62-628: Clan MacThomas is a Highland Scottish clan and is a member of the Clan Chattan Confederation. The progenitor of the Clan MacThomas was Thomas, who was a Scottish Gaelic speaking Highlander. He was known as Tomaidh Mòr and it is from him that the clan takes its name. He was a grandson of William Mackintosh, 7th chief of Clan Mackintosh and 8th chief of the Chattan Confederation . Thomas lived in
124-619: A Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division. The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault , which runs from Arran to Stonehaven . This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during
186-617: A separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are Macallan , Glenfiddich , Aberlour , Glenfarclas , and Balvenie . While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries. According to Visit Scotland , Highlands whisky
248-598: Is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence". The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and
310-409: Is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by
372-689: Is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands . The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks . The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon
434-528: Is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness , Orkney and Shetland , from
496-957: Is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament : this area includes Orkney and Shetland , as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service . Northern , as in Northern Constabulary , refers to
558-661: The Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye . A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil . The Great Glen
620-811: The Church of Scotland . In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland . The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and
682-675: The Earl of Atholl seem to have been offensive to him. The Earl employed a champion swordsman from Italy to slay Mccomie but the swordsman was himself slain by Mccomie. During the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century the Clan MacThomas supported Charles I . Iain Mor MacThomas joined James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose in 1644 at Dundee . When the royalists captured Aberdeen , Iain Mor himself captured Sir William Forbes who
SECTION 10
#1732783685901744-597: The Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and
806-735: The United Kingdom . Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd , because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides . The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form )
868-483: The Western Isles and the Highlands. The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles , Ben Nevis . During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada,
930-567: The kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott . His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by
992-687: The Aberlemno Estate. His heir, Alfred, the 17th chief, contested the will in a famous court case in Edinburgh in 1905 but lost to the shocked dismay of his family. In 1954, the Clan MacThomas Society was founded by Patrick, 18th chief, who married a third cousin of Elizabeth II . His son, Andrew, the 19th and current chief, has dedicated much time to his clan with a result that you cannot be in Glenshee without being aware of
1054-693: The Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns , James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on
1116-459: The Hebrides. In traditional Scottish geography , the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault , which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven . However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire , Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share
1178-633: The Hielands ; Scottish Gaelic : a' Ghàidhealtachd [ə ˈɣɛːəl̪ˠt̪ʰəxk] , lit. ' the place of the Gaels ' ) is a historical region of Scotland . Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period , when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for
1240-467: The Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire , Angus , Argyll and Bute , Moray , North Ayrshire , Perth and Kinross , Stirling and West Dunbartonshire . The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest . It is the most mountainous part of
1302-464: The Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West. Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for
SECTION 20
#17327836859011364-550: The Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland , the Isle of Man , and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there
1426-418: The Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way. The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of
1488-433: The Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands. The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced
1550-414: The Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry". Recurrent famine affected
1612-800: The Tay to Dundee where the family, with interests in property and insurance, prospered as the population of Dundee doubled in the 18th century. Other clansfolk moved to Aberdeenshire where one William McCombie of Tillyfour MP, became famous for breeding Aberdeen-Angus cattle. Patrick, the 16th chief, became Provost of Dundee in 1847 purchasing the Aberlemno Estate in Angus. His son, George, became one of Scotland's youngest Sheriffs (Judges) in 1870. When he died George left his fortune (£7.0 million in today's terms) to St Magnus Cathedral in Orkney, together with
1674-566: The United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole. The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness . However,
1736-754: The amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places. The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia , or Labrador in Canada ) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is " Cfb " at low elevations, then becoming " Cfc ", " Dfc " and " ET " at higher elevations. 57°07′N 4°43′W / 57.12°N 4.71°W / 57.12; -4.71 List of Lord Provosts of Dundee Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1798-458: The area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault , although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands . The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both
1860-526: The clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in
1922-550: The collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system , including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan , and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church . Most of this legislation
Clan MacThomas - Misplaced Pages Continue
1984-607: The creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes. Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay , as
2046-466: The distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness , as well as Orkney and Shetland , are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of
2108-685: The east of this point. A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock , thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus . Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire , Angus , Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen , Dundee, Perth , and Stirling as their commercial centres. The Highland Council area, created as one of
2170-473: The efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass . There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to
2232-512: The efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church. For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to
2294-545: The fifteenth century when the Clan Chattan had become so large that it was unmanageable, so Thomas took his clan from Badenoch , across the Grampian Mountains to Glen Shee where they re-settled. Here they flourished and became known as McComie, McColm and McComas which are phonetic forms of the Gaelic. The Clan MacThomas was described in a roll of the clans, in the Acts of Parliament of 1587 and 1595, and they were known to
2356-528: The former Northern Constabulary . These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney , Shetland and the Western Isles. Highland Council signs in the Pass of Drumochter , between Glen Garry and Dalwhinnie , say "Welcome to the Highlands". Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands
2418-661: The government in Edinburgh as Macthomas. The early chiefs of the Clan MacThomas ruled from the Thom, which was opposite the Spittal of Glenshee on the east bank of the Shee Water . This is also believed to be the site of the tomb of Diarmid, of the Fingalian saga . In about 1600 Robert Mccomie of Thom, the fourth chief was murdered and the chiefship then passed to his brother John Mccomie of Finegand . The settlement of Finegand
2480-635: The historic connection with Clan MacThomas. Members of the clan from across the world gather every three years at the clan's land, "Clach Na Coileach" (The Cockstane), in Glenshee. The next such Gathering will take place in August 2023. Sept names of Clan MacThomas (recognized by the Clan MacThomas Society): Note: Prefixes Mac and Mc are interchangeable. Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( Scots :
2542-525: The income from their land. In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips ), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances , of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on
Clan MacThomas - Misplaced Pages Continue
2604-542: The landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League . Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye , when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with
2666-422: The landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms. Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in
2728-650: The lands. The MacThomas chief is mentioned again in 1678 and 1681 in Government proclamations but the clan had begun to drift apart. Some moved south to the Tay valley where they became known as Thomson and others to Angus in Fife where they are known as Thomas, Thom or Thoms. The tenth chief took the name Thomas and then later Thoms. He settled in northern Fife and successfully farmed. The chiefly family fled to Fife where they became successful farmers before moving back across
2790-417: The later Caledonian Orogeny . Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross . These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as
2852-444: The latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire , the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to
2914-412: The local government regions of Scotland , has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles , but includes Caithness . Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service . Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in
2976-459: The more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides. Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan . Scottish kings, particularly James VI , saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and
3038-421: The new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands. In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that
3100-418: The overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of
3162-430: The peasant classes. Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors , land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities. Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase
SECTION 50
#17327836859013224-449: The popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to
3286-405: The population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West, was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region. Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in
3348-425: The process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work". Older historiography attributes
3410-413: The return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected. This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for
3472-462: The same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service. There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth , a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven . The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth , Elsick Mounth , Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth . Although most of
3534-401: The surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland . The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in
3596-429: The tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars. When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by
3658-427: Was about three miles down the glen and became the new seat of the chiefs. The name Finegand is a corruption of the Gaelic, feith nan ceann which means burn of the heads . This is said to be a reference to some tax collectors who were killed and whose heads were thrown into the burn . The seventh chief was John Mccomie (Iain Mòr) who has passed into the folklore of Perthshire . Tax collectors, particularly those of
3720-407: Was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and
3782-484: Was sheriff of Aberdeen and commander of the Covenanter cavalry. However the chief of Clan MacThomas withdrew his support from Montrose after he was defeated at the Battle of Philiphaugh and instead devoted his time to extending his lands which included purchasing the Barony of Forter from the Earl of Airlie . After the Restoration of 1660 Macthomas was fined heavily by Parliament and the Earl of Airlie set about trying to recover some of his lands. Airlie's legal action
SECTION 60
#17327836859013844-462: Was successful but the chief of Clan MacThomas refused to recognize this and continued to pasture his cattle on the disputed land. In response Airlie used his legal right to lease the land to men of the Clan Farquharson which led to a feud. On 28 January 1673 Farquharson of Broughdearg was killed along with two sons of Iain Mor MacThomas. The lawsuits that followed crippled the MacThomas chief and when he died in 1676 his remaining sons were forced to sell
#900099