Between 1747 and 1784 a number of estates scattered throughout the Scottish highlands were the subject of social and economic reform and experiment under Commissioners appointed by government. The records of management provide a unique opportunity to examine the traditional patterns in the human geography of the Highlands in the 1750s, '60s and '70s. Land tenure was a mosaic ef single- and multiple-tenant farms and wadsetlands (farms held in mortgage by tenant), regulated by a formal system of land denomination, and conforming at all scales to a conjoint principle. Historical demographic analysis of a parish record in conjunction with various historical data showed that the social structure till after 1800 consisted of clans, composed of agnatic lineages holding right of ancient possession in particular farms and maintaining patterns of endogamy, exogamy, residence and local migration consistent with this. The economy was essentially pastoral (cattle), communal (runrig and souming), and transhumant (shealing).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.48885 |
| Date | January 1969 |
| Creators | Macpherson, Alan G. (Alan Gibson), 1927- |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (Department of Geography) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
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