concentrated land ownership in fewer hands. Even today, a large proportion of Scottish land is owned by a small number of private estates.
- Cultural impact: The clearances destroyed the traditional clan system and the Gaelic language’s dominance in the Highlands. They also created a deep sense of grievance and nostalgia, which has shaped Scottish identity and politics ever since.
The clearances are remembered in literature, such as the poetry of Sorley MacLean, and in the many memorials and museums dedicated to the event, like the Highland Clearances Museum in Sutherland. They remain a sensitive topic in Scottish history, often seen as an injustice that was never fully addressed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the difference between the Highland and Lowland clearances?
The Lowland clearances were earlier (from the 1760s) and were part of the general agricultural revolution that increased efficiency. They displaced people from the land, but many found work in nearby towns. The Highland clearances were later (from the 1790s) and were more directly tied to sheep farming. They were often more brutal, with mass evictions and forced emigration, and they destroyed a whole way of life.
Were the clearances legal?
Yes, in most cases they were legal. Landlords had the right to evict tenants, and the law did not protect tenants’ customary rights. The evictions were carried out under the terms of the leases, and the landlords were within their rights to change the use of their land. However, some methods, like burning houses, could be illegal, and there were a few prosecutions, though convictions were rare.
Why did the clearances happen?
The main cause was the desire for profit. Sheep farming was more profitable than renting to small tenants, especially after the Napoleonic Wars when wool prices rose. The collapse of the kelp industry also removed a source of income for the Highland population, making them a burden on landlords. There was also a belief, common at the time, that the Highland population was too large and that emigration was the solution to poverty.
Did the clearances happen only in the Highlands?
No, the Lowlands also experienced clearances, but they were less dramatic and are less well-known. In the Lowlands, the people displaced by farm consolidation often moved to industrial towns within Scotland, so they did not have to emigrate. The term “clearances” is most often used for the Highland evictions because they were more systematic and involved the removal of entire communities.
How many people were evicted?
There is no exact number. Historians estimate that between 1830 and 1914, about 2 million people emigrated from Scotland, and a significant proportion of those were Highlanders. However, not all emigration was due to eviction; many left voluntarily for economic reasons. The clearances affected thousands of families, but the total number is debated because records are incomplete.
Are there any descendants of the clearances today?
Yes, millions of people around the world can trace their ancestry to the Scottish clearances. Many Scottish Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders have Highland roots. There are also many people in Scotland today who are descendants of those who stayed, and the memory of the clearances is still strong in the Highlands.
Related
- Angry Birds Seasons: Levels, Updates, and Availability
- In Living Color Seasons: Cast, Run and Revival
- Creation Myths for Kids: Stories of How the World Began
How pages are sourced and corrected: Sources and editorial policy.