Highland Clearances
The Highland Clearances
The Clearances in the Highlands, and particularly in Sutherland and on Skye, were ordered to remove tenants to make room for sheep. During the time of the Clearances, more than half a million people left the Highlands. Find out what happened to them.
Why did so many people leave?
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries thousands of crofters left their farms. Some moved to towns and cities. Others emigrated to America, Canada and Australia. This period in Scotland's history is called the Highland Clearances. The government set up the Napier Commission to investigate why so many people were leaving. Both crofters and landowners were interviewed. In this task you take on the role of the Commission by weighing up the evidence and suggesting reasons why the Clearances occurred.
Womens' History Scotland
Find out more about the lives of women in this period with these short biographies on the Women's History Scotland website.