Fishing Boat On History Visit To The Outer Hebrides Scotland

Tour Scotland very short 4K travel video clip of a fishing boat on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit to the Outer Hebrides, Britain, United Kindom. The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, Scottish Gaelic: Na h-Eileanan Siar or Na h-Eileanan an Iar, sometimes known as Na h-Innse Gall, meaning islands of the strangers, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides. Scottish Gaelic is the predominant spoken language, although in a few areas English speakers form a majority. Sea transport is crucial, and a variety of ferry services operate between the islands and to mainland Scotland. Modern navigation systems now minimise the dangers, but in the past the stormy seas have claimed many ships. There are 119 islands in total, of which the five main inhabited islands are Lewis and Harris, two parts of a single island, although often described as if they are separate islands, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra. The Highland Clearances of the 19th century destroyed communities throughout the Islands of the Outer Hebrides as the human populations were evicted and replaced with sheep farms. For example, Colonel Gordon of Cluny, owner of Barra, South Uist and Benbecula, evicted thousands of islanders using trickery and cruelty and even offered to sell Barra to the government as a penal colony. Islands such as Fuaigh Mòr were completely cleared of their populations and even today it is recalled with bitterness and resentment in some areas. The position was exacerbated by the failure of the islands' kelp industry, which thrived from the 18th century until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and large scale emigration became endemic. For example, hundreds left North Uist for Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The Highland potato famine, Gaiseadh a’ bhuntàta, in Scottish Gaelic, caused by a blight, started in 1846 and had a serious impact, because many islanders were crofters; potatoes were a staple of their diet. For those who remained new economic opportunities emerged through the export of cattle, commercial fishing and tourism. During the summer season in the 1860s and 1870s five thousand inhabitants of Lewis could be found in Wick on the mainland of the North coast of the Highlands of Scotland, employed on the fishing boats and at the quaysides. Nonetheless emigration and military service became the choice of many and the archipelago's populations continued to dwindle throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. 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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