Tour Scotland short travel video clip, with Scottish music, of the Stone of Punishment, a standing stone, at A'Chill, on Island of Canna, Scottish Gaelic, Canaigh; Eilean Chanaigh; one of the Small Isles on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit to the Inner Hebrides. Situated on the top of a rocky knoll and reinforced with concrete around its base. Undoubtedly partly dressed, but its period and purpose is impossible to determine. The stone has a small hole near the top on the South face, and is locally known as the Stone of Punishment. The hole in it is said to have been where wrongdoers had their thumbs jammed in as a punishment. Canna has evidence of the island's occupation in the Neolithic era, including a small number of mysterious cellars dug into the ground. Following raids by the Vikings in the 9th century, the Hebrides became part of the Kingdom of the Isles, a Norwegian crown dependency also known as Suðreyjar. A number of large oblong arrangements of stones throughout the island are thought to possibly indicate Viking ship burials. In 1561, the Bishop of the Isles agreed to rent the island of Canna to the leader of Clan Ranald. a branch of the MacDonalds. In 1641, following the outbreak of civil war, king Charles I promised to give Canna to the Baronet of Sleat, since the Earl of Argyll's treason, as one of the king's main opponents, would make Canna forfeit; the king's subsequent defeat made this promise moot. In 1654, the war having ended, the Earl of Argyll leased Canna back to Clan Ranald. In the following year, Donald MacDonald, the son of the Clan Ranald leader, married the Baronet's daughter, Janet, quelling any potential dispute over the island. Donald had succeeded to the leadership of Clan Ranald in 1670, and in 1672 was give a new charter of Lairdship for Canna by the new Earl of Argyll. A decade later, Argyll's Rising caused the Earl's feudal authority to be forfeit, making Clan Ranald direct vassals of the king. In 1686, Donald died, and was buried on Canna. Clan Ranald tenants on Canna joined the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and of 1745, and as a consequence were not looked upon favourably by the king's forces. At the end of the 18th century, kelp harvesting became a major industry on Canna, as a result of the Napoleonic Wars limiting foreign supplies of certain minerals. However, when the wars ended, foreign supplies became available again, and the kelp price duly collapsed, causing a recession; in 1821, several of the inhabitants of Canna chose to escape their poverty by emigrating to Canada. The Clan Ranald leader was not exactly a spendthrift, meaning that the lack of income from his tenants drove him into debt; in 1827, he sold Canna to Donald MacNeil. Donald MacNeil and his son were no better at fixing the economic pressures, and when the crops failed in 1847, the son resorted to evicting most of the population and replacing them with sheep. The post Highland Clearances population is recorded as 57 in 1881, in which year MacNeil sold to Robert Thom, a ship owner from Glasgow. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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