Scottish Highland History

North Uist in History and Legend Like all the Hebrides, North Uist has a fascinating history, and a landscape scattered with historic sites, from Neolithic burial chambers and Iron Age forts, though medieval churches and battle-sites, to townships forged in the days of kelp trade, and the subsequent traumas of clearance and emigration. Of all the Western Isles, none has closer links with the turbulent history of Clan Donald than North Uist, and stories of their chiefs and battles are linked with sites all through the island, all set in a landscape which is one of the most varied and beautiful in the Hebrides. Bill Lawson has woven a tapestry of stories about the island and its people, drawing on formal recorded history and also the rich tradition of story and song in which the informal history of the people was passed down, but also incorporating many of his personal reminiscences of his travels through the island, to give a unique insight into North Uist and the life of its people through the ages.

The Summer Walkers: Travelling People and Pearl-fishers in the Highlands of Scotland The Summer Walkers is the name the crofters of Scotland's north-west Highlands gave the Travelling People, the itinerant tinsmiths, horse-dealers, hawkers and pearl fishers who made their living 'on the road'. They are not gypsies, but are indigenous Gaelic-speaking Scots, who, to this day, remain heirs of a vital and ancient culture. The Summer Walkers documents an archetypal and vanishing way of life.

Black Watch: The Inside Story of the Oldest Highland Regiment in the British Army The Black Watch is one of the finest fighting forces in the world and has been engaged in virtually every worldwide conflict for the last three centuries. Named after the dark tartan of the soldiers' kilts, its unique formation, raised from loyal Scottish clans in the wake of the 1715 Jacobite rebellion - make it the oldest Highland regiment. As part of the British army, their first battle abroad was in Flanders in 1745 but the regiment soon moved to North America to fight the French, and then shared the capture of Montreal, the Windward Islands and Martinique. The American War of Independence saw the regiment once again in America, fighting horrific battles and eventually storming Fort Washington in 1776. Since then the regiment has held its own from Egypt to the Napoleonic Wars, from the Crimea to the Indian mutiny, from both World Wars to Iraq. The Black Watch is the UK's most decorated regiment, combining the proud history and tradition of an organisation that has been soldiering for over 250 years.

Culloden 1746: The Highland Clans' Last Charge (Histories) The battle of Culloden, the most famous battle of the Jacobite Rebellions, heralded the destruction of the Highland Clan system. As well as covering the opposing armies and the battle in detail, the book also contains useful tourist information about the site of the battle.

Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances: Homicide, Eviction and the Price of Progress In April 1816, Patrick Sellar was brought to trial in Inverness for culpable homicide in the manner of his treatment of the Highlanders of Strathnaver. This is an account of Sellar's life and times. It shows that he was ruthless and cruel, but also that he had a streak of idealism: did he really believe that the displaced Highlanders would be better off, better fed, educated and housed in their new homes? Have the Highlanders in the end become more productive and prosperous? The author examines such questions as these, showing there is a case for Sellar's defence as well as for his prosecution. Scottish Highland History.

The Highland Bagpipe and Its Music Roderick Cannon's classic work, a definitive and critically acclaimed history of the origins and music of Scotland's most famous instrument. The eminently readable text will be of interest not only to pipers but to all those music lovers world wide who are intrigued to know more about the character and extraordinary history of the legendary pipes. Scottish Highland History.

Victorian Travel on the West Highland Line: By Mountain, Moor and Loch in 1894 This volume was originally published in 1894 to encourage the Victorian tourist to travel on the West Highland Line. The railway, which at that time had only just been completed, boasts more spectacular and romantic scenery than almost any railway in the world. We travel the same route today, beside the Clyde to Loch Long and on to Loch Lomond, Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Rannoch, Glencoe, Spean Bridge and past Ben Nevis to Fort William. Hundreds of pencil sketches illustrate the route and the rich history of the lochs and glens through which the traveller passes. Scottish Highland History.

Clan, King and Covenant: The History of the Highland Clans from the Civil War to the Glencoe Massacre This text explores the turbulent history of the Highlands during the 17th century. The signing of the National Covenant in 1638 first challenged the powers of Charles I in Scotland, but it was only when Alasdair MacDonald joined Montrose in raising the Royalist clans that the country erupted into civil war. Central to the conflict was the ancient enmity between the MacDonalds and the Campbells, Earls of Argyll, as Clan Donald attempted to reclaim their ancestral lands in Argyll. Political and religious tension mounted with the accession of James VII of Scotland (James II of England) as a Catholic king ruling over a predominantly Prebysterian people. It reached a climax in the outbreak of the Highland War, when Viscount Dundee won a devastating victory at Killiecrankie on behalf of James VII over the Prebysterian forces of Lowland Scotland, but at the cost of his own life. Subsequently the Crown imposed an uneasy peace upon the Highlands, after the cold-blooded plotting of "murder under trust" culminated in the Glencoe Massacre. Condoned by William of Orange, few events in the blood-stained history of the Highland clans have quite the dreadful resonance of this act, carried out so cynically as a matter of public policy.

Inverness: Highland Town to Millennium City Norman Newton's beautifully illustrated new history of Inverness focuses on the rapid development and change in the city over the last two hundred years. He vividly recalls the colourful characters and dramatic events that are part of Inverness's rich recent history. Although Inverness is one of the fastest growing cities in the UK, it retains a sense of history, as befits the capital of the Highlands. From the Witch of Tomnahurich to the Battle of Culloden, images of the past pervade the present. The narrative gives a keen insight into the character and makeup of the modern city and the surrounding area, and it provides a particularly strong portrait of the local people. The book is generously illustrated with a combination of old and new photos, maps and engravings, and the text is based on years of meticulous research.