From Clan to Clearance

by Keith Branigan

This large, well-illustrated book is the culmination of fifteen years of historical and archaeological research into the history of Barra and its people from the time of the Vikings to the notorious clearances of 1850/51, as revealed by archaeology and hundreds of historical documents tucked away in archives in Scotland, England, Italy and Canada. The book describes the homes and workplaces of the population from Kisimul Castle and Eoligarry House, to the blackhouses and shielings of the ordinary clansmen. It pieces together their way of life, and for the first time uses archaeology to reveal just what it was like to live in a blackhouse. There is also a special study of the township of Balnabodach, one of the most romantic settings in the whole of the Hebrides where one of the most notorious dramas of the Clearances was played out. There is also a chapter by renowned Canadian historian J L Bumsted.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Barra from the Norsemen to Napoleon (AD 871-AD 1820)
The historical archaeology of Barra
The excavation of historical sites on Barra, Vatersay and Sandray
The history and archaeology of a crofting township
Pottery usage in a crofting An overview ( David Barker )
The rise and fall of the kelping industry in the Western Isles ( J M Bumsted )
General Macneil and Colonel Collapse and clearance (Barra from 1822 to 1851)
Emigration from Barra to Barra North 1770-1850
Epilogue

252 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2005