South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the
Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland.
It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...
in
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 ...
. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the
Hebrides
The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...
, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the
Gaelic language
The Goidelic ( ) or Gaelic languages (; ; ) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from Ireland through the Isle o ...
in Scotland. South Uist's inhabitants are known in Gaelic as ''Deasaich'' (Southerners). The population is about 90%
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
.
The island is home to a nature reserve and a number of sites of
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
interest, including the only location in the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
where prehistoric
mummies have been found. In the northwest, there is a missile testing range. In 2006 South Uist, together with neighbouring
Benbecula
Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
and
Eriskay, was involved in Scotland's biggest-ever
community land buyout by Stòras Uibhist. The group also owns the "biggest
community wind farm in Scotland", Lochcarnan, on South Uist which opened in 2013.
[Scots community wind farm secures future](_blank)
/ref>
Geology
In common with the rest of the Western Isles
The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland.
It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...
, South Uist is formed from the oldest rocks in Britain, Lewisian gneiss brought to the surface by old tectonic movements. They bear the scars of the last glaciation which has exposed many of them. The rocks had high-grade regional metamorphism
Metamorphism is the transformation of existing Rock (geology), rock (the protolith) to rock with a different mineral composition or Texture (geology), texture. Metamorphism takes place at temperatures in excess of , and often also at elevated ...
around 2,900 million years ago: in the Archaean eon. Some show granulite facies metamorphism, but most have slightly cooler amphibolite facies. A number of metabasic bodies and metasediments occur locally in the gneiss.[
On the east side of the island between Lochboisdale and Ornish – part of the Outer Hebrides Thrust Zone – is the Corodale gneiss, dominated by ]garnet
Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives.
Garnet minerals, while sharing similar physical and crystallographic properties, exhibit a wide range of chemical compositions, de ...
-pyroxene
The pyroxenes (commonly abbreviated Px) are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. Pyroxenes have the general formula , where X represents ions of calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), iron ( ...
rock. A narrow zone of pseudotachylyte occurs along its western margin with the regular gneiss. The Usinish peninsula is formed from ‘mashed gneiss’, within which the banding has mainly been destroyed. Between these two gneisses is a band of mylonite (as offshore on Stuley). Mashed gneiss occurs again in the extreme southeast. Small occurrences of Archaean granite
Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
s are found in the centre of the island.
The island is traversed by many normal fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
s: E to W, to NNW to SSE, many being NW to SE. Numerous NW to SE dykes cut through the island: quartz-dolerite, camptonite and monchiquite dykes of Permo-Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
age and later Palaeogene tholeiitic dykes. More recent geological deposits include blown sand along the northern and western coasts and peat
Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...
inland along with some (glacial) till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
.
Geography
The west is machair (fertile low-lying coastal plain) with a continuous sandy beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
, whilst the east coast is mountainous with the peaks of Beinn Mhòr (Gèideabhal) at and Hecla at . The island is linked to Eriskay and Benbecula
Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
by causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
s.
The landscape is characterised by numerous lochs and lochans, the largest of which is Loch Bì.
The main village on the island is Lochboisdale (''Loch Baghasdail''), from which Caledonian MacBrayne operates ferries to Mallaig (''Malaig)'' on the Scottish mainland (some sailings to Oban in winter when the only large vessel able to dock at Mallaig, MV Lord of the Isles, is covering elsewhere on the Calmac network for vessels in drydock, or in drydock herself). The company previously operated services to Castlebay (''Bàgh a' Chaisteil'') on Barra
Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway.
In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...
, however as of the 2016 fleet reshuffle these have been removed. There is a separate service to Ardmhòr (Barra) operating from Eriskay numerous times a day. (Smaller settlements include Daliburgh (''Dalabrog''), Howmore (''Tobha Mòr'') and Ludag (''An Lùdag'').
Climate
South Uist has an oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Cfb'').
Etymology
Mac an Tàilleir (2003) suggests that the derivation of ''Uist'' may be "corn island". However, whilst noting that the ''vist'' ending would have been familiar to speakers of Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
as meaning "dwelling", Gammeltoft (2007) says that the word is "of non-Gaelic origin" and that it reveals itself as one of a number of "foreign place-names having undergone adaptation in Old Norse". In contrast, Clancy (2018) has argued that ''Ívist'' itself is an Old Norse calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...
on an earlier Gaelic name, ''*Ibuid'' or ''Ibdaig'', which corresponds to Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
’s ''Eboudai''. Coates (2006) linked the names ''Uist'' and ''Ibiza
Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
'', an island in the Mediterranean, arguing for an origin in Semitic ''*bšm'' ("balsam") with the island-naming prefix ''*’y'', acknowledging the possibility of a name transfer and the name being subject to the influence of Norse ''ívist''.
History
Early history
South Uist was clearly home to a thriving Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
community. The island is covered in several neolithic remains, such as burial cairns, and a small number of standing stones, of which the largest—standing tall—is in the centre of the island, at the northern edge of Beinn A' Charra. Occupation continued into the Chalcolithic
The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...
, as evidenced by a number of Beaker finds throughout the island.
Later in the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, a man was mummified, and placed on display at Cladh Hallan, parts occasionally being replaced over the centuries; he was joined by a woman three hundred years later. Together they are the only known prehistoric
Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...
mummies in the British Isles. Towards the end of the Bronze Age, the mummies were buried, and a row of roundhouses built on top of them.
Burials underneath buildings during this time are seen elsewhere on South Uist. At Hornish Point (''Cnoc Mòr'') a burial was found under a roundhouse, consisting of an individual, likely male and aged 12. The skeleton had been dismembered, probably some time after death when the body was partly decomposed. Cannibalism was ruled out as there were none of the marks of skinning, filleting and butchering which would be expected if it was cannibalism.
Cladh Hallan was not abandoned until the late Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
. At around that time, in the 2nd century BC, a broch
In archaeology, a broch is an British Iron Age, Iron Age drystone hollow-walled structure found in Scotland. Brochs belong to the classification "complex Atlantic roundhouse" devised by Scottish archaeologists in the 1980s.
Brochs are round ...
was built at Dun Vulan; archeological investigation suggests the inhabitants often ate pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...
. After the 2nd century AD, the Dun Vulan broch was converted into a three-roomed house. At a similar time, a wheelhouse was constructed at Kilpheder; within a cupboard (in the wheelhouse) was found an enameled bronze brooch, of a style fashionable in the Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.
Julius Caes ...
of 150 AD.
Kingdom of the Isles
In the 9th century, Vikings invaded South Uist, along with the rest of the Hebrides, and the gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata
Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...
to the south, and established the Kingdom of the Isles
The Kingdom of the Isles, also known as Sodor, was a Norse–Gaelic kingdom comprising the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and the islands of the Clyde from the 9th to the 13th centuries. The islands were known in Old Norse as the , or "Southern I ...
throughout these lands. A short Ogham
Ogham (also ogam and ogom, , Modern Irish: ; , later ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish language ( scholastic ...
inscription has been found in Bornish, inscribed on a piece of animal bone, dating from this era;[''An Ogham-Inscribed Plaque from Bornais, South Uist'', Katherine Forsyth in ''West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300'', edited by Gareth Williams, 2007, Koninklijke Brill, p. 471-472] it is thought that the Vikings used it as a gaming token, or perhaps for sortilege.
Following Norwegian unification under King Harold Fairhair, the Kingdom of the Isles was declared a crown dependency by the Norwegian king; to the Norwegians it was ''Suðreyjar'' (meaning ''southern isles''). Malcolm III of Scotland
Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...
acknowledged in writing that Suðreyjar was under Norwegian control , and later King Edgar was forced toquitclaim
Generally, a quitclaim is a formal renunciation of a legal claim against some other person, or of a right to land. A person who quitclaims renounces or relinquishes a claim to some legal right, or transfers a legal interest in land. Originally a c ...
in favour of the invaders. At Kilpheder, the roundhouses were abandoned in favour of Norse longhouses; at Bornish, a few miles to the north, a more substantial Norse settlement was built. As indicated by archaeological finds, residents had access to a wide trading network, stretching throughout the Norwegian empire, as well as adjacent lands like Ireland.
However, in the mid-12th century, Somerled
Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...
, a Norse-Gael of uncertain origin, launched a coup, which made Suðreyjar independent of Norwegian domination. Following his death, Norwegian authority was nominally restored, but in practice the kingdom was divided between Somerled's heirs (), and the dynasty that Somerled had deposed (the Crovan dynasty). The final return of Scotland's territory was to follow. The MacRory, a branch of Somerled's heirs, ruled Uist, as well as Barra
Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway.
In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...
, Eigg
Eigg ( ; ) is one of the Small Isles in the Scotland, Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the island of Isle of Skye, Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With ...
, Rùm, the Rough Bounds, Bute
Bute or BUTE may refer to:
People
* Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute
* Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords
* Lucian Bute (born ...
, Arran and northern Jura. A small monastery was established at Howmore.
Lordships
In the 13th century, despite Edgar's quitclaim
Generally, a quitclaim is a formal renunciation of a legal claim against some other person, or of a right to land. A person who quitclaims renounces or relinquishes a claim to some legal right, or transfers a legal interest in land. Originally a c ...
, Scottish forces attempted to restore parts of Suðreyjar to Scotland, culminating in the Battle of Largs
The Battle of Largs (2 October 1263) was a battle between the kingdoms of Kingdom of Norway (872–1397), Norway and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, on the Firth of Clyde near Largs, Scotland. The conflict formed part of the Scottish–Norwegian ...
. In 1266, the matter was settled by the Treaty of Perth, which acknowledged the whole of Suðreyjar to Scotland, in exchange for a compensatory sum of money. The Treaty expressly preserved the status of the rulers of Suðreyjar; the MacRory lands, excepting Bute, Arran, and Jura, became the ''Lordship of Garmoran'', a quasi-independent crown dependency. Following this, the Norse longhouses were gradually abandoned, in favour of new Blackhouses and a new parish church was built at Howmore for South Uist.
At the turn of the century, William I William I may refer to:
Kings
* William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England
* William I of Sicily (died 1166)
* William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion
* William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...
had created the position of Sheriff of Inverness, to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which now extended to Garmoran. In 1293, however, king John Balliol established the Sheriffdom of Skye, which included the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, following his usurpation, the Skye sheriffdom ceased to be mentioned, and the Garmoran lordship (including Uist) was confirmed to the MacRory leader. In 1343, King David II issued a further charter for this to the latter's son.
Just three years later the sole surviving MacRory heir was Amy of Garmoran. The southern parts of the Kingdom of the Isles had become the '' Lordship of the Isles'', ruled by the MacDonalds (another group of Somerled's descendants). Amy married the MacDonald leader, John of Islay, but a decade later he divorced her, and married the king's niece instead (in return for a substantial dowry
A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage.
Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
). As part of the divorce, John deprived his eldest son, Ranald, of the ability to inherit the Lordship of the Isles, in favour of a son by his new wife. As compensation, John granted Lordship of Uist to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey, while making Ranald Lord of the remainder of Garmoran.
However, on Ranald's death, disputes between Godfrey and his nephews (the elder of whom founded Clan Ranald) led to an enormous amount of violent feuding. In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence in the Highlands, King James I demanded that Highland leaders should attend a meeting at 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 ...
. On arrival, many of the leaders were seized and imprisoned; Alexander MacGorrie, son of Godfrey, was considered to be one of the two most reprehensible, and after a quick show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...
, was immediately executed.[, p. 65] King James declared the Lordship of Uist forfeit.
Fracture
Following the forfeiture, and in that same year, the Lord of the Isles granted Laird
Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...
ship of the southern third of South Uist (traditionally called ''Lochboisdale''), together with Barra
Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway.
In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...
, to Giolla Adhamhnáin mac Néill, leader of the MacNeils. At around this time Calvay Castle was built, guarding Lochboisdale.
The remainder of South Uist remained with the Scottish crown until 1469, when James III granted Lairdship of it to John of Ross, the Lord of the Isles; in turn, John passed it to his own half-brother, Hugh of Sleat (the grant to Hugh was later confirmed by the king— James IV—in a 1493 charter). Hugh died a few years later, in 1498, and for reasons that are not remotely clear, his son—John of Sleat—immediately resigned, transferring all authority to the king.
On 3 August that same year, king James IV awarded the central third of South Uist (traditionally known as ''Kilpheder''), by charter to Ranald Bane, leader of Clan Ranald.[Angus & Archibald Macdonald. ''The Clan Donald'' volume 2, The Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd, 1900, p. 238] Two days later, the king gave Ranald Bane a charter for the northern third (traditionally known as ''Skirhough'') as well. Ranald Bane, or his heirs, built Casteal Bheagram, on Loch an Eilean in Skirhough, as their local stronghold.
John Moidartach and his sons
Some time after Ranald Bane's nephew, John Moidartach, succeeded as laird, he fell out of favour with King James V. By 1538, James had transferred lairdship of Kilpheder to John's younger half-brother, Farquhar; the king gave him Skirhough shortly afterwards. In 1563, Farquhar sold his portion of South Uist to a distant relation, James MacDonald (heir of the second son of John of Islay); that same year, Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legit ...
, issued a charter confirming James MacDonald as laird of these lands.
In the following year, Farquhar was murdered by John Moidartach's sons.[''Clan Donald'', Donald J MacDonald, MacDonald Publishers (of Loanhead, Midlothian), 1978, p.301] The year after that, as opponents of the Scottish reformation
The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation.
Fr ...
, Moidartach and his family took the side of the Queen during the Chaseabout Raid, and were consequently back in royal favour; the Queen prohibited them from being punished for Farquhar's murder. By the last decades of the century, John Moidartach had obtained a practical hold on Farquhar's former lands, though seemingly as a tenant of James MacDonald's heirs. In 1584 John died, and was buried at Howmore; a decorated stone from the site (the ''Clanranald Stone'') is thought to have been his headstone.
In 1596, concerned by the active involvement of highland leaders in Irish rebellions against Queen Elizabeth of England, king James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...
(Elizabeth's heir) demanded that they send well-armed men, as well as attending themselves, to meet him at Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...
on 1 August, and produce the charters for their land. As neither John Moidartach's heirs, nor those of James MacDonald, did so, Skirhough and Kilpheder became forfeit, by the corresponding Act of Parliament. Consequently, the king awarded them to Donald Gorm Mòr, the heir of Hugh of Sleat, as a reward; he had been one of the few Highland leaders who obeyed the king's summons. Donald Gorm Mòr subinfeudated
In English law, subinfeudation is the practice by which tenants, holding land under the king or other superior lord, carved out new and distinct tenures in their turn by sub-letting or alienating a part of their lands.
The tenants were termed ...
Skirhough and Kilpheder back to Clan Ranald, for £46 per annum.
Reunification
The leader of the MacNeils did not submit to the 1609 Statutes of Iona
The Statutes of Iona, passed in Scotland in 1609, required that Highland Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of ...
. Using this as justification, Clan Ranald drove the MacNeils out of Lochboisdale, and were subsequently awarded a charter for it, in 1610. In 1622, Donald Gorm Mòr's successor, Donald Gorm Òg, is found requesting that the Privy Council physically punish the Clan Ranald leadership for not removing their families and tenants from Skirhough; presumably they hadn't been paying the rent.[Angus & Archibald Macdonald. ''The Clan Donald'' volume 2, The Northern Counties Publishing Company Ltd, 1900, p. 320-321] By way of settlement of the dispute, Donald Gorm Og was granted lairdship over Lochboisdale as well; thus Donald Gorm Og became laird of the whole of South Uist, while Clan Ranald held it as his feudal vassals.
In 1633, Donald Gorm Òg decided to simply sell lairdship of South Uist to the Earl of Argyll; in January 1634, this arrangement was confirmed by a crown charter. In 1661, as a leading opponent of king Charles I, the Earl's son — the Marquess of Argyll — was convicted of high treason, and his lands became forfeit. Thus, in 1673, it was the king demanding that Clan Ranald pay their outstanding rent for South Uist.
Debt, poverty and loss
In 1701, Ailean Dearg MacDonald, the Chief of Clan MacDonald of Clanranald, built Ormaclete Castle as his new main residence in South Uist. According to local '' Seanchaidh'' Angus MacLellan, Ailean Dearg is said to have gone into considerable debt in order to build the castle and, according to the oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
, once played a prank that terrified his many creditors when they visited South Uist, which resulted in his debts all being cancelled and his credit restored.
In 1715, some venison caught fire in the kitchen, which led to the whole castle burning down. At the time, like many of the other Clan Donald leaders, Ailean Dearg was away fighting in the Jacobite rising of 1715
The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ;
or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...
. A few days after the fire, Ailean Dearg was fighting on the right wing of the Jacobite Army at the Battle of Sheriffmuir
The Battle of Sheriffmuir (, ) was an engagement in 1715 at the height of the Jacobite rising of 1715, Jacobite rising in Scotland. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Histor ...
when he fell mortally wounded. Ailean Dearg was, according to John Lorne Campbell, "killed, it was popularly said, by a silver bullet
Silver Bullet(s) or The Silver Bullet may refer to:
* Silver bullet, in folklore, a weapon against supernatural creatures; metaphorically, a simple, effective solution to a problem
Film and television
* The Silver Bullet (1935 film), ''The Silve ...
that negatived the charm he used to wear". Alasdair Dubh, 11th Chief of Clan MacDonald of Glengarry
Clan MacDonell of Glengarry, also known as Clan Ranald of Knoydart & Glengarry () is a Highland Scottish clan and is a branch of the larger Clan Donald. The clan takes its name from River Garry, Inverness-shire, River Garry where the river Garry ...
then managed to rally the faltering warriors of Clan Donald by throwing up his blue bonnet and crying () ("Blows today, mourning tomorrow!"). After these events, the Chiefs of Clan Ranald moved their main residence back to Benbecula
Benbecula ( ; or ) is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2011 census, it had a resident population of 1,283 with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It is in a zone administered by ...
.
During the time when the Chiefs of Clanranald were absentee landlord
In economics, an absentee landlord is a person who owns and rents out a profit-earning property, but does not live within the property's local economic region. The term "absentee ownership" was popularised by economist Thorstein Veblen's 1923 b ...
s, the estate Factor lived, according to Angus MacLellan, in a house at Loch Eynort on a site still known as (), or "The Rent House Point."
During the Jacobite rising of 1745
The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...
, Ranald MacDonald, the son of the Clan Ranald leader, amassed large amounts of debt by funding the Jacobite army. In the following year, Bonnie Prince Charlie
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...
was able to hide at Calvay Castle, after fleeing from the Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
, until he was able to escape with the aid of Flora MacDonald. Though an act of attainder (and forfeit) was subsequently passed against Ranald, it had no effect, due to accidentally naming him as ''Donald'' MacDonald.
Ranald's debts proved burdensome for his family, but his grandson, Ranald George MacDonald, was able to keep them at bay thanks to the Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
; the wars had restricted the supply of certain minerals, turning the production of soda ash by burning kelp
Kelps are large brown algae or seaweeds that make up the order (biology), order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genus, genera. Despite its appearance and use of photosynthesis in chloroplasts, kelp is technically not a plant but a str ...
into a highly profitable activity. Kelp harvesting (and burning) became one of the principle economic activities of the population of South Uist, but when the wars ended, competition from imported barilla
''Barilla'' refers to several species of salt-tolerant (halophyte) plants that, until the 19th century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtain ...
resulted in the kelp price collapsing. In 1837, facing bankruptcy, Ranald sold South Uist to Lt. Colonel John Gordon of Cluny.
Already accustomed to treating people as slaves, and seeing the financial advantages to livestock farming, Gordon was ruthless, evicting the population with short notice. On 11 August 1851, he demanded that everyone in South Uist attend a public meeting at Lochboisdale; according to an eyewitness, he dragged the attendees from the meeting, sometimes in handcuffs, and threw then onto waiting ships, like cattle. Having "cleared" much of the land, he replaced the population with flocks of Blackface
Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
sheep, bringing in Lowland
Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland.
Definitions
Upland and lowland are portions of a ...
farmers to care for them. The former population largely moved to Canada; the remaining populace of South Uist represented less than half of the 1841 total.[''South Uist:Archaeology and History of a Hebridean Island.'' Pearson, Shaples, Symonds. 2004. ]
Meanwhile, as both Col. Gordon and his Factors considered the nearby island of Eriskay "agriculturally worthless", accordingly used the island as a dumping ground for evicted tenants from his many other island estates throughout the southern Outer Hebrides
The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland.
It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...
. For the most part, however, the newly arrived islanders of Eriskay, which drastically multiplied the island's population, belonged overwhelmingly to the once strictly illegal Catholic Church in Scotland
The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. Christianity first arrived in Roman Britain and was strengthened by the conversion of the Picts thr ...
and had their family roots across the Sound of Barra in South Uist.
Later history
Lochboisdale became a major herring port later in the 19th century. In 1889, counties were formally created in Scotland, on shrieval boundaries, by a dedicated Local Government Act; South Uist therefore became part of the new county of Inverness. Following late 20th-century reforms, South Uist became part of the Highland Region. The population level remained steady after the 19th-century clearances (in 2004 it was 2,285). Following a series of different landowners, South Uist was owned by South Uist Estates Ltd from 1960. In 2006, the local community bought all of the company's shares, via the special purpose vehicle
A special-purpose entity (SPE), also called a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) or a financial vehicle corporation (FVC), is a legal entity (usually a limited company of some type or, sometimes, a limited partnership) created to fulfill narrow, speci ...
''Sealladh na Beinne Mòire''.
MOD Hebrides
In the north west of the island at (), a missile testing range was built in 1957–58 to launch the MGM-5 Corporal
The MGM-5 Corporal missile was an American short-range, nuclear-armed tactical surface-to-surface ballistic missile. It was the first guided weapon authorized by the United States to carry a nuclear warhead. A guided tactical ballistic missile, ...
missile, Britain and America's first guided nuclear weapon. This development went ahead despite significant protests, some locals expressing concern that the Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
language would not survive the influx of English-speaking Army personnel. The British Government claimed that there was an 'overriding national interest' in establishing a training range for their newly purchased Corporal, a weapon that was to be at the front line of Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
defence. The Corporal missile was tested from 1959 to 1963, before giving way to MGM-29 Sergeant and MGM-52 Lance
The MGM-52 Lance was a mobile field artillery tactical surface-to-surface missile (tactical ballistic missile) system used to provide both W70, nuclear and conventional fire support to the United States Army. The missile's warhead was developed ...
tactical nuclear missiles. The 'rocket range' as it is known locally has also been used to test high-altitude research rockets, Skua and Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the phylogenetic order Procellariiformes.
Description
Petrels are a monophyletic group of marine seabirds, sharing a characteristic of a nostril arrangement that results in the name "tubenoses". Petrels enco ...
. Local opposition to the range inspired the 1957 novel '' Rockets Galore'' by Compton Mackenzie, which was made into the film '' Rockets Galore!''.
MOD Hebrides is still owned by the MoD operated by QinetiQ
QinetiQ ( as in '' kinetic'') is a British defence technology company headquartered in Farnborough, Hampshire. It operates primarily in the defence, security and critical national infrastructure markets and run testing and evaluation capabili ...
as a testing facility for missile systems such as the surface-to-air Rapier missile and unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
s.
Ownership of South Uist
After a protracted campaign, South Uist residents took control of the island on 30 November 2006 in Scotland's biggest community land buyout to date. The previous landowners, a sporting syndicate, sold the assets of the estate for £4.5 million to a Community Company known as ''Stòras Uibhist'', which was set up to purchase the land and to manage it. The buyout resulted in most of South Uist, and neighbouring Benbecula, and all of Eriskay coming under community control. The proposal for community ownership received the overwhelming support of the people of the islands, who "look forward to regenerating the local economy, reversing decline and depopulation, and reducing dependency, while remaining aware of the environmental needs, culture and history of the islands". The company claims its name—''Stòras Uibhist'' (meaning 'Uist Resource')—symbolises hope for the future wealth and prosperity of the islands. The organisation's website states that ''Stòras Uibhist'' comprises South Uist Estates Ltd, South Uist Renewable Energy (the wind farm) and Lochboisdale Development Limited ("which is responsible for the newly built Marina in the port of Lochboisdale").
Economy
Tourism is important to the island's economy and attractions include the Kildonan Museum, housing the 16th-century Clanranald Stone, and the ruins of the house where Flora MacDonald was born.
South Uist is home to the Askernish Golf Course. The oldest course in the Outer Hebrides, Askernish was designed by Old Tom Morris, who also worked on the Old Course at St Andrews. Morris was commissioned by Lady Gordon Cathcart in 1891. The Askernish course existed intact until the 1930s, but was partly destroyed to make way for an aircraft runway, then abandoned, and ultimately lost. Its identity remained hidden for many years before its apparent discovery, a claim disputed by some locals.
Restoration of the course to Morris's original design was held up by disagreements with local crofters, but after legal challenges were resolved in the courts, the course opened in August 2008. The summer music school, Ceòlas, takes place every year from the first Sunday of July in Daliburgh School on the island. In 2019, it was estimated that the school contributed around £210,000 to the local economy. It is then followed by the local children's summer school, Fèis Tir a'Mhurain.
The Explore South Uist Web site discusses attractions to tourists: Loch Druidibeg a National Nature Reserve, the Cladh Hallan Roundhouses archaeological site, Ormacleit Castle
(completed in 1708 and destroyed by fire in 1715), Uist Sculpture Trail "of seven commissioned works by artists", the Statue of Our Lady of the Isles, the Askernish Golf Course, Flora MacDonald's Monument, Kildonan Museum and Crafts and some Standing Stones. The community group owner of South Uist, the Stòras Uibhist, owns the Lochcarnan 6.9MW wind farm project which began operation in 2013. It is composed of three Enercon E-70 2.3MW turbines. In 2019, the operation required re-financing which was easily obtained. A spokesperson for Stòras Uibhist said that the wind farm is important because it "generates income we can reinvest back into the communities ... to boost the economy, protect local crofting practices and generate employment opportunities".
Wildlife and conservation
The west coast of South Uist is home to the most extensive cultivated machair system in Scotland, which is protected as protected a both a Special Area of Conservation
A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...
and a Special Protection Area
A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...
under the Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...
programme. Over 200 species of flowering plants have been recorded on the reserve, some of which are nationally scarce. South Uist is considered the best place in the UK for the aquatic plant Slender Naiad ''( Najas flexilis)'', which is a European Protected Species. Nationally important populations of breeding waders are also present, including redshank, dunlin, lapwing and ringed plover. The island is also home to greylag geese on the lochs, and in summer corncrake
The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (''Crex crex'') is a bird in the Rallidae, rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and bird migration, migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter. It is a medium ...
s on the machair. Otter
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...
s and hen harriers are also seen.
Loch Druidibeg in the north of the island was formerly (until 2012) a national nature reserve owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The area, which is now protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
, covers 1,675 hectares of machair, bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...
, freshwater loch
''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...
s, estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
, heather moorland and hill. Ownership of the SSSI was transferred from SNH to the local community-owned company Stòras Uibhist.
An area of the south west coast of the island is designated as the ''South Uist Machair National Scenic Area'', one of 40 such areas in Scotland which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The designated area covers 13,314 ha in total, of which 6,289 ha is on land, with a further 7,025 ha being marine (i.e. below low tide level).
There has been considerable controversy over hedgehogs on South Uist. The animals are not native to the islands, having been introduced in the 1970s to reduce garden pests. It is claimed that they pose a threat to the eggs of ground-nesting wading birds on the island. In 2003 the Uist Wader Project — headed by Scottish Natural Heritage — began a cull of hedgehogs in the area. Following a campaign and concerns over animal welfare, this cull was called off in 2007; instead, hedgehogs are being captured and moved to mainland Scotland.
Along with the island's situation on the North Atlantic Ocean, its machair is considered to be one of the most vulnerable coasts in Scotland due to relative sea level rise
The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...
and the potential effects of climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. Specifically, research has shown that the most vulnerable areas include Ìochdar, Stoneybridge, Cille Pheadair, and Orasay.
Gaelic
At the 2011 Census it was found that 1,888 Gaelic speakers live on South Uist and Benbecula, this being 60% of the two islands' population. 'Na Meadhoinean', Middle District in South Uist, is the strongest Gaelic-speaking community in the world, at 82%.
A local Gaelic folktale tells of how a seal came out of the sea to settle a boundary dispute between the communities of Lochboisdale and Kilpheder by showing the antagonists where the boundary line should lie.
In Popular Culture
The 1962 television series, The Dark Island, was filmed in South Uist.
Notable residents
* Angus Peter Campbell (born 1952) poet and novelist with a high importance to modern Scottish Gaelic literature, as well as journalist, broadcaster and actor.
* Kathleen MacInnes (born 1969), singer, TV presenter and actress
* Danny Alexander (born 1972), Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament; lived at West Geirnish on South Uist for three years as a child"Alexander hears jobs and cuts fears"
(27 Aug 2010) Aberdeen. ''Press and Journal''.
* Fr. Allan MacDonald () (1859–1905), Roman Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...
at Daliburgh, folklore collector, and highly important poet in Scottish Gaelic literature
* Flora MacDonald (1722–1790), born at Milton; known for her help of the fugitive Prince Charles Edward Stuart after the Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...
* Etienne Macdonald Although not a resident of the island, the family of this marshall of Napoléon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
originated in Howbeg, South Uist
* Angus McPhee (1916–1997), born at Iochdar; outsider artist
* Margaret Fay Shaw (1903–2004), American photographer and folklorist
See also
* List of islands of Scotland
This is a list of islands of Scotland, the mainland of which is part of the island of Great Britain. Also included are various other related tables and lists. The definition of an offshore island used in this list is "land that is surrounded by ...
* Bun Sruth, a loch in the southeast
* Easaval, a hill in the south
* Iochdar, a hamlet on the west coast
* Kilaulay, a township on the northwest coast
* Ushenish
Ushenish is a headland on the remote east coast of South Uist
South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. Th ...
, a headland on the east coast
* Scottish island names
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
* Ballin Smith, Beverley; Taylor, Simon; and Williams, Gareth (2007) ''West over Sea: Studies in Scandinavian Sea-Borne Expansion and Settlement Before 1300''. Leiden. Brill.
*
External links
*
*
The Island Where God Speaks Gaelic Raidió Teilifís Éireann documentary from 1971
*
South Uist a Hebridean First
: Flag Institute press release 30 June 2017
An Gàrradh Mòr, Historic walled garden at Cille Bhrìghde
The world in a spin: representing the Neolithic landscapes of South Uist
in Internet Archaeology
*
{{Coord, 57, 16, N, 7, 19, W, region:GB_type:isle, display=title
Uist islands
Islands of the Outer Hebrides
Community buyouts in Scotland
National scenic areas of Scotland
Important Bird Areas of the Outer Hebrides
Highland Estates
Parishes in Western Isles
de:Kilpheder