Prehistory at Langass A number of standing stones from the
Neolithic period are scattered throughout the island, including a
stone circle at
Pobull Fhinn. In addition to these, a large
burial cairn, in almost pristine condition, is located at
Barpa Langass. The island remained inhabited for at least part of the
Bronze Age; a burial from this period was found on the Udal peninsula (near
Sollas). For the
Iron Age, in addition to the
wheelhouses typical of the Outer Hebrides, the remains of a
broch(fort), from the late Iron Age, can be found at
Dun an Sticir; there was formerly another broch near
Scolpaig, but it was replaced by
Scolpaig Tower in the 19th century.
Kingdom of the Isles and the
descendants of Somerled. In the 9th century
Viking settlers established the
Kingdom of the Isles throughout the Hebrides. Following Norwegian unification, the Kingdom of the Isles became a crown dependency of the Norwegian king; to the Norwegians it was the
Suðreyjar (meaning "southern isles"). In the mid-12th century,
Somerled, a
Norse-Gael of uncertain origin, launched a coup, which made the Suðreyjar effectively independent. Following his death, Norwegian authority was nominally restored, but in practice, the kingdom was divided between Somerled's heirs (
Clann Somhairle), and the dynasty that Somerled had deposed (the
Crovan dynasty). The
MacRory, a branch of Somerled's heirs, ruled Uist, as well as
Barra,
Eigg,
Rùm, the
Rough Bounds,
Bute,
Arran, and northern
Jura. In the 13th century Scottish forces attempted to conquer parts of Suðreyjar, culminating in the indecisive
Battle of Largs. In 1266, the matter was settled by the
Treaty of Perth, which transferred the whole of Suðreyjar to Scotland, in exchange for the sum of 4000 marks.
Lordship of Garmoran , an
Augustinian nunnery and "college of learning" at
Carinish said to have been founded by
Bethóc, daughter of
Somerled, and rebuilt and enlarged by
Amy of Garmoran, after her divorce from
John of Islay, Lord of the Isles. At the turn of the century,
William I had created the position of
Sheriff of Inverness, to be responsible for the Scottish highlands, which theoretically now extended to Garmoran. In 1293, however, King
John Balliol established the
Sheriffdom of Skye, which included the Outer Hebrides. Nevertheless, following his usurpation, the
Skye sheriffdom ceased to be mentioned and the Garmoran lordship (including Uist) was confirmed to
Ruaidhrí Mac Ruaidhrí. In 1343, King
David II issued a further charter for this to
Ruaidhrí's son. In 1346, just three years later, the sole surviving MacRory heir was Amy of Garmoran. The southern parts of the Kingdom of the Isles had become the
Lordship of the Isles, ruled by the
MacDonalds (another group of Somerled's descendants). Amy married the MacDonald chief,
John of Islay, but a decade later he divorced her. As part of the divorce, John deprived his eldest son,
Ranald, of the ability to inherit the Lordship of the Isles, in favour of a son by his new wife. As compensation, John granted Lordship of the Uists to Ranald's younger brother Godfrey. Godfrey had a younger brother, Murdoch, whose heirs, the
Siol Murdoch, now claimed to own part of North Uist. This led to a great deal of violent conflict involving Godfrey's family (the
Siol Gorrie) and those of his brothers. In 1427, frustrated with the level of violence generally in the Highlands, King
James I demanded that highland magnates should attend a meeting at
Inverness. On arrival, many of the leaders were seized and imprisoned. Alexander MacGorrie, son of Godfrey, was considered to be one of the two most reprehensible, and after a quick
show trial, was immediately executed.
Early Lairds In 1469
James III granted Lairdship of Garmoran, including North Uist, to
John of Ross, the Lord of the Isles. In turn, John passed it to his own half-brother,
Hugh of Sleat. Hugh died a few years later, and in 1505 his eldest son, John, granted North Uist (and Sleat) to
Ranald Bane, the Captain of
Clanranald. However, Hugh's second son, Donald
Gallach, opposed Clan Ranald and established his own
de facto control of North Uist and Sleat. In the following year (1506), Donald was stabbed to death by his own younger brother –
Black Archibald. The king authorised Ranald Bane to retake the lands by force. Three years later Black Archibald returned. He managed to ingratiate himself with James IV, by capturing and handing over two pirates When the
Papists Act was passed the following year, requiring his attendance at Inverlochy, he argued that he was too ill to travel. Under the terms of the act, this made him a recusant, Among MacCodrum's most popular anti-landlord poems he mocks Aonghus MacDhòmhnaill, the post-Culloden
tacksman of
Griminish. It is believed to date from between 1769 and 1773, when overwhelming numbers of Sir Alexander MacDonald's tenants on the isles of North Uist and Skye were reacting to his
rackrenting and other harsh treatments by emigrating to the region surrounding the
Cape Fear River in
North Carolina. The song is known in the oral tradition of North Uist as
Òran Fir Ghriminis ("A Song of the Tacksman of Griminish").
19th Century - Kelp and Clearances During the
French Revolutionary Wars, the scarcity of external supplies of minerals to the
United Kingdom led to a boom in the
kelp industry, which became North Uist's main source of income. When the war ended, the availability of foreign mineral supplies led to an abrupt collapse in the demand for kelp-based products. The burning of kelp had also damaged the fertility of the land. As a result, the
crofters of North Uist could no longer afford the rents. but by 1841 it had fallen to 3,870. The 7th baronet's heir, Godfrey MacDonal, the 4th
Baron of Slate ran sheep on North Uist orchestrating one of the most notable mass
evictions of the
Highland Clearances. In 1849, an attempt to evict 603 crofters from
Sollas caused rioting. Rocks were reportedly thrown at the police officers sent from Glasgow to quell the riot. In the convictions that followed the
jury added the following written comments: In 1855, Sir Godfrey decided to sell North Uist to Sir John Powlett Orde
Modern times In 1889, counties were formally created in Scotland, on shrieval boundaries, by
a dedicated Local Government Act; North Uist, therefore, became part of the new
county of Inverness. Following late 20th century reforms, it became part of
Na h-Eileanan an Iar. In 1944, the Campbell-Orde family sold North Uist Estate, not the whole island, to
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, who in 1960 sold it in turn to the
5th Earl Granville, and the current laird is
Fergus Leveson-Gower, 6th Earl Granville, who lives on the island. The Granville family administers the estate through a
trust fund called the North Uist Trust. Some of the
machair townships, however, were taken over by the
Board of Agriculture and its successors. The population of North Uist has now dwindled to around 1,200. ==Demography==