Tour Scotland early Autumn travel video, with Scottish music, of a road trip drive to Portgower ancestry, genealogy, history visit to the East coast of Sutherland in the Highlands. Portgower was built in the nineteenth century as clearance village by the Duke of Sutherland who employed a French factor. George Leveson Gower, Marquess of Stafford and first Duke of Sutherland became notorious through the part he played in the Highland clearances. Leveson Gower was born in 1758, the son of the Marquess of Stafford. In 1785 he married Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Sutherland. She had inherited the Earldom and its associated estates following a well known legal case which established the unusual principle that the Earldom could pass through the female as well as the male line. In the early nineteenth century the couple initiated sweeping reforms to their estate in Sutherland. This is where the Duke's reputation will vary, depending upon whom you are talking to. Some would say that he was shocked by the conditions his tenants were living in and he became convinced that the interior of Sutherland could not support these subsistence farmers long term. Advised to follow the latest economic and social theories he decided to resettle the population in new villages along the coast to make way for large sheep farms inland. The other, and probably more common view, is that he decided it would be more profitable for the estate to turn the land over to large scale sheep farming, and so the tenants would have to go, whether they wanted to or not. These reforms led to thousands of Scottish people being evicted from their homes and farms. Across the Highlands, it was common for the roof timbers of cleared houses to be burnt, to prevent re-occupation after the eviction parties had left. In 1819 the coincidence of this practice with a spell of dry weather and the eviction of 425 families led to the Devastation of Sutherland. 1819 became known as " the year of the burnings " in Gaelic, bliadhna na losgaidh. The Sutherland clearances were not by any means the only clearances, this period saw similar occurrences throughout Scotland, not just in the Highlands but in many rural lowland areas as well. However, the Sutherland clearances were probably the largest clearance in the Highlands, measured in terms of the probable number of people evicted. There have been calls for the statue to be removed or demolished.
The founder of the clan of Sutherland settled in the XII. century in the province of Murref, Moray, or Moravia, comprehending the modern counties of Murray or Elgin, and parts of Inverness and Banff, whence the family for several generations assumed the name of Murref or De Moravia, which they retained even after their occupation of Sudrland or Sutherland, and their elevation to that earldom. Over the years, the name Sutherland has been spelled Sutherland, Sutherlan, Suderland and many more. Alexander Sutherland, a Scottish convict was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 14 years, and transported aboard the ship Atlas on 16th January 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia; Robert Sutherland, a Scottish convict was convicted in Inverness, Scotland for 7 years, and transported aboard the ship Bussorah Merchant on 1st October 1829, arriving in Tasmania; James Sutherland, a Scottish convict was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, and transported aboard the ship Camden on 21st September 1832, arriving in New South Wales, Australia; Alex Sutherland landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Oriental; Daniel Sutherland landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840; Doctor Sutherland landed in Wellington, New Zealand
When driving in Scotland, slow down and enjoy the trip
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