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Crofting and Land Reform |
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“As the population grew, the crofts tended to be subdivided into ever smaller units, and, while it was true that growing potatoes a very small croft could sustain life in a good year, it could not maintain the cattle on which tenants had relied for a money income to cover their rents and other necessities”
“Scotland. The Shaping of a Nation”; Donaldson, G; London 1974
With many of the crofters struggling to survive, raising the rent wasn’t realistic. Landowners quickly realized that new land uses, such as sheep farming, would raise far more money than leasing land to crofters. And so, around 1790 the Highland Clearances began in earnest. Crofters were forced from their land by unrealistic rents, and sometimes by force. They headed to the cities, enticed by the promise of new jobs in new industries. Many thousands more emigrated to the New World, boarding ships bound for North America to join the land rush.
Those who stayed found themselves working twice as hard, producing extra grain to take to the mills in the South, or moving to the coast to fish for extra food and money. Some flitted between the croft and the cities, picking up seasonal work through the long winters. Farming began to change as well, with small farms joining together, expanding and offering board and food to young men willing to come and work there.
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