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Of course, those who lost most when the land was enclosed were the lowest strata of society

The potato had been introduced as a new crop as part of the agricultural improvements in the highlands from the 1750s. The yield that could be obtained from farming potatoes was four times what could be expected from oats, and it quickly became an essential element of the highland economy.

Despite huge humanitarian efforts, often including support from the landlords themselves, thousands of people suffered and died during the Highland Potato Famine. For the landlords, their revenues from the land were drastically reduced while their expenses increased.

As a result, landowners and the government made various attempts to discourage emigration. These began in the 1750s and culminated in the clauses in the Passenger Vessels Act of 1803 intended to limit the ability of people to emigrate [Devine, 2011, p91].

• Devine, T M: Clanship to Crofters' War: The social transformation of the Scottish Highlands, Manchester University Press, 1994.
• Devine, T M: To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, 1750–2010, Penguin, 2011
• Hunter, James: Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Random House, 2011
• Johnson, Samuel: A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, London, 1775.
• MacKenzie, Alexander: The History of the Highland Clearances, 2nd Edition, Glasgow, 1914.
• Prebble, John: Culloden, Penguin, 1967.
• Prebble, John: Glencoe, Penguin, 1966.
• Prebble, John: The Highland Clearances, Penguin, 1963.
• Ryder, M.L: Sheep and the Clearances in the Scottish Highlands: a Biologist's View, in The Agricultural History Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1968), pp. 155-158

Of course, those who lost most when the land was enclosed were the lowest strata of society, the crofters and especially the landless cottars.

The potato had been introduced as a new crop as part of the agricultural improvements in the highlands from the 1750s. The yield that could be obtained from farming potatoes was four times what could be expected from oats [Sinclair, 1814, p 437], and it quickly became an essential element of the highland economy.

Unlike in Ireland the year before, relief for those suffering the effects of the Highland Potato Famine was forthcoming. However, despite huge humanitarian efforts, often including support from the landlords themselves, thousands of people suffered and died during those years. For the landlords, their revenues from the land were drastically reduced while their expenses increased.

As a result, landowners and the government made various attempts to discourage emigration. These began in the 1750s and culminated in the clauses in the Passenger Vessels Act of 1803 intended to limit the ability of people to emigrate [Devine, 2011, p 91].

• Devine, T M: Clanship to Crofters' War: The social transformation of the Scottish Highlands, Manchester University Press, 1994.
• Devine, T M: To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, 1750–2010, Penguin, 2011
• Hunter, James: Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Random House, 2011
• Johnson, Samuel: A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, London, 1775.
• MacKenzie, Alexander: The History of the Highland Clearances, 2nd Edition, Glasgow, 1914.
• Prebble, John: Culloden, Penguin, 1967.
• Prebble, John: Glencoe, Penguin, 1966.
• Prebble, John: The Highland Clearances, Penguin, 1963.
• Ryder, M.L: Sheep and the Clearances in the Scottish Highlands: a Biologist's View, in The Agricultural History Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1968), pp. 155-158
• Sinclair, Sir John: General Report of the Agricultural State, and Political Circumstances, of Scotland, Drawn Up for the Consideration of the Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement, Vol. 2, Edinburgh, 1814.

The motivating factors that led to the Highland Clearances are manifold and complex. The roots of the clearances lay mainly in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion in which the highland levies formed the backbone of Charles Edward Stuart's army. That rebellion ended with the slaughter of the Jacobite army on Culloden moor.

The agricultural revolution in Scotland had begun in the 17th century in the Scottish lowlands. There was a conscious attempt to improve agriculture in Scotland and make the land more productive. Before this, many aspects of agriculture in Scotland would be familiar to students of European medieval farming. Ridge-and furrow fields (known as "run-rig" in Scotland) and common land for grazing were the norm.

The motivating factors that led to the Highland Clearances are manifold and complex. The roots of the clearances lay mainly in the aftermath of the 1745 Jacobite rebellion in which the highland levies formed the backbone of Charles Edward Stuart's army. That rebellion ended with the slaughter of the Jacobite army on Culloden moor.

The agricultural revolution in Scotland had begun in the 17th century in the Scottish lowlands. There was a conscious attempt to improve agriculture in Scotland and make the land more productive. Before this, many aspects of agriculture in Scotland would be familiar to students of European medieval farming. Ridge-and furrow fields (known as "run-rig" in Scotland) and common land for grazing were the norm.

Of course, those who lost most when the land was enclosed were the lowest strata of society

The story is an unedifying one, and few people emerge from the episode with any honour, but the end result was the Massacre of Glencoe() on 13 February 1692. If you are interested in finding out more about the massacre, the book Glencoe, by John Prebble provides a fairly balanced narrative with an extensive list of sources and bibliography.

The 1689 Jacobite Rising was just the first of many attempts to restore the line of James II to the throne. Most of the clan chiefs remained loyal to the Jacobite cause throughout. These were the clans that suffered most in the immediate aftermath of Culloden.

In 1746, the government passed the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746. This removed most of the traditional military and judicial rights of the Clan Chiefs. Alongside this, parliament passed the Act of Proscription of 1746 which reiterated and expanded the earlier Disarming Act of 1716. This banned highland dress and allowed government troops to forcibly disarm highlanders without fear of prosecution.

In effect, these measures reduced the status of the clan chiefs to that of mere landlords and the men and women of their clan became simply tenants. The bonds of loyalty between the clan and the chief were being broken. Power was now to be measured by wealth, rather than by the number of men who followed the chief.

The system of Tacksmen had been under threat from the early 18th century. In 1712, the Duke of Argyle had put the lease (or "tack") for the Campbell property in Kintyre up for auction, rather than granting it to someone connected by clan loyalties. This increased the lord's revenues, but weakened the clan structure. Although some clan chiefs followed the Duke of Argyle's lead, most did not.

However, after Culloden, and with the decline of the military role of the clan chiefs, the tacksmen were seen to be less important, and by the early nineteenth century most tacksmen had lost their positions and emigrated to the New World. Most people now held land directly from, and paid rent to, the Highland lords (usually via their factors).

• Devine, T M: Clanship to Crofters' War: The social transformation of the Scottish Highlands, Manchester University Press, 1994.
• Devine, T M: To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, 1750–2010, Penguin, 2011
• Johnson, Samuel: A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, London, 1775.
• MacKenzie, Alexander: The History of the Highland Clearances, 2nd Edition, Glasgow, 1914.
• Prebble, John: Culloden, Penguin, 1967.
• Prebble, John: Glencoe, Penguin, 1966.
• Prebble, John: The Highland Clearances, Penguin, 1963.
• Ryder, M.L: Sheep and the Clearances in the Scottish Highlands: a Biologist's View, in The Agricultural History Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1968), pp. 155-158

The story is an unedifying one, and few people emerge from the episode with any honour, but the end result was the Massacre of Glencoe on 13 February 1692. (If you are interested in finding out more about the massacre, the book Glencoe, by John Prebble provides a fairly balanced narrative with an extensive list of sources and bibliography).

The 1689 Jacobite Rising was just the first of many attempts to restore the line of James II and VII to the throne. Most of the clan chiefs remained loyal to the Jacobite cause throughout. These were the clans that would suffer most in the immediate aftermath of Culloden.

In 1746, the government passed the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746. This removed most of the traditional military and judicial rights of the Clan Chiefs. Alongside this, parliament passed the Act of Proscription of 1746 which reiterated and expanded the earlier Disarming Act of 1716. This was the act that banned highland dress and allowed government troops to forcibly disarm highlanders without fear of prosecution.

In effect, these measures reduced the status of the clan chiefs to that of mere landlords and the men and women of their clans became simply tenants. The bonds of loyalty between the clan and the chief were being broken. Power was increasingly to be measured by wealth, rather than by the number of men who followed the chief.

The system of Tacksmen had been under threat from the early 18th century. In 1717, the Duke of Argyll had put the lease (or "tack") for the Campbell property in Kintyre up for auction, rather than granting it to someone connected by clan loyalties. This increased the lord's revenues, but weakened the clan structure. Although some clan chiefs followed the Duke of Argyle's lead, most did not. As James Hunter observed,

By insisting on commercially letting his tacks, Archibald Campbell was both abandoning the role of Chief and taking on the role of landlord. But in so doing, as he and his aides were quickly to discover, the duke - while indubitably adding to his revenues - was jeopardising the armed support on which his family had previously relied in times of trouble.

• [Hunter, 2011, p113]

However, after Culloden, and with the decline of the military role of the clan chiefs, the roles of the tacksmen were considered to be less important, and by the early nineteenth century most had lost their land and positions and had emigrated to the New World. Most people living in the highlands now held land directly from, and paid rent directly to, the Highland lords (usually via their factors).

• Devine, T M: Clanship to Crofters' War: The social transformation of the Scottish Highlands, Manchester University Press, 1994.
• Devine, T M: To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora, 1750–2010, Penguin, 2011
• Hunter, James: Last of the Free: A History of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, Random House, 2011
• Johnson, Samuel: A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, London, 1775.
• MacKenzie, Alexander: The History of the Highland Clearances, 2nd Edition, Glasgow, 1914.
• Prebble, John: Culloden, Penguin, 1967.
• Prebble, John: Glencoe, Penguin, 1966.
• Prebble, John: The Highland Clearances, Penguin, 1963.
• Ryder, M.L: Sheep and the Clearances in the Scottish Highlands: a Biologist's View, in The Agricultural History Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1968), pp. 155-158