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HIGHLAND CLEARANCES
The highland clearances were events which took place after the Scottish under the leadership of Bonnie Prince Charlie were defeated by the English at Culloden in 1746.
Culloden was the final act in a long-running series of events that became the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. The battle led to the largest uprooting of Highlanders in history, and the complete alteration of the highland way of life.
The result of the English victory over Scotland was the death toll for the clan system, and the highland clearances were ripple effects of the battles outcome. The highlands of Scotland were changed forever. Large areas of land were cleared of their tenants by the landowners to make way for sheep and the people were moved to poor agricultural land and to the coast. These areas couldn't support the people and many facing starvation and burdens of rent areas emigrated to the new worlds.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth century many thousands of highlanders went overseas to seek a better life. To this day, in countries like the United States, where over half of the signatories on the declaration of independence were Scottish, many place names exist because of the displaced highlanders. They opened up huge areas of North America, Australia and New Zealand. In fact, the city of Wellington in New Zealand still has over 50% of its population of Scottish descent.
Burke's database contains many records for families affected by the highland clearances including the landowners and the families who emigrated.
They include the Murphy family, who emigrated from the Isle of Arran in 1774, and settled at Black River, North Carolina. Another family to emigrate was the McLure family. Originally from the Isle of Skye, the family emigrated to America c 1745.
Burke's records also contain the Sutherland family record, the history books tell of the infamous clearances where people were literally burned out of their townships.
Read more on the Battle of Culloden here.
Useful Resources
Timeline of significant events in Scottish history
Battle of Culloden
Battle of Flodden
Battle of Bannockburn
Jacobite
Massacre of Glencoe
Rob Roy
Robert the Bruce
Battle of Stirling
William Wallace
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