James Hunter CBE (born 1948) is a historian of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. He completed his Ph.D. thesis at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

before taking up a post with the Institute for the Study of Sparsely Populated Areas at the

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. In 2005 he founded the Centre for History in

Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Mora ...

as part of the

University of the Highlands and Islands , type = federal, public , image_name = UHI Coat of Arms.jpg , image_size = 150px , established = 2011 – University status 1992 – UHI Millennium Institute , chancellor = The Princess Royal , vice_chancellor = , budget = £139m (202 ...

, and served as the head of the Centre between 2005 and 2010. Hunter has held a number of additional posts: he was the director of the Scottish Crofters Union (1985–1990), Chairman of the

Isle of Eigg Eigg (; gd, Eige; sco, Eigg) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Isle of Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. W ...

Heritage Trust (2004–2007) and Chairman of

Highlands and Islands Enterprise Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE; gd, Iomairt na Gàidhealtachd 's nan Eilean) is the development agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. Its role is to "hel ...

(1998–2004), the

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histor ...

-based development and training agency for the North of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He was elected as a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This socie ...

in 2007. He is a freelance

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and author, and has written thirteen books on the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1 ...

and its global

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

. His recent books include ''Set Adrift Upon the World: The Sutherland Clearances'', published in 2015. The book presents the struggle for survival of the people cleared from the

strath A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep). Word and etymology An anglicisation of the Gaelic word ''srath'', it is one of many that have been abs ...

s of

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later c ...

during the early nineteenth century and relocated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

, landing at

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

. This book was the winner of the

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland. Founded in 1936, the society was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s ...

's History Book of the Year Award in 2016. In 2019 his account of the Highland Famine of 1846–47, ''Insurrection: Scotland's Famine Winter'' was published. Hunter gave the first Sabhal Mòr Lecture in 1990.

Works

From

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

catalogue (Accessed January 2007). * 1976. ''The Highland Land War of the 1880s'', in Burnett, Ray (ed.), ''Calgacus'' 3, Spring 1976, pp. 5 – 9, * 1976. ''The making of the crofting community''. Edinburgh: John Donald. (revised edition, 2000, .) * 1981. ''Year of the Émigré'', in ''The Bulletin of Scottish Politics'' No. 2, Spring 1981, pp. 56 – 66 * 1986. ''Skye : the island''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1991. ''The claim of crofting : the Scottish Highlands and Islands, 1930-1990''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1991. ''Rural poverty and deprivation in Europe : from analysis to action : report of a seminar held in Scotland from 7 to 11 October 1990 ''. Enstone: Arkleton Trust. . * 1992. ''Scottish highlanders : a people and their place''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1992. ''Wilderness in North America and Scotland: the human dimension'', in Mollinon, Denis (ed.), ''Wilderness with People: The Management of Wild Land'', John Muir Trust, pp. 6 – 12 * 1992. Guest editorial on the possible privatisation of the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also resp ...

, in '' Reforesting Scotland'' No. 7, Autumn 1992, p. 2, * 1994. ''A dance called America : the Scottish Highlands, the United States and Canada''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1995. ''On the other side of sorrow : nature and people in the Scottish Highlands''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1996. ''Towards a land reform agenda for a Scots parliament''. Perth: Rural Forum Scotland. . * 1996. ''Glencoe and the Indians : a real-life family saga which spans two continents, several centuries and more than thirty generations to link Scotland’s clans with the native peoples of the American West''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1999. ''Last of the free : a millennial history of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland'' Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 2001. ''Culloden and the last clansman''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 2006. ''Fonn's Duthchas''. National Museums of Scotland. . * 2007. ''Scottish Exodus: Travels among a worldwide clan''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . *2012. ''From the Low Tide of the Sea to the Highest Mountain Tops.'' Isle of Lewis: The Islands Book Trust. *2015. ''Set Adrift Upon the World: The Sutherland Clearances.'' Edinburgh: Birlinn. .

With Others

* Edited by Celeste Ray; foreword by James Hunter (2005). ''Transatlantic Scots''. London: University of Alabama Press. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, James Living people 1948 births People from Argyll and Bute Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 20th-century Scottish historians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at Oban High School 21st-century Scottish historians