On the Crofters' Trail: In Search of the Clearance Highlanders

by David Craig

In the Clearances of the 19th century, crofts - once the mainstay of Highland life in Scotland - were swept away as the land was put over to sheep grazing. Many of the people of the Highlands and islands of Scotland were forced from their homes by landowners in the Clearances. Some fled to Nova Scotia and beyond.

David Craig sets out to discover how many of their stories survive in the memories of their descendants. He travels through 21 islands in Scotland and Canada, many thousands of miles of moor and glen, and presents the words of men and women of both countries as they recount the suffering of their forbears.

Genres: Scotland, Nonfiction, History, Travel

360 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 1990

About the author

David Craig (b. 1932) was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and the University of Aberdeen. From 1959 to 1961 he lectured in English at the University of Ceylon. He was subsequently Organising Tutor for the Workers' Educational Association, West Yorkshire.

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid research and storytelling.

I happened upon this book at a charity shop, 12 months after visiting the Outer Hebrides. It was a touch of fate as I never would have sought this out specifically.

I read to learn more about the history of Clearances, specifically from South Uist which my family was forced to leave in 1849. (An ancestor was referenced as the subject of a newspaper article in 1906. But sadly no specific stories of the family. It was a great hook to keep me reading though!!)

It's obvious that Craig has spent decades of his life on listening to stories passed down about the Clearances, and I appreciate all of that work. It wasn't an easy read or fun really, but I did enjoy learning from Craig's travels and research and the stories he conveys.

My opinion, it was a bit plodding in points, started to feel redundant, and flip-flopped back and forth on timelines which is difficult as a reader. And I didn't get much from all of the poems and songs but I still appreciate that Craig included those for their historical and cultural value as well as a connection to his poetry.

But the #1 thing missing are definitions for all the Gaelic and crofting terms. Next edition - footnotes, man. I actually started adding my own to help future readers (family members I'll be passing this on to).

[Raido D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing collection of oral history of the descendants of the dispossessed Gaels (and Shetlanders and Orcadians, in the latter chapters) who were brutally evicted from their ancestral lands, or put into a choke-hold of poverty so austere that taking a one-way trip to the "promised lands" of Canada, America or Australia was often the only solution. This book is an extremely valuable source of history as it was remembered by people; history so painful and yet so poignant that it was passed down several generations. From the northern reaches of Manitoba to Barra, David Craig crossed the land in search for stories that not even OS maps often recognise with their lack of demarcation of cleared townships, despite visibly demarcating Iron Age brochs and cairns. The reason why I have rated this book 4/5 stars is because Craig's personal narrative and insights into the land can sometimes veer into stereotypes (especially in Canada) and by the end of the book I was finding them tedious at times. Nonetheless, his writing is eloquent yet lucid, and his tone appropriate for a re-telling of the oral narratives of the Clearances.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

The inhumanity of people against people. In the late 20th Century, the author sets out from his home in Aberdeen to learn what he can of the horrific eviction of Scots from their homes in the 1800s. Wealthy landowners preferred to have sheep on their lands rather than those poor people that had lived on the land and worked it for centuries. Although Craig‘s bibliographic research is impressive, here he sought out the memories of these Clearances that been been passed down in families. In doing this he covered a lot of territory, as he interviewed not only those that managed to remain in Scotland (on the Inner and Outer Hebrides, Sutherland, Ross,Orkney and Shetland), but also those who were forced out (Cape Breton and Prince Edward Islands, Ontario and Manitoba). Throughout, he challenges the reader to imagine the reality for those Crofters who were forced to leave not only their homes, but their homelands. In the North of Scotland, he even walks the trails those people would have trod, with what remained of their belongings. The pain inflicted by those in power is so difficult to take in: looms and roofs set on fire; milk dumped out; elderly, sick and pregnant Crofters abandoned to the elements. Those that did manage to stay were treated like slaves. The New World was most often a new place of suffering, where even fellow Scotsmen who had left voluntarily, abused them. In the Foreward to the 2006 edition, Craig likens the Clearances to the evictions of native people in Africa by British colonists. Whereas now there is beginning to be an open discussion of the Clearances in Scotland, for many years it was covered up. Not only does Craig present a thorough and important history, but his writing is superb, especially in his descriptions of the landscape. I read it slowly, but was entranced throughout. (I was also quite often amazed at New to meVocabulary from Scotland: Mutch; haugh; creel; fanks ; pawky; plouter ; stravaiging, etc. (= cap; low-lying meadow; basket; sheep pen; having a mocking sense of humor……)

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an attempt to gather the oral history of the Highland clearances, from the places in Scotland where people where evicted from their homes as well as from places in Canada where many emigrated and started new lives. It gave me a much deeper appreciation of my adopted home, understanding how the landscape used to be when these communities existed, and the greed and cruelty that resulted in so many losing their homes and way of life. It should be required reading for anyone living in the Highlands and Islands.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed this book from a friend, following a chat about the history of the clearances.

When I began I knew almost nothing about the clearances and reading his journeys and oral histories made the history come alive far more than just a written history, especially as he followed the routes of those that suffered being moved on.

Good though the book was, it isn't a fun read, and sometimes the language makes it a difficult and slow read that took me a long time to complete.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der Autor machte sich auf die Suche nach Menschen, die entweder in Schottland oder in Nordamerika lebten und die die Erlebnisse ihrer Vorfahren erzählen konnten. Er machte sich auch die Mühe, viele Orte in selbst zu besuchen und kann so von einer sehr persönlichen Warte aus berichten.

[Guido · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Craig tells the stories of those people from the Highlands and Islands who were cleared off their lands in the 19th and 20th century, through the eyes of their descendants. He has travelled far and wide, across Canada and Scotland, to gather the tales. The stories are at times heartrending, and serve to underline the purpose behind the land reforms of the 1880s and later years. A land struggle that is on-going today.