 |
|
You will not get much information about this tragic turn of events in any encyclopedia. It is one of the greatest possible tragedies ever to befall the Scots people, and yet very little is known or published about it. Historically it spans a time period from about 1800 until the 1850's. One of the blackest spots on Scotland's history, it resulted in the hemorrhaging of her population, the dispersion of her sons and daughters to the four corners of the Earth. Of course, what was Scotland's loss was to be a great gain for The U.S., Canada. Australia, New Zealand and many other countries. |
|
|
ABOLITION AND PROSCRIPTION
OF THE HIGHLAND DRESS |
|
|
19 GEORGE 11, CHAP. 39, SEC. 17, 1746 |
|
|
'That from and after the first day of August, One thousand, seven hundred and forty-seven, no man or boy within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as Officers and Soldiers in His Majesty's Forces, shall, on any pretext whatever, wear or put on the clothes commonly called Highland clothes (that is to say) the Plaid, Philabeg, or little Kilt, Trouse, Shoulder-belts, or any part whatever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland Garb; and that no tartan or partly-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for Great Coats or upper coats, and if any such person shall presume after the said first day of August, to wear or put on the aforesaid garments or any part of them, every such person so offending......shall be liable to be transported to any of His Majesty's plantations beyond the seas, there to remain for the space of seven years'. |
|
|
After the defeat at Culloden, the occupying forces of King George turned their wrath against the non-combatants: men, women , children, the elderly; it didn't matter. Many families managed to escape, some young men who had been on the side of the Stuarts, made it to France or some other continental state or kingdom, to take up service there. Many came to North Carolina, where their descendants are to be found to this day. Even so, the worst was yet to come. Many of the former chiefs were in hiding and often their lands had been seized by the crown. In the next two generations the lands in the Highlands were often in the possession of Chiefs who had ceased to be chiefs in every way save for the name. These were Anglicized in education and in speech; certainly in outlook. They looked around for ways in which the old clan lands could become a source of cold cash. After all , there were now taxes to be paid, and wives who wanted more luxurious surroundings, homes to which the wealthy English in-laws and old university friends could be invited without embarrassment. This was the age of servants in livery and white wigs. The rough, Highland "gillie" just would not do at all, save for working at the stables or as a grounds keeper. Highland estates produced no cash. The old system which allowed for the keeping of cattle, bees , a few hens on the parts of the people who worked and lived on the land, produced no cash flow. At the same time, great tracts of land were being bought up by newcomers from the south. It had become fashionable to have a country estate in Scotland, to buy Scottish dress and accoutrements, to dine to the music of a piper , and to throw an annual "tartan ball"….or, simply put, "to play the Laird". Something had to be done to generate more income! |
|
|
 |
|
|
A scheme had been brought forth for clearing the land of people in order to make way for more sheep…which would be raised in very large flocks under the care of one shepherd and his dog for each of the large flocks. The people were at first encouraged to leave and a few landlords even paid to resettle them. Increasingly the methods became less and less kind. Families were simply evicted. Their walls tumbled in or their thatched roofs set afire, their meal-chests and food supplies destroyed. The factors of the estates were told to carry out the landlords' policies. Many of the factors were also the ministers of the church, whose livings were paid for by the local landlord. It gave the ministers a bad name that they did not do more for their people, although those who were not regular in their church attendance could easily be rooted out first. It should be stated that some chiefs did what they could. Norman MacLeod of MacLeod almost impoverished himself trying to help his people, MacDonell of GlenGarry was not very kind, but his brother, Father MacDonnell brought a great many of the Glengarry people and some members of other clans to Canada in 1818, where he settled them in Glengarry County, Upper Canada (Ontario). One of the most notorious of the evicting Lords was the Duke of Sutherland. It is interesting to note that Harriette Beecher Stowe, that great protagonist for the American slave, wrote much of her book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" while she was a guest of the Sutherlands, and at a time when the air around her was thick with the smoke of burning thatch and the sound of bawling cattle. Apparently Ms.Stowe, who had probably never been on a southern plantation for any length of time, did not smell the smoke nor hear the sounds of human tragedy all around her . Of course, she could not have known that on the same size ship which, before slave trading had been outlawed, the admiralty had placed a limit of no more than 400 black Africans, there were being carried a number of passengers from Scotland in excess of 600 . Many of the ships never landed their human cargoes. If cholera broke out, the ship was disallowed from mooring and had to stand off until all had died, then the ship would be burned to the water-line. At last the clans were done for. Their own chiefs had nailed down the lids of the coffins.
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Yet, many of the people descended from these victims are very proud of their clans and their names, the histories and the music. Each clan was, after all, a separate little nation once upon a time, with its own mini-culture. They have distinctive clan music, and a good piper learns that he had better learn not to play "MacDonald's Away to the Wars" at a Campbell wedding. And "Lament for Duncan Macrae of Kintail " is not appropriate for a MacDonald gathering (especially since Duncan's claim to fame is the number of MacDonalds that he did in!). In North America clanship is very strong the number of clan and family societies is amazing and this is also the case in other countries throughout the world. This society is here to provide a home for all of our name, a central point based in the old country in Scotland its self. We Hardens are proud that were never party to the clearances we followed Scott of Harden only because they were more powerfull and we had little choice, we have never been a clan although a whole area in Scotland bears our name and therefore must have belonged to a Harden at some point. There is evidence that our name goes back over 700 years but we have never had a chief of our own so we are proud of what we in this society have started, we are proud to be doing what we are doing but most of all we are proud to be Harden |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
