A tacksman (, meaning "supporting man"; most common Scots spelling: ''takisman'') was a landholder of intermediate legal and social status in

Scottish Highland The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

society.

Tenant and landlord

Although a tacksman generally paid a yearly rent for the land let to him (his "tack"), his tenure might last for several generations. He would often be related to his landlord and might, for example, represent a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the family of the

clan chief The Scottish Gaelic word means children. In early times, and possibly even today, Scottish clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard ci ...

. The tacksman in turn would let out his land to sub-tenants, but he might keep some in hand himself. Dr Johnson defined the class in this manner: The three fundamental obligations traditionally imposed on tacksmen were grassum (a premium payable on entering into a lease), rental (either in kind, or in money, which was designated "tack-duty"), and the rendering of military service.Alexander Nicholson, ''History of Skye'' (3rd edition, Islands Book Trust, 2012), at pages 127 to 128.

Inheritance

As described by James Mitchell: This system began to break down by the early 18th century. In 1737, Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll decreed that tacks were to be let out to the highest bidder rather than being given to a tacksman with family connections, consequently many of the older sort of tacksmen were dispossessed. Because they mustered the tenants, acted as officers and functioned as shock troops in time of war,

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

had inadvertently weakened his military position and that of the Hanoverians in the

1745 Jacobite Rising 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 ...

.Hunter, James (1999)., Last of the free: a millennial history of the Highlands and islands of Scotland., Mainstream Pub However, his rival Donald Cameron of Lochiel maintained the old arrangements with tacksmen. As a consequence the Camerons—who sided with the Jacobites—possessed an enhanced potential to take a military initiative.

Reputation

The tacksman’s reputation was an ambiguous one. To some, he appeared to be no more than a parasitic middleman, but Dr Johnson mounted a stout defence:

Decline

The class of tacksmen was most prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries. The

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resulted from Scottish Agricultural R ...

destroyed the tacksman system – perhaps more thoroughly than they did the

crofter A croft is a traditional Scottish term for a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable, and usually, but not always, with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a ten ...

s – and many tacksmen emigrated to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

Notable tacksmen

* Flora MacDonald was a notable and characteristic member of the tacksman class. She was the daughter of Ranald MacDonald, who held the tack of Milton in

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. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...

from the chief of Clanranald, and she married Allan MacDonald, who held the tack of Kingsburgh from the Chief of Clan MacDonald of Sleat. She and her husband emigrated to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in 1773. After siding with King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

of Great Britain during the American War of Independence, Flora and her husband were forced to move, first to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, and then back to Scotland. She had numerous sons. *Aonghas Beag MacDonald, the older brother of 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 ...

Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

Alasdair mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, held the tack of Dalilea from the Chief of Clanranald.

References

{{reflist

External links

*Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 11 (1823), at pag
648
History of the Scottish Highlands