11. A Slow Death(2)

By the 18th Century, changes were taking place, not only in the Celtic world, but worldwide.

Large-scale farming, or "Great Farming" as it was called brought in new farming techniques and increased production so as to make agriculture a good commercial venture, especially if you could get your hands on large enough tracts of land.

The invention of machinery meant that fewer labourers could be employed, so many of them had to go -some into the growing cities, some far away to the corners of the British Empire, some, as we have seen, into the army and the navy. Increasing numbers of men and boys from the Celtic Fringe found their way into the floating set of coffins known as the Merchant Marine.

So both the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution began the process of urbanisation which crowded the majority of Britons into filthy and disease-ridden cities. even now, the process continues.

The population of Britain continued to expand, even in the North and the Hebrides. What were the Clan chiefs and the other owners to do with the population? One must forget the romantic vision of the Chief as the "father" of the Clan. By the 18th Century they were as much in love with money as the rest of the landowning classes.

One solution adopted by one pair of chiefs was to use the excess population as indentured labour. Indentured labour is a step up from slavery. You gather a group of people, and sell them into service for a specified period to plantation owners in the Carolinas or the West Indies. As the contractor you get paid - a great deal. your victims are lucky if they get paid anything, and the mortality rate is huge.

So let us go to Finsbay, and see what happened!



Finsbay, Harris



Seals off Finsbay
Copyright: Hazel Hambidge
and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence

Finsbay is situated in the Bays, home of the MacDonalds for over a hundred years. A tiny village, it was inhabited by families who lived in Black Houses, scratched a living from an unforgiving moonscape, supplementing their diet with fish.

One November night, the William, out of Donaghadee in Ireland, slipped into the bay. Rounding up terrified families, the sailors dragged them on board. Some of the men escaped, but the ship set sail for Ireland with about 90 souls on board, dropping off children too young to sell, pregnant women, and one dead one.

Most of them managed to escape in Ireland, but they were rounded up as "escaped felons", beaten and re-imprisoned. It was not until the magistrates realised that young children and mothers were rather strange criminals that they decided to arrest the real felons. Forewarned, they escaped.

Most of the ninety Hebrideans never saw their homes again, but it is known that some of them were given farm work in Ireland.

The villains of the piece? Their very own chiefs, Macdonald of Sleat, chief of Clan Donald, and MacLeod of Dunvegan, owners of Harris for many centuries.

Although the incident was hushed up, it may be the reason that both chiefs were notably absent from the Jacobite rebellion of 1745-6. Not much romance about the Celtic Twilight.

Life expectancy was not good in the Carolinas, and the British made huge fortunes by running millions of black slaves from Africa into the American continent. It is said the the city of Bristol is built on the bones of slaves.

Finsbay is now a quiet, tiny village with a flourishing Art gallery and a lovely guest house, Cnocnaba.

10. A Slow Death

Threats and Warnings!

I hope you all realise I am not writing a Historical text, so if the detail is scanty, you can pull more up on the internet. I don't want to give you all historical indigestion.

Also, most of the pics are our happy snaps, and if you have better ones, please oblige.

When James VI of Scotland went South to London to become James I of England, the writing was on the wall. Even the Scottish Parliament was united with that of England in 1707, mainly by bribing those involved. It was actually not a loss, but from now on, Scotland's interests would be subordinated to those of England. More infuriating, far heavier taxes were levied on Scotland, without much money being spent on improving a very poor country.

Scotland's sons and daughters went forth to populate (often unwillingly) the British Empire, and laid their bones in some strange places. On a hill in Magersfontein outside Kimberley there is a monument to those of the Black Watch and Seaforth Highlanders who died in the first trench battle recorded, near Kimberley in the Boer War. Below the hill, the African sun bleaches the veld, the springbok wheel away in the evening, and I wonder if the MacDonald who died there was one of ours.

Northern Cape Scenery: Lots of Thorn Trees



Black Watch and Seaforth Highlanders Memorial: Magersfontein



Black Watch Gathering Their Dead and Wounded:Magersfontein




The divide between the Celtic Highlands and the largely Saxon Lowlands remained and grew. The language barrier was not the only one! The Lowlands were largely Protestant, and the Highlands mostly Catholic. Until General Wade came along and started road building in 1724, only tracks and drove roads carried traffic.

A few lines from Mcgonigall, Scotland's most famous poet after Burns, and one of the worst poets, poetically speaking, that any country can boast of:

Had you seen these roads before they were made
You would lift up your hands and bless General Wade.

General Wade

No self-respecting cattle thief would agree with him! 400 kilometres of road and forty bridges ensured there was no place to hide.

And here we have an interesting verse added to the National Anthem:

Lord grant that Marshall Wade
May by thy gracious aid
Victory bring.
And like a torrent rush
Rebellious Scots to crush.
God save the King.

Four garrisons of soldiers at Fort Augustus, Fort George, Fort William and Ruthven were supposed to keep the Highlands in order.

In addition, he set up some Highland Regiments, one of which was the famous Black Watch. They are still based at Fort George, and have done duty in Afghanistan.

Our ancestors were not a peaceful lot, clans and septs of clans warring against one another, and stealing each other's cattle. It was a way of life which was not in the least romantic, and something had to be done. Done, it was, after the accession of "Dutch William", otherwise known as William of Orange to the throne in 1688. Son of a Stewart, and married to another, he was mainly interested in Holland.

Handing over several thousand pounds to pay the Clan chiefs to be good boys was a great idea, but most of it stuck to sticky fingers, so the next best thing was to teach them a lesson they would never forget.

So it was that one rainy summer day, my granddaughter Shayna and I drove into a valley. Eying the torrents of water rushing down the mountains, she said: " Gran, it looks as if the mountains are crying."

We had reached Glencoe, the Glen of the Weeping.

On a winter night in 1692, the Campbells of Glenlyon attacked the MacDonalds of Glencoe, whose guests they had been, and massacred as many as they could, women and children included. Many died in the cold when they fled to the mountains.

It caused a scandal throughout Britain, and William was even more unpopular than before.  For a monarch to be implicated in the death of 38 of his subjects was bad enough, but it was a cover-up of the revenge of the Campbells for the stealing of their cattle by the MacDonalds.

It is said that the haunting song, Crodh Chailein, or Colin's Cattle originates from a raid by the Macdonalds of Glencoe on the territory of Colin Campbell of Glenlyon when the cattle were carried off.

I heard my sister Shiela singing it in Glasgow at a competition once, long ago. What a lovely voice she had! She and I sang it together when our sister Peggy died.



 Eventually Shayna and I ended up in Fort William where I drove the wrong way down a one-way street. The police woman who pointed this out to me had nothing on what my granddaughter said. They had this wonderful conversation about senile old women, I had a finger wagged at me, and got let off.

Then Shayna wanted a trip on the loch. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we went up in the loch in the direction of Glencoe. The company was exclusively foreign (south of Hadrian's Wall etc. The young man guide piloting the boat asked if I knew anything about the area. when he learned I was a Macdonald, he changed course.

"Let me take you to the MacDonald burial island," he said. So I spent a lovely half hour exploring this beautiful place, while the amiable furriners ate sandwiches and spotted birds.



Glencoe, and the MacDonald Burial island

 And all because he had grown up in the Lundavra Road where my Uncle John lived! Thanks, Uncle John.

9. About Celtic Women

My cousin Kenny, Aunt Kennag's son, and a very amiable character, remarked on the one occasion I met him, apropos of his female relatives: "Those MacDonald women!" Well, they were fairly forceful characters, not scared of telling one where to get off, and my remaining aunt, Ina, says it like she sees it!

Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni




Check out Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni who lived in present-day Norfolk. She raised a rebellion against the Romans who had seized her property and raped her daughters. Leading a large army of Celtic tribes,she gave the Romans a run for their money before she was defeated and took poison to avoid capture. She was said to be tall, with red hair and a very loud, grating voice. But it shows one that Celtic women had much more status than those belonging to Germanic tribes.

One interesting historical fact is that Robert the Bruce, Scotland's hero king had a Celtic mother, Marjorie, Countess of Carrick in her own right, from whom he inherited a large estate. This was why the Celtic North supported him in the wars of independence.

One of the survivals of the old ways was that any Scotswomen reaching the age of 12 (!!!) became independent and could marry who she liked, as long as the lad was 14(more !!!'s). This was why young English lovers under the age of 21 made for the Border and Gretna Green, where they were married by the local blacksmith.

We know a bit about what Celtic women wore in modern times, but it tended to vary from place to place.


MacIan Woman with Arisaid



MacNicol Girl

 Most of the examples I have chosen come from the 18th Century. The MacIans were a sept of the Macdonald, one of the most famous being the MacIans known as the MacDonalds of Glencoe. This woman is quite well off, as she is wearing shoes! Normally, if it could be afforded, the woman had a large circular Celtic brooch, holding her plaid together.

Sinclair Girl

First, a chemise, a long, loose garment with a drawstring neck(One size fits all!), which could double as a night dress. If you could run to it, stays or corset, a couple of petticoats, and a skirt or dress. A short jacket might be worn. Shoes were optional. Many people could not afford them. In the Highlands both men and women went barefoot most of the time, but I have seen photographs of socks without bottoms! Over the lot went the Arisaid, a large plaid or cloak. Muffled in this,women could safely go to sleep in church during the sermon, which is why some ministers forbade it to be worn in church. As the sermon could last over an hour, my heart goes out to them.

Note the snood worn by the MacIan woman. It is just a ribbon, not the hairnet worn later on. 

MacIan Woman with Arisaig

After the disaster of the 45 Jacobite Rebellion, tartan was proscribed unless you were in the army, so the impoverished population of the Highlands and Islands wore what they could lay their hands on. It was not until late in the 20th Century that the Celtic Renaissance brought the tartan back with a bang.

Celtic Women:Aunt Ina and Chirsty

In the Hebrides, after the mid 18th Century weaving still went on, and people still used the lichens and the yellow iris to make dyes. Harris tweed was to take the upper classes by storm in the 19th century. And we all knitted.The women often had to do men's jobs as their menfolk were away for long periods in the armed forces or the Merchant Navy, so they tended to be a bit more imperious than those south of the Highland Line.

When education became compulsory in the late 19th century, girls went to school, and illiteracy vanished. We in Africa know that a literate mother is a guarantee of literacy for her children. And when senior education became compulsory in 1946, the vision of tertiary education opened up for even the poorest. 

Not for everyone, however. When I taught in Rutherglen in the 1960's, it puzzled me that so many girls in the school, a Secondary Modern, were much brighter than the boys. The headmaster sorrowfully informed me that they had been forbidden to take up their places in the local Academy by their fathers. In England it was even worse.

Well, those days are gone! But I feel the deepest gratitude towards my parents and the Hebridean community which gave a chance to all their children to get an education which had been denied to them. I even forgive Mr Mackay, our neighbour in Geocrab for chasing me to school when I tried bunking.

My last picture is of a Celtic woman you should all know. A Macdonald on both sides, she risked her life to saave a man who never showed her any gratitude. We shall hear more of her when we get on to the desperate days after the 45.

Flora MacDonald
"Her name will be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour."

(Dr Johnson)



8. What shall I wear today?

Much to our chagrin, it has always been accepted that the "little kilt" was invented in 1725 by an  Englishman, Thomas Rawlinson, who had an ironworks in Lochaber. The bulky "great kilt" was dangerous near machinery, so he invented a version which evolved into the one we know today.

HOWEVER! Someone noticed that the armorial bearings of the Chief of the Skenes carved in 1692 included not only the dexter figure wearing trews (used for riding), but the sinister figure wearing a recognisable  version of the little kilt. In addition there is an earlier carving of a Macdonald chief wearing what looks to me like a short kilt with pleats all the way round. Sorry I can't give you a picture or two, but Google Books are notoriously well protected, even if the pictures can't possibly be copywright.

Here's some consolation:



Iris Pseudacorus
Yellow Flag
Courtesy Christine Walling

 Those of you who have been to Harris will recognise these brave flowers. They abound in the marshes and round the lakes and rivers. I know that in mediaeval times they were used to cover freezing cold stone floors, and they are an important feeding habitat of the endangered corncrake. while my old schoolmate, Hamish Taylor, was taking my granddaughter, Shayna and me round the coast on a sightseeing trip,he told me that irises are  part of a past well before the kilt. Weaving has been part of our culture for centuries and the colour yellow, or saffron, was the mark of the Celt, both in Scotland and Ireland.

Indeed, the saffron shirt owed its colour to the iris. It would have taken a millionaire's bank account to dye it with actual saffron, which comes from the crocus. Hamish thinks the seeds of the iris arrived with the yellow dye from eslewhere, and there is some evidence to show that the plant possibly came, like Abraham, from Mesopotamia(modern Iraq).
The iris is on all sorts of stuff, including the French Royal Coat of Arms. It's called the Fleur de Lys. History buffs will also find it on the Ishtar gate.

Fleur de Lys



Ireland

 Funny about the "Green" of Ireland. Early Irish nationalists hated it, as saffron was traditional.

When I was young, near a river there would be a huge iron pot, made  in Falkirk, and used for dying the woollen tweed. It was also handy for laundry. With a fire underneath, you were away! As Finlay J Macdonald points out in "Crowdie and Cream", there was also a "pee tub" for doctoring the tweed to make it softer. I suppose that now we are all hygenic, there is some expensive chemical to do the same job.



Hamish's Boat!



If you ever get a chance, go for a trip with Hamish. He has great stories, and the snacks are terrific.

Remember 1956? Our last family holiday before we emigrated to Glasgow? We walked to Huisinish. I took my granddaughter there, not so long ago.



Yellow Flags at Huisinish
Courtesy Christine Walling

More anon! Thanks for all the comments. We have a new reader, Peter, whose ancestors came from Diraclett. 

He has a nice blog. I'll give you directions in my next posting!

P.S.Sinister  means left, and dexter means right.
Christine Walling lives in Ballalan, and lets me use her photographs.