James Hunter (born 22 May 1948) is a historian of the

Highlands and Islands of Scotland Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa *Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa *Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe ...

. He is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of the Highlands and Islands.

Life

He completed his Ph.D. thesis at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

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

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. In 2005 he founded the Centre for History in

Dornoch Dornoch (; ; ) 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 Moray Firth to the east. ...

as part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, and served as the head of the Centre between 2005 and 2010. 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 species; as well as the ...

and author, and has written numerous books on the Highlands and Islands and its global

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. 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 straths of

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

during the early nineteenth century and relocated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, landing at

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

. This book was the winner of the Saltire Society'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.

Outside academia

Hunter has held a number of additional posts outside of academia. He was the director of the Scottish Crofters Union (1985–1990), Chairman of the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust (2004–2007) and Chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (1998–2004), the

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

-based development and training agency for the North of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Awards and honours

Hunter gave the first Sabhal Mòr Lecture in 1990. He was awarded a CBE in 2001 for his services to the Highlands and Islands. 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

in 2007.

Works

Books

* 1976. ''The Making of the Crofting Community''. Edinburgh: John Donald. (revised edition, 2000, .) * 1986. ''Skye: The Island''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1991. ''The Claim of Crofting: the Scottish Highlands and Islands, 1930-1990''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 1992. ''Scottish Highlanders: A People and their Place''. Edinburgh: Mainstream. . * 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. ''Glencoe and the Indians''. 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. . * 2005. ''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. . * 2019. ''Insurrection: Scotland's Famine Winter.'' Edinburgh: Birlinn. . * 2021. ''The Appin Murder: The Killing that Shook a Nation.'' Edinburgh: Birlinn. .

Selected articles

* 1976. ''The Highland Land War of the 1880s'', in Burnett, Ray (ed.), ''Calgacus'' 3, Spring 1976, pp.5 – 9, * 1981. ''Year of the Émigré'', in ''The Bulletin of Scottish Politics'' No. 2, Spring 1981, pp.56 – 66 * 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. ''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 respons ...

, in ''

Reforesting Scotland Reforesting Scotland is a membership organisation concerned with the ecological and social regeneration of Scotland. It aims to significantly increase the forested areas of the country. History Reforesting Scotland is an environmental charity est ...

'' No. 7, Autumn 1992, p.2, * 1996. ''Towards a land reform agenda for a Scots parliament''. Perth: Rural Forum Scotland. . * 2006. ''Fonn's Duthchas''. National Museums of Scotland. .

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 Land reform in Scotland