King James VI had the aim of beginning the "civilising" or "de-
Gaelicisation" of the islands and had much in common with the
Plantation of Ulster which occurred some years later. James regarded the need for civilisation as sufficiently important to employ "slauchter, mutilation, fyre-raising, or utheris inconvenieties" if necessary. In fact, he had initially planned to murder all of the native inhabitants in order to facilitate settlement, but was persuaded to abandon this plan as impractical. Most notable were the Gentleman Adventurers. In 1598, a group of noblemen, several from east Fife, sought the approval of King James for the colonisation of the Isle of Lewis. This had at its core a concept to exploit the island's natural resources. The noblemen were
Patrick Leslie of
Lindores,
James Learmonth of
Balcomie, Sir
James Anstruther, Master of Household to
Anne of Denmark,
James Spens of Wormieston,
Sir James Sandilands of
Slamannan, Cpt William Murray, John Forret of
Fingask,
Sir William Stewart,
Commendator of Pittenweem,
Sir George Home of
Wedderburn and his son David Home, and the
Duke of Lennox, the king's cousin. The
Parliament of Scotland granted the adventurers an "infestment" of the lands of Lewis. The Gentlemen Adventurers of Fife arrived at the
Isle of Lewis by ship from
St Andrews in 1599 with a private army of 600 men. A settlement of primitive houses was created on the Lewis coast near where
Stornoway now stands, in an area now called South Beach. The Clan Macleod were feudal lords of Lewis and the then clan chief Roderick Macleod sent his sons, Neil and Murdoch, to harass the new settlers. Murdoch, in particular, was a man of much learning, and was trained in the law, rather than being an illiterate pagan as the settlers purported. He served the settlers with legal papers stating the illegality of their actions. Failing any action Murdoch attacked the settlement and captured their ship and James Learmonth whom he detained for 6 months. Soon after Neil Macleod attacked the settlement with 200 men, killing 20 settlers, and seizing their property and livestock. A power struggle then began between the Macleod brothers and Neil agreed to surrender Murdoch to the remaining settlers in exchange for a pardon for his own crimes, in a court in Edinburgh. However, the agreement soured, and on return to Lewis he killed a further 60 settlers in anger. Although the Adventurers were forced to return to Fife,
MacKenzie of Kintail a rival clan, was given free leave by the Crown to attack the island of Lewis in exchange for its land, and was pushed into hunting down Neil Macleod who was eventually captured on the island of
Berisay. Neil Macleod was taken to Edinburgh by ship and put on trial. On 30 March 1613, he was charged with fire-raising, murder, theft and piracy. He was hanged at the Mercat Cross on the
Royal Mile on 1 April. He was not beheaded whilst alive (a punishment reserved for noblemen) but his head was removed post mortem and was placed on a spike above the Nether Bow Port. His lands were forfeited to the Crown. ==Kintyre==