Patrick Sellar Plaque by Douglas Nelson, CC BY-SA 2.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Highland Clearances were a time when people of the Scottish Highlands were forced from their land, mostly for the personal gain of landlords. While many of these clearances occurred peacefully, some of the landlords were met with resistance from the tenants they were evicting.
In some cases, people were hesitant to leave their
properties and waited until their lease was up to leave. These cases showed
some resistance, but the protests were not as big as some other areas where
clearances occurred. The Highland
Clearances saw women taking action and leading rebellions. Some people even stole sheep as a form of rebellion. Tenants had strong
feelings of anger and resistance in the face of their evictions, and they had their own ways of letting their voices be heard.
In 1792 an “insurrection”
at Kilermorie in Ross. This was in response to the evictions taking place to
replace the tenants with sheep farming. It is said that between 200 and 400
people came together to drive out several thousand sheep from the land, with
some reports putting the number up to 10,000 sheep. Lord Adam Gordon provided
arms and ammunition to counter the protests, as he felt a military presence
would put an end to the rebellion. While the rebellion was ultimately unsuccessful,
press coverage of the protest was sympathetic towards those who were evicted.
The Sutherland clearances began in 1807, though there was an
eviction that took place in 1807. These clearances saw at least 1000 people removed
from Sutherland. Because of the frustration surrounding the clearances, the
landlords responsible for the evictions were met with riots and turbulence. Others
who were frustrated sent threatening letters to their landlords.
The Strathnaver
clearances were carried out between 1814 and 1816 by Patrick Sellar. Sellar’s
goal was to have the land of Strathnaver cleared and not have anyone return
after the clearances. He stopped at nothing to accomplish this goal, going as far
as to set fires to houses and barns. This ultimately injured and killed several
people. As a result, people who were impacted by his actions sued him and took
him to court. Even though he was declared not guilty after his trial, his reputation
was ruined and he is still seen as evil by many.
Related Articles:
-Book Review: "The Highland Clearances" by Eric Richards: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2025/06/book-review-highland-clearances-eric-richards.html
-Irish Potato Famine: https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2024/12/irish-potato-famine.html
-Beyond the Song: "Braes of Killiecrankie": https://kiltedowl.blogspot.com/2025/07/beyond-song-braes-of-killiecrankie.html