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Colonel John Campbell, of Shawfield and Islay ( c.  1770 – 13 March 1809) was a Scottish soldier in the British Army . After his early death, his widow Lady Charlotte Bury achieved fame as a diarist and novelist. He was also briefly a politician.

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127-666: Islay ( / ˈ aɪ l ə / EYE -lə ; Scottish Gaelic : Ìle , Scots : Ila ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides ", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura and around 40 kilometres (22 nautical miles) north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's capital is Bowmore where the distinctive round Kilarrow Parish Church and

254-523: A Brittonic or Pictish tribal name. In the 7th century Adomnán referred to the island as Ilea , and the name occurs in early Irish records as Ile and as Íl in Old Norse . The root is not Gaelic and is of unknown origin. In 17th-century maps, the spelling appears as "Yla" or "Ila", a form still used in the name of the whisky Caol Ila . In poetic language, Islay is known as Banrìgh Innse Gall , or Banrìgh nan Eilean usually translated as "Queen of

381-526: A standing stone at Carragh Bhan near Kintra marks Godred Crovan's grave. A genuine 11th-century Norse grave-slab was found at Dóid Mhàiri in 1838, although it was not associated with a burial. The slab is decorated with foliage in the style of Ringerike Viking art and an Irish-style cross, the former being unique in Scandinavian Scotland . Following Godred's death, the local population resisted Norway's choice of replacement, causing Magnus,

508-442: A 19% fall in bilingual speakers between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses. Michelle MacLeod of Aberdeen University has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers." The Linguistic Survey of Scotland (1949–1997) surveyed both

635-564: A Pictish substrate. In 1018, after the conquest of Lothian (theretofore part of England and inhabited predominantly by speakers of Northumbrian Old English ) by the Kingdom of Scotland , Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith. Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since the eighth century. For the first time,

762-470: A brother of the legendary founder of Dál Riata, king Fergus Mór , but the existence of the Cenél Conchride seems to have been brief and the 430 households of the island are later said to have been comprised from the families of just three great-grandsons of the eponymous founder of Cenél nÓengus: Lugaid, Connal and Galán. The ninth-century arrival of Scandinavian settlers on the western seaboard of

889-524: A central feature of court life there. The semi-independent Lordship of the Isles in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century. By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots (at that time termed Inglis ) emerged as

1016-823: A challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency. In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents. Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and

1143-558: A continuation of the beds that underlie Jura. The geomorphology of these last two zones is dominated by a fold known as the Islay Anticline. To the south is a "shattered coastline" formed from mica schist and hornblende . The older Bowmore Group sandstones in the west centre of the island are rich in feldspar and may be of Dalradian origin. Loch Indaal was formed along a branch of the Great Glen Fault called

1270-551: A dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census , 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census . There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia , with historic communities in other parts of Canada having largely disappeared. Scottish Gaelic is classed as an indigenous language under

1397-561: A distillery are located. Port Ellen is the main port. Islay is the fifth-largest Scottish island and the eighth-largest island of the British Isles , with a total area of almost 620 square kilometres (240 sq mi). There is ample evidence of the prehistoric settlement of Islay and the first written reference may have come in the first century AD. The island had become part of the Gaelic Kingdom of Dál Riata during

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1524-624: A few non-resident estate owners; sheep farming and the few dairy cattle herds are run by tenant farmers. The island's web site indicates that some cultivation is also being done while some areas of high moorlands include estates for shooting deer. Some bogs are cut for fuel used by a few distilleries and some homeowners. The southeast and eastern areas of Islay also have some plantations growing coniferous trees. Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic ,

1651-489: A full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people. The 2011 UK Census showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write

1778-586: A language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore

1905-805: A national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in Sleat , on the Isle of Skye . This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic. They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programs delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programs because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities. In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that

2032-470: A new harbour was constructed at Port Askaig. Initially, a sense of optimism in the fishing and cattle trades prevailed and the population expanded, partly as a result of the 18th-century kelp boom and the introduction of the potato as a staple. The population of the island had been estimated at 5,344 in 1755 and grew to over 15,000 by 1841. Islay remained with the Campbells of Shawfield until 1853 when it

2159-678: A particular kin group; according to the Senchus fer n-Alban ("The History of the Men of Scotland"), it was the Cenél nÓengusa for Islay and Jura. In 627, the son of a king of the Irish Uí Chóelbad , a branch of the Dál nAraidi kingdom of Ulster (not to be confused with Dál Riata), was killed on Islay at the unidentified location of Ard-Corann by a warrior in an army led by King Connad Cerr of

2286-549: A process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity was forgotten. Bilingualism in Pictish and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish loanwords in Gaelic and syntactic influence which could be considered to constitute

2413-610: A proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in Barvas , Lewis , with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in Ardnamurchan , Highland , with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes. Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in

2540-516: A record of lands granted to an Islay resident in 1408, Brian Vicar MacKay, by Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles , is one of the earliest records of Gaelic in public use, and is a significant historical document. In 1437, the Lordship was substantially expanded when Alexander, the Lord of the Isles , inherited the rule of Ross maternally; this included Skye. The expansion of MacDonald control caused

2667-479: A rising population, which peaked in the mid-19th century. This was followed by substantial forced displacements and declining resident numbers. Today, Islay has over 3,000 inhabitants, and the main commercial activities are agriculture, malt whisky distillation and tourism. The island has a long history of religious observance, and Scottish Gaelic is spoken by about a quarter of the population. Its landscapes have been celebrated through various art forms, and there

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2794-536: A situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. Affect is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and highland clearances . This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to

2921-591: A spoken language in the southern Hebrides throughout the Norse period, but the place name evidence suggests it had a lowly status, possibly indicating an enslaved population. Consolidating their gains, the Norse settlers established the Kingdom of the Isles , which became part of the crown of Norway following Norwegian unification. To Norway, the islands became known as Suðreyjar (Old Norse, traditionally anglicised as Sodor , or Sudreys ), meaning southern isles . For

3048-625: A translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of

3175-719: Is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family ) native to the Gaels of Scotland . As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx , developed out of Old Irish . It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into

3302-463: Is a growing interest in renewable energy in the form of wave power . Islay is home to many bird species such as the wintering populations of Greenland white-fronted and barnacle goose , and is a popular destination throughout the year for birdwatchers. The climate is mild and ameliorated by the Gulf Stream . Islay was probably recorded by Ptolemy as Epidion , the use of the "p" suggesting

3429-490: Is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland." Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in

3556-411: Is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken. Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ( Malcolm III ) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife Margaret of Wessex spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland. When Malcolm and Margaret died in 1093,

3683-469: Is rugged and mountainous, rising steeply from the Sound of Islay , the highest peak being Beinn Bheigier , which is a Marilyn at 1,612 feet (491 m). The western peninsulas are separated from the main bulk of the island by the waters of Loch Indaal to the south and Loch Gruinart to the north. The fertile and windswept southwestern arm is called The Rinns , and Ardnave Point is a conspicuous promontory on

3810-401: The Argyll and Bute Militia . In 1796, he married Lady Charlotte Susan Maria Campbell , daughter of the 5th Duke of Argyll . They had at least two sons and six daughters, but only two of the daughters survived their parents. On the death of Walter Campbell in 1816, John's son Walter Frederick Campbell inherited the 240 square mile island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides . In 1794, he

3937-524: The Corcu Réti (the collective term for the Cenél nGabráin and Cenél Comgaill , before they split), based at Dunadd . The Senchus also lists what is believed to be the oldest reference to a naval battle in the British Isles —a brief record of an engagement between rival Dál Riatan groups in 719. There is evidence of another kin group on Islay – the Cenél Conchride, supposedly descended from

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4064-504: The County of Argyll . During World War I two troop ships foundered off Islay within a few months of each other in 1918. The SS Tuscania , a converted British liner carrying American Doughboys to France, was torpedoed by SM  UB-77 on 5 February with the loss of over 160 lives and now lies in deep water 6.4 km (4 mi) west of the Mull of Oa. On 6 October HMS  Otranto

4191-619: The Early Middle Ages before being absorbed into the Norse Kingdom of the Isles . The later medieval period marked a "cultural high point" with the transfer of the Hebrides to the Kingdom of Scotland and the emergence of the Clan Donald Lordship of the Isles , originally centred at Finlaggan . During the 17th century the power of Clan Donald waned, but improvements to agriculture and transport led to

4318-837: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig . The Scottish Parliament is considering a Scottish Languages Bill which proposes to give the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. Aside from "Scottish Gaelic", the language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / GAL -ik in English . However, "Gaelic" / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik also refers to

4445-479: The Gulf Stream keeps the climate mild compared to mainland Scotland. Snow is rarely seen at sea level and frosts are light and short-lived. However, wind speeds average 19 to 28 kilometres per hour (10 to 15 knots) annually and winter gales sweep in off the Atlantic , gusting up to 185 km/h (115 mph). This can make travelling and living on the island during the winter difficult, while ferry and air links to

4572-469: The Neolithic , settlements had become more permanent, allowing for the construction of several communal monuments. The most spectacular prehistoric structure on the island is Dun Nosebridge . This 375-square-metre (4,040 sq ft) Iron Age fort occupies a prominent crag and has commanding views of the surrounding landscape. The name's origin is probably a mixture of Gaelic and Old Norse: Dun in

4699-555: The Outer Hebrides , accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals. Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers. This creates

4826-526: The Pleistocene glaciations save for Beinn Tart a' Mhill on the Rinns, which was a nunatak on the edge of the ice sheet. The complex changes of sea level due to melting ice caps and isostasy since then have left a series of raised beaches around the coast. Throughout much of late prehistory the low-lying land between the Rinns and the rest of the island was flooded, creating two islands. The influence of

4953-688: The Scottish Lowlands . Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas. The largest absolute gains were in Aberdeenshire (+526), North Lanarkshire (+305), the Aberdeen City council area (+216), and East Ayrshire (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), Moray (+0.16%), and Orkney (+0.13%). In 2018,

5080-537: The Scottish reformation , this led the Scottish-English crown to mount an expedition to subdue them. In 1614 the crown handed Islay to Sir John Campbell of Cawdor , in return for an undertaking to pacify it; this the Campbells eventually achieved. Under Campbell influence, shrieval authority was established under the sheriff of Argyll . With inherited Campbell control of the sheriffdom, comital authority

5207-515: The Sound of Islay . On account of the Corryvreckan whirlpool to the north of Jura, the Sound was the main safe sea route between the mainland and the rest of the Hebrides; Claig Castle essentially gave Somerled control of sea traffic. Following Somerled's 1164 death, the realm was divided between Godred's heirs, and Somerled's sons, whose descendants continued to describe themselves as King of

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5334-786: The significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education since that time is unknown. Gaelic Medium Education is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides.  However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada. One can attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ,

5461-724: The " heart of the Lordship " to move to the twin castles of Aros and Ardtornish , in the Sound of Mull . In 1462, the last and most ambitious of the Lords, John MacDonald II , struck an alliance with Edward IV of England under terms of the Treaty of Ardtornish-Westminster with the goal of conquering Scotland. The onset of the Wars of the Roses prevented the treaty from being discovered by Scottish agents, and Edward from fulfilling his obligations as an ally. A decade later, in 1475, it had come to

5588-477: The 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 census of Scotland , 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and

5715-601: The 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments. It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy. Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of

5842-404: The 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over. Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had

5969-407: The 4th–5th centuries CE, by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast in present-day Argyll . An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist Ewan Campbell , who has argued that the putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned

6096-569: The Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and

6223-540: The Campbell's control of the sheriffdom; thereafter they could now only assert their influence in their role as Landlords. A defining aspect of 19th-century Argyll was the gradual improvement of transport infrastructure. Roads were built, the Crinan canal shortened the sea distance to Glasgow and the numerous traditional ferry crossings were augmented by new quays. Rubble piers were built at several locations on Islay and

6350-594: The EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other European languages . The deal was received positively in Scotland; Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed". Culture Minister Mike Russell said; "this

6477-538: The Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under David I , attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland. Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained

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6604-684: The Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of Bòrd na Gàidhlig 's efforts. On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Scottish Human Rights Commission had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for

6731-762: The Gaelic aristocracy rejected their anglicised sons and instead backed Malcolm's brother Domnall Bán ( Donald III ). Donald had spent 17 years in Gaelic Ireland and his power base was in the thoroughly Gaelic west of Scotland. He was the last Scottish monarch to be buried on Iona , the traditional burial place of the Gaelic Kings of Dàl Riada and the Kingdom of Alba. However, during the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), Anglo-Norman names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of

6858-529: The Hebrides" and Eilean uaine Ìle – the "green isle of Islay" A native of Islay is called an Ìleach , pronounced [ˈiːləx] . The obliteration of pre-Norse names is almost total, and placenames on the island are a mixture of Norse and later Gaelic and English influences. Port Askaig is from the Norse ask-vík , meaning "ash tree bay" and the common suffix -bus is from the Norse bólstaðr , meaning "farm". Gaelic names, or their anglicised versions such as Ardnave Point, from Àird an Naoimh "height of

6985-442: The Highland and Island region. In 1616, the Privy Council proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism. The Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 , to consider

7112-416: The Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as Ràtagan or Loch Ailleart rather than the anglicised forms Ratagan or Lochailort respectively). Some monolingual Gaelic road signs, particularly direction signs, are used on the Outer Hebrides , where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of

7239-426: The Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including Wester Ross , northwest Sutherland , Lochaber and Argyll . Dialects on both sides of the Straits of Moyle (the North Channel ) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the Mull of Kintyre , on Rathlin and in North East Ireland as late as

7366-410: The Irish language ( Gaeilge ) and the Manx language ( Gaelg ). Scottish Gaelic is distinct from Scots , the Middle English -derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by the early modern era . Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as Inglis ("English") by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called Scottis ("Scottish"). Beginning in

7493-471: The Isles at the time, spurring Somerled into action. The two fought the Battle of Epiphany in the seas off Islay in January 1156. The result was a bloody stalemate , and the island kingdom was temporarily divided, with Somerled taking control of the southern Hebrides. Two years later Somerled completely ousted Godred Olafsson and re-united the kingdom. Somerled built the sea fortress of Claig Castle on an island between Islay and Jura, to establish control of

7620-437: The Isles there, upon an ancient seven-foot-square coronation stone bearing footprint impressions in which the new ruler stood barefoot and was anointed by the Bishop of Argyll and seven priests. The Lord's advisory " Council of the Isles " met on Eilean na Comhairle ( Council Island ), in Loch Finlaggan on Islay, within a timber framed crannog that had originally been constructed in the first century BC. The Islay Charter ,

7747-410: The Loch Gruinart Fault; its main line passes just to the north of Colonsay . This separates the limestone, igneous intrusions and Bowmore sandstones from the Colonsay Group rocks of the Rhinns. The result is occasional minor earth tremors. There is a tillite bed near Port Askaig that provides evidence of an ice age in the Precambrian . In comparatively recent times the island was ice-covered during

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7874-567: The MacDonalds, and in 1493 had thus been seen as the natural replacement for them, leading to a branch of the MacLeans being granted Dunyvaig Castle by king James, and expanding into Islay. Naturally, the restoration of the MacDonalds created some hostility with the MacLeans; in 1549, after observing that Islay was fertile, fruitful, and full of natural pastures, with good hunting and plentiful salmon and seals, Dean Monro describes Dunyvaig, and Loch Gorm Castle " now usurped be M’Gillayne of Doward ".. The dispute continued for decades, and in 1578

8001-413: The MacDougall lands forfeit, and distributed them between the MacDonalds and Macruari (the latter already owning much of Lorne , Uist , parts of Lochaber , and Garmoran ). The Macruari territories were eventually inherited by Amy of Garmoran ., who married her MacDonald cousin John of Islay in the 1330s; having succeeded Aonghus Óg as head of the MacDonalds, he now controlled significant stretches of

8128-467: The Macleans were expelled from Loch Gorm by force, and in 1598 their branch was finally defeated at the Battle of Traigh Ghruinneart . However, when Sorley Boy MacDonnell (of the Islay MacDonalds) had a clash with the Irish branch of the Macleans, and the unpopularity of the MacDonalds in Edinburgh (where their use of Gaelic was regarded as barbaric), weakened their grip on their southern Hebridean possessions. In 1608, Coupled with MacDonald hostility to

8255-461: The Norwegian king died. In 1266, his more peaceable successor ceded his nominal authority over Suðreyjar to the Scottish king ( Alexander III ) by the Treaty of Perth , in return for a very large sum of money. Alexander generally acknowledged the semi-independent authority of Somerled's heirs; the former Suðreyjar had become a Scottish crown dependency, rather than part of Scotland. By this point, Somerled's descendants had formed into three families –

8382-413: The Norwegian king , to launch a military campaign to assert his authority. In 1098, under pressure from Magnus, the king of Scotland quitclaimed to Magnus all sovereign authority over the isles. In the mid 12th century, a granddaughter of Godred Crovan's married the ambitious Somerled , a Norse-Gaelic Argyle nobleman. Godred Olafsson , grandson of Godred Crovan, was an increasingly unpopular King of

8509-403: The Scots that no one who built a ship or boat dared use more than three iron bolts". Godred also became King of Dublin at an unknown date, although in 1094 he was driven out of the city by Muircheartach Ua Briain , later known as High King of Ireland , according to the Annals of the Four Masters . He died on Islay " of pestilence ", during the following year. A local tradition suggests that

8636-408: The Sudreys until the 13th century. Somerled's grandson, Donald received Islay, along with Claig Castle, and the adjacent part of Jura as far north as Loch Tarbert . Nominal Norwegian authority had been re-established after Somerled's death, but by the mid 13th century, increased tension between Norway and Scotland led to a series of battles, culminating in the Battle of Largs , shortly after which

8763-428: The UK Government as Welsh . With the advent of devolution , however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005. The key provisions of the Act are: After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan

8890-581: The Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in Stornoway , the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011. The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is Kilmuir in Northern Skye at 46%. The islands in the Inner Hebrides with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are Tiree (38.3%), Raasay (30.4%), Skye (29.4%), Lismore (26.9%), Colonsay (20.2%), and Islay (19.0%). Today, no civil parish in Scotland has

9017-589: The Western Isles. The Scottish Qualifications Authority offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus). An Comunn Gàidhealach performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at

9144-522: The age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common Q-Celtic -speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age. These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending the early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Regardless of how it came to be spoken in

9271-408: The annual mods . In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and European Union officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch , and the Scottish government . This did not give Scottish Gaelic official status in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in

9398-412: The attention of the Scottish court, but calls for forfeiture of the Lordship were calmed when John quitclaimed his mainland territories, and Skye. However, ambition wasn't given up so easily, and John's nephew launched a severe raid on Ross , but it ultimately failed. Within 2 years of the raid, in 1493, MacDonald was compelled to forfeit his estates and titles to James IV of Scotland ; by this forfeiture,

9525-418: The bedrock at the northern end of the Rinns. It is a quartz -rich metamorphic marine sandstone that may be unique to Scotland and which is nearly 5,000 m (16,400 ft) thick. South of Rubh' a' Mhail there are outcrops of quartzite , and a strip of mica schist and limestone cuts across the centre of the island from The Oa to Port Askaig. Further south is a band of metamorphic quartzite and granites,

9652-603: The bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on

9779-625: The census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, Gaelic medium education in Scotland has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014. Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home. The effect on this of

9906-568: The cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However,

10033-499: The concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland. Some commentators, such as Éamonn Ó Gribín (2006) argue that

10160-499: The dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands. Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of

10287-582: The entire region of modern-day Scotland was called Scotia in Latin, and Gaelic was the lingua Scotica . In southern Scotland , Gaelic was strong in Galloway , adjoining areas to the north and west, West Lothian , and parts of western Midlothian . It was spoken to a lesser degree in north Ayrshire , Renfrewshire , the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire . In south-eastern Scotland, there

10414-560: The first time. However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers, following an appeal in the court case of Taylor v Haughney (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the High Court ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings. While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status,

10541-404: The former language means "fort" and knaus-borg in the latter means "fort on the crag". There is no evidence that Islay was ever subject to Roman military control although small numbers of finds such as a coin and a brooch from the third century AD suggest links of some kind with the intermittent Roman presence on the mainland. The ruins of a broch at Dùn Bhoraraic south east of Ballygrant and

10668-786: The heirs of Donald (the MacDonalds , led by Aonghas Óg MacDonald ), those of Donald's brother (the Macruari , led by Ruaidhri mac Ailein), and those of Donald's uncle (the MacDougalls , led by Alexander MacDougall ). At the end of the 13th century, when king John Balliol was challenged for the throne by Robert the Bruce , the MacDougalls backed Balliol, while the Macruari and MacDonalds backed Robert. When Robert won, he declared

10795-479: The initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English. Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities. In

10922-630: The island was recorded at over 6,600 cows and 2,200 horses in a 1722 rental listing. In 1726 Islay was purchased by John Campbell of Mamore using compensation from Glasgow Town Council (£9000) for damages during the Malt tax riots . When he died in 1729 the island passed to his son, Daniel Campbell of Shawfield . Following the Jacobite insurrections of 1745–6, the Heritable Jurisdictions Act 1746 abolished comital authority, and

11049-701: The king. A charter was soon sent from the Scottish King confirming this state of affairs; it declares that Skye and the Outer Hebrides are to be considered independent from the rest of the former Lordship, leaving only Islay and Jura remaining in the comital unit. James V sent gunners to garrison forts in Islay in 1540. Initially dispossessed in the wake of royal opposition to the Lordship, Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg 's holdings in Islay were restored in 1545. The MacLean family had been granted land in Jura in 1390, by

11176-525: The land their predecessors had farmed for centuries. In 1891 the census recorded only 7,375 citizens, with many evictees making new homes in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. The population continued to decline for much of the 20th century and today is about 3,500. In 1899, counties were formally created, on shrieval boundaries, by a Scottish Local Government Act ; Islay therefore became part of

11303-520: The lands became part of Scotland, rather than a crown dependency. James ordered Finlaggan demolished, its buildings razed, and the coronation stone destroyed, to discourage any attempts at restoration of the Lordship. When Martin Martin visited Islay in the late 17th century he recorded a description of the coronations Finlaggan had once seen.. John was exiled from his former lands, and his former subjects now considered themselves to have no superior except

11430-502: The language. Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people. This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and Bòrd na Gàidhlig took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed. The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ( Na h-Eileanan Siar ), where

11557-540: The language. These omit the English translation entirely. Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time. John Campbell (1770%E2%80%931809) Campbell

11684-532: The late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis . Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so the word Erse in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used. Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland, in

11811-496: The mainland can suffer delays. The driest months are April to July and the warmest are May to September, which as a result are the busiest times for tourism. Sunshine hours are typically highest around the coasts, especially to the west. The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who may have first arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. A flint arrowhead , which

11938-483: The mainland had a long-lasting effect, beginning with the destruction of Dál Riata. As is the case in the Northern Isles , the derivation of place names suggests a complete break from the past. Jennings and Kruse conclude that although there were settlements prior to the Norse arrival " there is no evidence from the onomasticon that the inhabitants of these settlements ever existed ". Gaelic continued to exist as

12065-459: The members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loss of life due to World War I and the 1919 sinking of the HMY Iolaire , combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in monolingual speakers and

12192-734: The mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary. Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or velarised l ( l̪ˠ ) as [w] , as in the Lochaber dialect. The Endangered Languages Project lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users". UNESCO classifies Gaelic as " definitely endangered ". The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay. The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of

12319-532: The modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language. The Statutes of Iona , enacted by James VI in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on

12446-530: The name "river" despite their small size. The most significant of these are the River Laggan which discharges into the sea at the north end of Laggan Bay, and the River Sorn which, draining Loch Finlaggan, enters the head of Loch Indaal at Bridgend. There are numerous small uninhabited islands around the coasts, the largest of which are Eilean Mhic Coinnich and Orsay off the Rinns, Nave Island on

12573-546: The nearby mainland and adjacent islands, lay within the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata with strong links to Ireland. The widely accepted opinion is that Dál Riata was established by Gaelic migrants from Ulster, displacing a native Brythonic culture (such as the Picts ), but some scholars claim that the Gaels in this part of Scotland were indigenous to the area. Dál Riata was divided into a small number of regions, each controlled by

12700-523: The next four centuries and more this Kingdom was under the control of rulers of mostly Norse origin. Godred Crovan was one of the most significant of the rulers of this sea kingdom . Though his origins are obscure, it is known that Godred was a Norse-Gael , with a connection to Islay. The Chronicles of Mann call Godred the son of Harald the Black of Ysland, (his place or origin variously interpreted as Islay, Ireland or Iceland ) and state he "so tamed

12827-620: The northwest coast, Am Fraoch Eilean in the Sound of Islay, and Texa off the south coast. The underlying geology of Islay is intricate for such a small area. The deformed Palaeoproterozoic igneous rock of the Rhinns complex is dominated by a coarse-grained gneiss cut by large intrusions of deformed gabbro . Once thought to be part of the Lewisian complex , it lies beneath the Colonsay Group of metasedimentary rocks that forms

12954-473: The northwest coast. The south coast is sheltered from the prevailing winds and, as a result, relatively wooded. The fractal coast has numerous bays and sea lochs, including Loch an t-Sailein , Aros Bay and Claggain Bay . In the far southwest is a rocky and now largely uninhabited peninsula called The Oa , the closest point in the Hebrides to Ireland. The island's population is concentrated mainly in and around

13081-434: The number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In the 2022 census of Scotland , it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic, or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland,

13208-645: The official language of government and law. Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the Wars of Scottish Independence was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's The Brus (1375) and Blind Harry's The Wallace (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'. A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through

13335-459: The outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities. It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in

13462-508: The overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the Highlands (5.4%) and in Argyll and Bute (4.0%) and Inverness (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is Glasgow with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers. Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in

13589-498: The population of Argyll was to be found dispersed in small clachans of farming families and only two villages of any size, Killarow near Bridgend and Lagavulin, existed on Islay at the time. (Killarow had a church and tolbooth and houses for merchants and craft workers but was razed in the 1760s to "improve" the grounds of Islay House.) The agricultural economy was dependent on arable farming including staples such as barley and oats supplemented with stock-rearing. The carrying capacity of

13716-466: The prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the Gàidhealtachd . In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in

13843-460: The reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there

13970-587: The region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the eighth century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to the region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly,

14097-481: The remains of numerous Atlantic roundhouses indicate the influences of northern Scotland, where these forms of building originate. There are also various crannogs on Islay, including sites in Loch Ardnave, Loch Ballygrant and Loch Allallaidh in the south east where a stone causeway leading out to two adjacent islands is visible beneath the surface of the water. By the sixth century AD Islay, along with much of

14224-400: The royalist garrison at Dunnyvaig, laying waste to the island. It was not until 1677 that the Campbells felt sufficiently at ease to construct Islay House at Bridgend to be their principal, and unfortified, island residence. Martin Martin recorded that Sir Hugh Campbell of Caddell was the king's steward of Islay in the late seventeenth century. At the beginning of the 18th century much of

14351-479: The saint" ,are very common. Several of the villages were developed in the 18th or 19th centuries, and English is a stronger influence in their names as a result. Port Charlotte for example, was named after Lady Charlotte Campbell , daughter of 5th Duke of Argyll and wife of the island's then-owner, Colonel John Campbell (1770–1809) of Shawfield and Islay. Islay is 40 kilometres (25 mi) long from north to south and 24 kilometres (15 mi) broad. The east coast

14478-415: The villages of Bowmore and Port Ellen . Other smaller villages include Bridgend , Ballygrant , Port Charlotte , Portnahaven and Port Askaig . The rest of the island is sparsely populated and mainly agricultural. There are several small freshwater lochs in the interior including Loch Finlaggan , Loch Ballygrant, Loch Lossit and Loch Gorm, and numerous burns throughout the island, many of which bear

14605-401: The western seaboard of Scotland from Morvern to Loch Hourn , and the whole of the Hebrides save for Skye (which Robert had given to Hugh of Ross instead). From 1336 onwards John began to style himself Dominus Insularum —" Lord of the Isles ", a title that implied a connection to the earlier Kings of the Isles and by extension a degree of independence from the Scottish crown; this honorific

14732-399: Was accepted in 2008, and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment). Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that

14859-610: Was also an RAF Coastal Command flying boat base at Bowmore from 13 March 1941 using Loch Indaal. In 1944 an RCAF 422 Squadron Sunderland flying boat's crew were rescued after their aircraft landed off Bowmore but broke from her moorings in a gale and sank. There was an RAF Chain Home radar station at Saligo Bay and RAF Chain Home Low station at Kilchiaran. The mainstays of the modern Islay economy are agriculture, fishing, distilling , and tourism. Much of Islay remains owned by

14986-407: Was claimed by his heirs for several generations. The MacDonalds had thus achieved command of a strong semi-independent maritime realm, and considered themselves equals of the kings of Scotland, Norway, and England. Initially, their power base was on the shores of Loch Finlaggan in northeastern Islay, near the present-day village of Caol Ila . Successive chiefs of Clan Donald were proclaimed Lord of

15113-555: Was elected on the interest of his brother-in-law, the 6th Duke of Argyll as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayr Burghs . He supported Argyll in opposing the Duke of Portland 's ministry, and died two years after his election, aged about 39. After his death, Lady Charlotte was appointed as a lady-in-waiting in the household of Caroline of Brunswick (then Princess of Wales, later Queen) until 1815, when she married John Bury, who became

15240-595: Was erected on the coast of The Oa by the American Red Cross to commemorate the sinking of these two ships. A military cemetery was created at Kilchoman where the dead from both nations in the latter disaster were buried (all but one of the American bodies were later exhumed and returned home). During World War II , the RAF built an airfield at Glenegedale which later became the civil airport for Islay. There

15367-541: Was found in a field near Bridgend in 1993 and dates from 10,800 BC, is amongst the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far in Scotland. Stone implements of the Ahrensburgian culture found at Rubha Port an t-Seilich near Port Askaig by foraging pigs in 2015 probably came from a summer camp used by hunters travelling round the coast in boats. Mesolithic finds have been dated to 7000 BC using radiocarbon dating of shells and debris from kitchen middens . By

15494-486: Was involved in a collision with HMS Kashmir in heavy seas while similarly transporting American Doughboys from New York Harbor . Otranto lost steering and drifted towards the west coast of the Rinns. Answering her SOS the destroyer HMS Mounsey attempted to come alongside and managed to rescue over 350 men. Nonetheless, the Otranto was wrecked on the shore near Machir Bay with a total loss of 431 lives. A monument

15621-554: Was long suppressed. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from

15748-510: Was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the Bible into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch produced

15875-511: Was relatively superfluous, and the provincial identity ( medieval Latin : provincia ) of Islay-Jura faded away. The situation was soon complicated by the Civil War , when Archibald , the head of the most powerful branch of the Campbells, was the de facto head of Covenanter government, while other branches (and even Archibald's son ) were committed Royalists . A Covenanter army under Sir David Leslie arrived on Islay in 1647, and besieged

16002-533: Was sold to James Morrison of Berkshire , ancestor of the third Baron Margadale , who still owns a substantial portion of the island. The sundering of the relationship between the landowners and the island's residents proved consequential. When the estate owners realised they could make more money from sheep farming than from the indigenous small farmers, wholesale Clearances became commonplace. Four hundred people emigrated from Islay in 1863 alone, some for purely economic reasons, but many others having been forced off

16129-528: Was the oldest son of Walter Campbell of Shawfield and Islay , an advocate who served as Rector of the University of Glasgow from 1789 to 1791, and his first wife Eleanora, daughter of Robert Ker of New Field. He joined the British Army in 1789 as an ensign in the 3rd Foot Guards . In 1793 he was promoted to lieutenant and then captain . He left the army in about 1799, and was later Colonel of

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