the Hebrides

HEBRIDES, THE, a group of islands off the west coast of Scotland, between 35' and 58° 30' N. and 5° 26' and 8° 40' W., also known as the Western Isles. They have been broadly classified into Outer and Inner Hebrides, the Minch and Little Minch dividing one group from the other. The chief islands of the Outer Hebrides are Lewis-with-Harris (or Long Island), North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Barra, the Shiants, St. Kilda and the Flannan Isles, or Seven Hunters, about 20 m. N.W. of Gallon Head in Lewis. Of these the Lewis portion of Long Island, the Shiants and the Flannan belong to the county of Ross and Cromarty, and the remainder to Inverness-shire. The total length of this group, from Barra Head to the Butt of Lewis, is 13o m., the breadth varying from less than I m. to 3o miles. The Inner Hebrides include Skye, Small Isles (Canna, Sanday, Rum, Eigg and Muck), Coll, Tyree, Lismore, Mull, Ulva, Staffa, Iona, Ker rera, the Slate Islands (Seil, Easdale, Luing, Shuna, Torsay), Colonsay, Oronsay, Scarba, Jura, Islay and Gigha. Of these Skye and Small Isles belong to Inverness-shire, and the rest to Argyll shire. The Hebridean islands exceed 500 in number, of which less than one-fifth are inhabited. Of the inhabited islands 8 belong to Ross and Cromarty, 44 to Inverness-shire, and 4o to Argyllshire, but of this total of 92 islands, 38 have a population of only ten persons, or fewer, each. The population of the Hebrides in 1931 numbered 61,795, of whom 6,229 spoke Gaelic only and 47,102 Gaelic and English. The most populous island is Lewis-with Harris (28,042), and next to it are Skye (9,908), Islay and Mull (2,903) .

Most of the surface is moorland and mountain, with many lochs, and only a small proportion is under cultivation.

A geological division sometimes made, into the Gneiss islands and the Trap islands, is appropriate as concerns the Outer Heb rides, for these, together with Coll and Tyree, consist almost wholly of the Lewisian gneiss. The rocks of the other principal islands, however, differ greatly. Basalts have a wide extension in south-western Skye, in Canna, Eigg and Muck, in Mull, and in most of the small neighbouring islands such as Staffa, though the gneiss reappears in Iona. The complex geological structure of south-eastern Skye (q.v.) is in some measure repeated in Rum, where bold elevations of gabbro rise nearly 2,700 ft. from sea level, surrounded in great part by a lower table-land of dark red Torridonian sandstone, which reappears farthest south in Col onsay and western Islay. The greater part of Islay and of Jura, however, consists of the Dalradian quartzites, schists and (in Islay) clay slates. The scenery of the islands, exposed as they are to the Atlantic storms, and generally treeless or nearly so. is wild and beautiful.

Potatoes and turnips are the only root crops that succeed, and barley and oats are grown in some of the islands. Sheep farming and cattle-raising are carried on very generally, and, with the fisheries, provide the main occupation of the inhabitants, who profit also from tourists in summer. Industries include distilling, slate-quarrying and manufacture of tweeds, tartans and other woollens. There are extensive deer forests in Lewis-with Harris, Skye, Mull and Jura. On many of the islands there are prehistoric remains and antiquities within the Christian period. The larger islands are all in regular communication with certain points of the mainland by means of steamers from Glasgow, Oban and Mallaig. The United Free Church has a strong hold on the people, but in a few of the islands the Roman Catholic church is still strong. In the larger inhabited islands schools have been established. The islands unite with the counties to which they belong in returning members to parliament.

History.

The Hebrides are mentioned by Ptolemy under the name of "Ej3ovoac and by Pliny under that of Hebudes, the mod ern spelling having, it is said, originated in a misprint. By the Norwegians they were called Sudreyjar or Southern Islands. The Latinized form was Sodorenses, preserved to modern times in the title of the bishop of Sodor and Man. In the 6th century Scandinavian hordes poured in but in time adopted the language and faith of the islanders. The principal immigration took place towards the end of the 9th century in the early part of the reign of Harald Fairhair, king of Norway, and consisted of persons driven to the Hebrides, as well as to Orkney and Shetland, to escape from his tyrannous rule. Soon afterwards they began to make incursions against their mother-country, and on this ac count Harald fitted out an expedition against them, and placed Orkney, Shetland, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man under Nor wegian government. The chief seat of the Norwegian sovereignty was Colonsay. About the year 1o95 Godred Crovan, king of Dublin, Man and the Hebrides, died in Islay. His third son, Olaf, succeeded to the government about 1103, and the daughter of Olaf was married to Somerled, who became the founder of the dynasty known as Lords of the Isles. Many efforts were made by the Scottish monarchs to displace the Norwegians. Alexander II. led a fleet and army to the shores of Argyllshire in 1249, but died on the island of Kerrera. On the other hand, Haakon IV., king of Norway, at once to restrain his jarls and to keep in check the Scottish kings, set sail in 1263 on a great expedition, which, however, ended disastrously at Largs. Magnus, son of Haakon, concluded in 1266 a peace with the Scots, renouncing all claim to the Hebrides and other islands except Orkney and Shetland, and Alexander III. agreed to give him a sum of 4,000 merks in four yearly payments. It was also stipulated that Mar garet, daughter of Alexander, should be betrothed to Eric, the son of Magnus, whom she married in 1281. She died two years later, leaving an only daughter, the Maid of Norway.

The race of Somerled continued to rule the islands, and from a younger son sprang the lords of Lorne, who took the patronymic of MacDougall. John MacDonald of Islay, who died about 1386, was the first to adopt the title of Lord of the Isles. He was mar ried to a daughter of the earl of Strathearn, afterwards Robert II. His son, Donald of the Isles, was memorable for his unsuccess ful rebellion in support of his claim to the earldom of Ross. Alexander, son of Donald, resumed the hereditary warfare against the Scottish crown; and in 1462 a treaty was concluded between Alexander's son and successor, John and Edward IV. of Eng land, by which John, his son John, and his cousin Donald Balloch, became bound to assist King Edward and James, earl of Douglas, in subduing the kingdom of Scotland. In the reign of James V. another John of Islay resumed the title of Lord of the Isles, but was compelled to surrender the dignity. From the time of Bruce the Campbells had been gaining the ascendancy in Argyll. The MacLeans, MacNaughtons, MacLachlans, Lamonts and others had sunk before this favoured family. The lordship of Lorne was wrested from the MacDougalls by Robert Bruce, and their ex tensive possessions, with Dunstaffnage Castle, bestowed on the king's relative, Stewart, and his descendants, afterwards lords of Lorne. The MacDonalds of Sleat, direct representatives of Somerled, though driven from Islay and deprived of supreme power by James V., still kept a sort of insular state in Skye. There were also the MacDonalds of Clanranald and Glengarry (descendants of Somerled), with the powerful houses of Mac Leod of Dunvegan and MacLeod of Harris, M'Neill of Barra and MacLean of Mull, all turbulent rivals. James VI. made an abor tive endeavour to colonize Lewis. William III. and Queen Anne attempted to subsidize the chiefs in order to preserve tranquillity, but the wars of Montrose and Dundee, and the Jacobite insur rections of 1715 and 1745, showed how futile were all such efforts. In 1748 the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, and the appoint ment of sheriffs in the different districts brought a great change, but led to high rents and emigration of tacksmen, or large tenants, to North America.

Sheep-farming on a large scale was next introduced, and the crofters were thrust into villages or barren corners of the land. The result was that, despite the numbers who entered the army or emigrated to Canada, the standard of civilization sank lower, and the population multiplied in the islands. The people came to subsist almost entirely on potatoes and herrings; and in 1846, when the potato blight began its ravages, nearly universal des titution ensued. Temporary relief was given by employment on roads and other works; and, an emigration fund being raised, from 4,000 to 5,000 of the people in the most crowded districts were removed to Australia. The Crofters' Holdings Act was passed in 1886, and in the course of a few years some improve ment was evident and has since been sustained. In recent years large numbers have emigrated to Canada.