HIGHLAND CLEARANCES, HENRY DUNDAS, AND THE SCOTTISH SLAVE TRADE: Oh, and the Duke of Sutherland

In HIGHLAND CLEARANCES, HENRY DUNDAS, AND THE SCOTTISH SLAVE TRADE: And the Duke of Sutherland Scottish history tour guides Bruce Fummey links three of the tales from Scotlands History that are too often obscured. At the time of filming we are in the middle of a discussion of Black Lives Matter #BLM. The debate about racial justice has often focused on controversial statues, Henry Dundas the most prominent. The Scottish slave trade is almost forgotten in our consciousness, but the Highland clearances remain.

Even Robert the Bruce has been bizarrely brought into the recent statue debate. I hope this video provides a broad context

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Drone pilots were Liam McNamara

Thanks to Rob Gibson for the photograph of The Duke of Sutherland.

Scotland History Tours is here for people who want to learn about Scottish history and get ideas for Scottish history tours. I try to make videos which tell you tales from Scotland's past and give you information about key dates in Scottish history and historical places to visit in Scotland. Not all videos are tales from Scotland's history, some of them are about men from Scotland's past or women from Scotland's past. Basically the people who made Scotland. From April 2020 onward I've tried to give ideas for historic days out in Scotland. Essentially these are days out in Scotland for adults who are interested in historical places to visit in Scotland.

As one of Scotland history tour guides people ask: Help me plan a Scottish holiday, or help me plan a Scottish vacation of your from the US. So from April 2020 I've tried to give a bit of history, but some places of interest in Scotland as well.

[MackofDuart]

Very moving my Scottish Brother. I write from the West Coast of the USA. I am here because of the Clearances so long ago. I would like to think that the success of the Scots in this country is a bit of a middle finger to those oppressors of that time. We are still here, still upright and doing well.

[janecooper]

It needs adding - the Highland crofters that were 'cleared' out had their own sheep. Little, primitive, short-tailed sheep that they'd been farming back in AD83 and for thousands of years since then. Those little sheep were also cleared out with their croft owners and replaced with larger, white, longtailed sheep that had been introduced into Britain by the Romans. Those little sheep had provided the essential wool for clothing, bedding & more (Viking sails were made of wool), plus milk for cheese that could be stored over the winter as well as meat from older animals. The crofters only had tiny flocks and they were brought into sheepfolds by the croft house at night for protection. Without their little dunface sheep the crofters would have struggled to survive in the Highlands. Next time you rightly talk about the 'English' sheep driving out the crofters, please don't forget that the little dunface sheep were also driven out. The Scottish Dunface or Tanface sheep were thought to have been driven to extinction, but a few survived on St Kilda, and when that population was 'evacuated' with most of their sheep being sold to finance the evacuation, a tiny feral flock was left behind on Boreray island.

[julianolan]

Thank you from Australia where so many of us must carry the duty of reparation to the colonised indigenous people who were once free here. When the poor cleared Highlanders taken to Australia by force arrived here to work as indentured labour - paying back the cost of their forced journey (yes you heard it) over years in the colony, every door in the harbour town was shut against the 'dirty immigrants'
passing through with their new overlords. We are a terrible species more so because we can do better. We know how to do better and we know everyone thrives when equality is widespread.
Warm regards Julia Margaret Nolan- great granddaughter of Irish Famine refugees.

[muleepete]

As a 66 year old retired US Navy man, a member of the Clan MacMillan and a member if of the human race, it was finding these videos and the host who is so honest and eloquent in his presentations that I have found someone with whom I feel a deeper kinship than even my brothers at arms. Bruce, you are a refreshing and enlightened voice who tells great stories without prejudice. You are a wonder to listen to. Thank you for your lessons in Scots history and moral perspective. May I call you Friend?

[francessocha]

As a young teacher in the mid sixties I was told I was not allowed to teach the Highland Clearances. We need to leave these statues where they are but make sure folk know why. As ever greed, self -aggrandisement and self interest rule. We need to learn. “Haud ga’en” Bruce.

[jamescoughlan]

All school kids should be taken to these statues and be told the truth, serves a much better function than tearing them down to be forgotten

[junestewart]

Well done and I would like to think most people feel the same. We Scots have a long and varied history which, as you so rightly say, must be exposed and accepted for the age in which it had happened. We should move on from learning these very lessons but often we end up repeating them. Brilliant video Bruce 💕.

[tbwpiper]

I'm a white man in his sixties, Irish by descent, and heard the stories of the Irish being starved off of their land. I am aware of such tragedy but allow it not to impede my forward momentum into the future. While history is important, the future is equally and critically so. They're the two halves of the human scale. But never must one outweigh the other, lest the imbalance turn over the entire structure. Slavery was, is, and always will be the scourge of mankind, no matter the colour or race of the perpetrators and their victims. As you said, ALL LIVES MATTER. Once that is understood the scales of humanity will again be leveled. This was an excellent video and touched home the lives of all who love the peoples of the world.

[davidgillis]

Beautiful video, I'm currently in Canada after a couple centuries removed from the clearances.

[Murderbot]

Bruce, I’ve enjoyed all of your videos. I have no idea how, nor why they showed up in my recommendations. But I’m glad that I got connected to them.

[scrapbagstudios]

Thank you for this excellent video. You have packed a lot into this short video and painted a very vivid picture. I live in Australia and First Nations people are currently battling (still battling I should say) for recognition - of the true history - of culture, language and to be listened to, to be included in the constitution. I do not have First Nations heritage, I was born in England, but I cannot stand injustice in any form, wherever it lands and by whom it is wielded. I did not know a lot of the detail of the clearances, but I have known about them for a long time and like the Enclosures in England, that they caused a lot of suffering at the hands of fat cats. Keep up the good work. 💙

[raydriver]

So moving. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: you have the words 🌞

[abj]

Thanks for sharing this history! As a Black American who finds the Dundas clan on my family tree, this is one cool lesson!

[OkieJammer]

Wow.
Sigh. Shaking my head.
Just ... Wow.
I watched this more than once. This video needs to be required viewing for students in middle and high school classrooms - everywhere.

[darrylpatterson]

Thanks again Bruce, wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments. History must not be buried or erased. We learn from the good and the bad to hopefully do better.

[mysteryhombre]

This is one of the most hauntingly poetic videos I've ever seen, your words and atmosphere took me back to that time.

[octavialewis]

I'm African American and truly enjoy your channel. 😘

[monicalynnjames]

A truly beautiful tribute to the complex history of the highlands, thank you so much for your work to tell the whole story!

[seanryan]

Profoundly touched by your voice. Thank you!

[tzefirayah_travelmore.]

Fascinating topic! Thank you for sharing this historic story. You're a wonderful storyteller! Peace.