Another day spent leisurely pootling the tranquil narrow lanes of the Minginish Peninsula. This is Fiskavaig, a scattered community that comprises a mix of renovated houses, contemporary Scandinavian-style new builds, and the occasional working croft. In the near distance is Ardtreck, featuring its captivating galleried dĆ¹n. In fact, if you examine that photograph closely, on the right you can make out the headland from where today’s picture was taken.
My impression is that this western side of the peninsula possesses a more rugged terrain, characterised by towering cliffs and deep, steep, wooded valleys. Such challenging topography would undoubtedly have posed difficulties for clearing land for agricultural purposes. Consequently, it becomes all the more remarkableāthough perhaps not entirely surprisingāthat a particular episode in its history unfolded.
During the 19th century, the small townships of Portnalong and the surrounding areas, including Ardtreck, underwent a forced clearance of their crofters by Macleod of Macleod. In this distressing event, numerous homes were burned down. The driving force behind this tragic occurrence was the desire to establish an expansive sheep-farming operation, which necessitated the removal of all crofters from the land. As every patch of greenery held great value to Macleod, the crofters had no choice but to make way for the sheep1āThe Chatty Side of the News | Edinburgh Evening News | Tuesday 14 December 1954 | British Newspaper Archiveā. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/19541214/166/0006> [accessed 5 June 2023].
To transport the evicted inhabitants overseas, two ships were dispatched. However, due to insufficient accommodation on board, not everyone could be embarked, leaving some behind. These displaced individuals then built houses in the vicinity of Fiskavaig and attempted to settle once again. Unfortunately, their respite proved temporary as another ship was later sent to forcibly remove them. Eventually, all of them became exiles on the other side of the Atlantic.
In 1888, a spat emerged in the Inverness Courier between Macleod of Macleod2I assume this would be Norman Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod, son of the evicting Laird<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Magnus_MacLeod_of_MacLeod> [accessed 6 June 2023] and Myles Macinnes, the secretary of the Skye Land League. Macinnes cited damning evidence submitted to a Royal Commission in 1883, which exposed the actions of the Macleod family and the Macaskills, to whom Macleod of Macleod had sold a portion of the estate3āMACLEOD OF MACLEOD AND THE SKYE CROFTERS, | Inverness Courier | Tuesday 31 January 1888 | British Newspaper Archiveā. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000446/18880131/100/0005> [accessed 5 June 2023].
The clearances commenced around 1818, and in the Bracadale area alone, no fewer than two thousand people were evicted. They were treated like livestock, herded onto ships bound for foreign lands. Those who remained were forced to gather along the shoreline, constructing makeshift shelters using boat sails positioned below the high-water mark. Anyone who dared to offer them a night’s shelter risked eviction themselves. There is one account of a man who did just that. His home was demolished, and set on fire which had to be extinguished with water. The distress caused his wife to experience a mental breakdown.
In 1924, the Board of Agriculture resettled the Portnalong area with families from the Outer Hebrides, bringing life back to the township that had been ravaged by the destruction of crofts4āThe Chatty Side of the News | Edinburgh Evening News | Tuesday 14 December 1954 | British Newspaper Archiveā. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/19541214/166/0006> [accessed 5 June 2023].
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- 1āThe Chatty Side of the News | Edinburgh Evening News | Tuesday 14 December 1954 | British Newspaper Archiveā. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/19541214/166/0006> [accessed 5 June 2023]
- 2I assume this would be Norman Magnus MacLeod of MacLeod, son of the evicting Laird<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Magnus_MacLeod_of_MacLeod> [accessed 6 June 2023]
- 3āMACLEOD OF MACLEOD AND THE SKYE CROFTERS, | Inverness Courier | Tuesday 31 January 1888 | British Newspaper Archiveā. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000446/18880131/100/0005> [accessed 5 June 2023]
- 4āThe Chatty Side of the News | Edinburgh Evening News | Tuesday 14 December 1954 | British Newspaper Archiveā. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000452/19541214/166/0006> [accessed 5 June 2023]
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