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Main article: History of North Uist
Prehistory[edit]
The remains of Pobull Fhinn stone circle
The cairn at Langass
A number of standing stones from the Neolithic period are scattered throughout the island, including a stone circle at Pobull Fhinn. In addition to these, a large burial cairn, in almost pristine condition, is located at Barpa Langass. The island remained inhabited for at least part of the Bronze Age; a burial from this period was found on the Udal peninsula (near Sollas). For the Iron Age, in addition to the wheelhouses typical of the Outer Hebrides, the remains of a broch(fort), from the late Iron Age, can be found at Dun an Sticir; there was formerly another broch near Scolpaig, but it was replaced by Scolpaig Tower in the 19th century.[citation needed]
Kingdom of the Isles[edit]
The Suðreyjar in about 1200: the lands of the Crovan dynasty and the descendants of Somerled.
In the 9th century Viking settlers established the Kingdom of the Isles throughout the Hebrides. Following Norwegian unification, the Kingdom of the Isles became a crown dependency of the Norwegian king; to the Norwegians it was the Suðreyjar (meaning "southern isles").
In the mid-12th century, Somerled, a Norse-Gael of uncertain origin, launched a coup, which made the Suðreyjar effectively independent. Following his death, Norwegian authority was nominally restored, but in practice, the kingdom was divided between Somerled's heirs (Clann Somhairle), and the dynasty that Somerled had deposed (the Crovan dynasty). The MacRory, a branch of Somerled's heirs, ruled Uist, as well as Barra, Eigg, Rùm, the Rough Bounds, Bute, Arran, and northern Jura.
In the 13th century Scottish forces attempted to conquer parts of Suðreyjar, culminating in the indecisive Battle of Largs. In 1266, the matter was settled by the Treaty of Perth, which transferred the whole of Suðreyjar to Scotland, in exchange for the sum of 4000 marks.
Lordship of Garmoran[edit]
Main article: Garmoran
The ruins of Teampull na Trionaid, an Augustinian nunnery and "college of learning" at Carinish said to have been founded by Bethóc, daughter of Somerled, and rebuilt and enlarged by Amy of Garmoran, after her divorce from John of Islay, Lord of the Isles.
At the turn of the century, William I had created the position of Sheriff of Inverness, to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Garmoran. In 1293, however, King John Balliol established the Sheriffdom of Skye, which included the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, following his usurpation, the Skye sheriffdom ceased to be mentioned and the Garmoran lordship (including Uist) was confirmed to Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí. In 1343, King David II issued a further charter for this to Ruaidhrí's son.
In 1346, just three years later, the sole surviving MacRory heir was Amy of Garmoran. The southern parts of the Kingdom of the Isles had become the Lordship of the Isles, ruled by the MacDonalds (another group of Somerled's descendants). Amy married the MacDonald chief, John of Islay, but a decade later he divorced her. As part of the divorce, John deprived his eldest son, Ranald, of the ability to inherit the Lordship of the Isles, in favour of a son by his new wife. As compensation, John granted Lordship of the Uists to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey.
Godfrey had a younger brother, Murdoch, whose heirs, the Siol Murdoch, now claimed to own part of North Uist. This led to a great deal of violent conflict involving Godfrey's family (the Siol Gorrie) and those of his brothers.
In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence generally in the Highlands, King James I demanded that highland magnates should attend a meeting at Inverness. On arrival, many of the leaders were seized and imprisoned. Alexander MacGorrie, son of Godfrey, was considered to be one of the two most reprehensible, and after a quick show trial, was immediately executed.
Early Lairds[edit]
Traditional cottage on Uist
In 1469 James III granted Lairdship of Garmoran, including North Uist, to John of Ross, the Lord of the Isles. In turn, John passed it to his own half-brother, Hugh of Sleat.
Hugh died a few years later, and in 1505 his eldest son, John, granted North Uist (and Sleat) to Ranald Bane, the Captain of Clanranald. However, Hugh's second son, Donald Gallach, opposed Clan Ranald and established his own de facto control of North Uist and Sleat. In the following year (1506), Donald was stabbed to death by his own younger brother – Black Archibald. The king authorised Ranald Bane to retake the lands by force.
Three years later Black Archibald returned. He managed to ingratiate himself with James IV, by capturing and handing over two pirates and in 1511, the king pardoned him for his crimes, and confirmed his possession of Sleat and North Uist.
At some point before 1520, Black Archibald was murdered by Donald Gallach's son. Consequently, in 1520, James IV issued a charter awarding lairdship of Sleat and North Uist to Alasdair Crotach MacLeod the leader of the Sìol Tormoid, who possessed neighbouring lands.[citation needed]
After the deaths of Alastair Crotach and his son William in quick succession Alastair's heir was his young granddaughter, Mary MacLeod. Donald Gormson, a descendant of Donald Gallach, took the opportunity to seize Sleat and North Uist. In 1554, Mary of Guise was appointed regent and issued a "commission of fire and sword" against Gormson, who managed to successfully resist. By 1565, the tables turned when he took the queen's side during the Chaseabout Raid and was consequently back in royal favour.
The Battlefield at Carinish
Donald Gorm Mor, Donald Gormson's grandson, was granted a charter in 1596 which acknowledged him as rightful heir of Hugh of Sleat, and confirmed him as laird of Sleat and North Uist. In an attempt to solidify peaceful relations with the Siol Tormoid, Donald Gorm Mor married the daughter of their leader, Rory Mor. Unfortunately, the marriage failed catastrophically, leading to the Battle of Carinish in North Uist, the last battle in Scotland that involved bows and arrows. It led to the Battle of Coire Na Creiche, where Donald Gorm Mor won a more decisive victory, at which point the privy council intervened, and imposed a lasting peace. Donald was succeeded by his nephew, Donald Gorm Og whose loyalty to the king resulted in him being made the first Baronet of Sleat.
18th Century[edit]
View over southern North Uist
A century later, Sir Donald MacDonald, the 4th Baronet of Sleat, supported the Jacobite rising of 1715, but fell ill and was forced to flee to North Uist. When the Papists Act was passed the following year, requiring his attendance at Inverlochy, he argued that he was too ill to travel. Under the terms of the act, this made him a recusant, and his lairdships were accordingly forfeited, under the terms of the Forfeited Estates Act of the previous year.
On his succession in 1723, the 7th baronet arranged for a middleman to buy back Sleat and North Uist from the Commissioners for £21,000 and pass them on to him. In 1727, he was granted a royal charter formally acknowledging his position as laird of the Sleat and North Uist.
North Uist bard Iain Mac Fhearchair the official poet to the chief, composed poetry criticizing both the Scottish clan chiefs and the Anglo-Scottish landlords of the Highlands and Islands for the often brutal mass evictions of the Scottish Gaels that followed the 1746 Battle of Culloden. Among MacCodrum's most popular anti-landlord poems he mocks Aonghus MacDhòmhnaill, the post-Culloden tacksman of Griminish. It is believed to date from between 1769 and 1773, when overwhelming numbers of Sir Alexander MacDonald's tenants on the isles of North Uist and Skye were reacting to his rackrenting and other harsh treatments by emigrating to the region surrounding the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. The song is known in the oral tradition of North Uist as Òran Fir Ghriminis ("A Song of the Tacksman of Griminish").
19th Century - Kelp and Clearances[edit]
Kelp on the coast of North Uist
During the French Revolutionary Wars, the scarcity of external supplies of minerals to the United Kingdom led to a boom in the kelp industry, which became North Uist's main source of income. When the war ended, the availability of foreign mineral supplies led to an abrupt collapse in the demand for kelp-based products. The burning of kelp had also damaged the fertility of the land. As a result, the crofters of North Uist could no longer afford the rents. Even though the landlords reduced the rents (e.g. in 1827 the rents were reduced by 20%) many resorted to emigration.
In 1826 the villages of Kyles Berneray, Baile Mhic Coinein, and Baile Mhic Phàil, at the north-east corner of North Uist, were abandoned by their inhabitants. Although some moved further south-east to Loch Portain, most of those affected moved to Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia. By 1838, the number of people having left North Uist was reported as 1,300; before the 1820s, the population of North Uist had been almost 5,000, but by 1841 it had fallen to 3,870.
One of many abandoned buildings on Uist
The 7th baronet's heir, Godfrey MacDonal, the 4th Baron of Slate ran sheep on North Uist orchestrating one of the most notable mass evictions of the Highland Clearances. In 1849, an attempt to evict 603 crofters from Sollas caused rioting. Rocks were reportedly thrown at the police officers sent from Glasgow to quell the riot. In the convictions that followed the jury added the following written comments:
...the jury unanimously recommend the pannels to the utmost leniency and mercy of the Court, in consideration of the cruel, though it may be legal, proceedings adopted in ejecting the whole people of Solas from their houses and crops without the prospect of shelter, or a footing in their fatherland, or even the means of expatriating them to a foreign one...
In 1855, Sir Godfrey decided to sell North Uist to Sir John Powlett Orde who gained the reputation of being the worst type of landlord, utterly opposed to any attempt to improve the lot of his tenants. He, in turn, sold parts of the island to his son Sir Arthur Campbell-Orde, mainly in order to frustrate the terms of the Crofter's Acts, which could have allowed crofters to apply for more land, but only on land with the same ownership. Sir Arthur eventually inherited the whole estate; he seems to have been a very different type of landlord, and was involved in the re-crofting of Sollas and other areas."
Modern times[edit]
In 1889, counties were formally created in Scotland, on shrieval boundaries, by a dedicated Local Government Act; North Uist, therefore, became part of the new county of Inverness. Following late 20th century reforms, it became part of Na h-Eileanan an Iar.
In 1944, the Campbell-Orde family sold North Uist Estate, not the whole island, to Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, who in 1960 sold it in turn to the 5th Earl Granville, and the current laird is Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville, who lives on the island. The Granville family administers the estate through a trust fund called the North Uist Trust. Some of the machair townships, however, were taken over by the Board of Agriculture and its successors.
The population of North Uist has now dwindled to around 1,200.
