Old Photographs Benbecula Outer Hebrides Scotland

Tour Scotland wee video of old photographs of Benbecula, Scottish Gaelic: Beinn nam Fadhla, or Beinn na Faoghla, an island of the Outer Hebrides. The island is also known in Gaelic poetry as An t-Eilean Dorcha " the dark island ". The well known tune " The Dark Island " was written by accordionist Iain MacLachlan from Benbecula. The island lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist, to which it is connected by road causeways. Benbecula's main settlement is Balivanich, Scottish Gaelic: Baile a' Mhanaich, meaning " Town of the Monk " in the north west. Borve Castle, also known as Castle Wearie, and Caisteal Bhuirgh in Scottish Gaelic, is a ruined 14th century tower house, located at the south west of the island. Flora MacDonald lived from 1722 to 5 March 1790. She is chiefly remembered as a heroine of the Jacobite cause for her part in helping Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, " over the sea to Skye " from Benbecula in the Western Isles during his flight in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden. The Prince's boat was caught in a storm, and forced to land on Benbecula. In the early 19th century, the leader of Clan Ranald, Ranald George MacDonald, got into severe financial difficulties. The family trust forbade him from even visiting Benbecula. His difficulties were compounded by the enormous debts which had been amassed by his grandfather, in support of Jacobite armies. In 1838, forced to sell his lands, Ranald sold them to Colonel John Gorden of Cluny. Already accustomed to treating people as slaves, and seeing the financial advantages to livestock farming, Gordon was ruthless, evicting the population with short notice, sometimes even resorting to dragging them to the shore in handcuffs, wearing little more than their undergarments. He replaced the residents with sheep. 3,000 of his tenants on islands in the Outer Hebrides were removed to Canada. Despite his behaviour causing a national outcry, it was continued by the widow of his son, well into the early 20th century. For centuries the islanders of Lewis and Harris, the Uists, Benbecula and Barra have woven cloth by hand calling it Clò Mór in the original Gaelic or The big cloth. As the Industrial Revolution reached Scotland, mainland manufacturers turned to mechanisation but the Outer Hebrides retained their traditional processes. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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