The Highland Clearances consisted of the replacement of an ancient almost feudal system of land tenure with the rearing of sheep. As a result, many families living on a subsistence level were displaced. What became known as the Clearances are thought to have been begun by Admiral John Ross of Balnagowan Castle in Scotland in 1762, although Maclean of Dunvegan had done some experimental work on Skye in 1732.
The Clearances had their roots in the failure of the Jacobite rebellion after the Battle of Culloden in the 18th century: subsequently, legislation was introduced which was apparently designed to destroy the way of life of the Highlanders. The traditional clan system in Scotland was subsequently broken up, destroying the supporting social structures of small holdings and cattle-droving.
Predominantly English and Lowland landlords, in partnership with ex-clan chiefs, 'encouraged', sometimes forcibly, the population to move off the land which was then given over to more profitable sheep farming. The people were accommodated in poor crofts or small farms in coastal areas where farming or fishing could not sustain the communities, or they were directly put on emigration ships.
As in Ireland, the potato crop failed in the early 19th century, and a widespread outbreak of cholera further weakened the Highland population. The ongoing clearance policy resulted in starvation, deaths, and a secondary clearance, when families either migrated voluntarily or were forcibly evicted. There were many deaths of children and old people. As there were few alternatives, many emigrated, joined the British army, or moved to the growing urban cities, like Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee in Lowland Scotland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Liverpool in the north of England. In many areas people were given economic incentives to move, but few historians dispute that there were also many instances where violent methods were used by the landlords to clear the indigeous population. Elizabeth, First Countess of Sutherland and her factor, Patrick Sellar, were especially cruel and their names are reviled in Sutherland to this day.
Donald McLeod, a Sutherland crofter, later wrote about the events he witnessed:
It is debatable whether the Clearances could be considered as genocide, but from McLeod's accounts they would certainly appear to be an early instance of ethnic cleansing.
While the collapse of the clan system can be attributed more to the persecution and repression that followed the Battle of Culloden, the widespread evictions resulting from the Clearances severely impacted on the viability of the Highland population and culture. To this day, the population in the Scottish Highlands is sparse and the culture is diluted, and there are many more sheep than people. However, the Clearances did result in significant emigration of Highlanders to North America and Australasia — where today are found considerably more descendants of Highlanders than in Scotland itself. In Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Highlanders arrived in such numbers that it is now one of the few areas outside Scotland where Gaelic is spoken.