The Highland Clearances

 

The first wave of the Clearances began in about 1785 but it was in 1814 that the terrible burnings began. The Duke of Sutherland and his Factor, Patrick Sellar, decided that they could make more money by grazing sheep than having tenant crofters to farm the land. Thus began the cruel period where tenants were forcibly evicted from the land their families had inhabited for hundreds of years. Their fields were burned so that the cattle could not graze.  Houses were set on fire and reduced to rubble. And the people were driven out to a life of destitution to make way for the sheep. Many went to the coastal areas to try and find work in the fishing industry but many thousands went abroad, particularly to Canada, to start a new life. Until recently the most common name in the Toronto telephone directory was McRae.