Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale

[Nathan]

Government of Canada Designates Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale as National Historic Person

In late 2012, the Government of Canada offically designated Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale as a National Historic Person for his important contribution to early Canadian settlement. According to the Government's press release, the exceptional written record Captain MacDonald left behind, namely his memoirs, letters and petitions, have proven invaluable in understanding this early period of Atlantic Canadian history.

MacDonald, a Scottish noble, played a lead role in encouraging Scottish settlement of Prince Edward Island especially among the MacDonalds of Clanranald and others living on the Clanranald estates who suffered from religious persecution at the hands of their own chief.

In 1769, the Captain (Chief) of Clanranald attempted to forcibly convert his tenants on South Uist to Presbyterianism by threatening to remove them from his lands if they did not comply. In 1772, over 200 Roman Catholics mainly from the Clanranald estates of South Uist, Barra, Eigg and mainland western Invernessshire emigrated to Prince Edward Island.

In the early 1790-1791, another wave of about 900 emigrants from South Uist, Barra, Moidart, and Morar, settled in the area. Many of these new settlers arrived late in the year and suffered greatly from their first Canadian winter. At around the same time in 1791, another 650 emigrants from the Clanranald estates established themselves in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. These emigrants were soon joined by hundreds more Roman Catholics from the Western Isles in 1801 and 1802. On PEI, Glenaladale actually attempted enforce what he thought were his feudal rights over newly arrived settlers who were encouraged only to be tenants on his lands. However, once the settlers got their bearings they moved on to farm their own land and Glenaladale's settlement at Scotchfort, PEI became a transitory landing place for new pioneers to settle before moving on from his acres.

The arrival of the first Highland settlers and their struggles to survive and challenges from landlords to colonial practices are interesting chapters of Canada's early pioneering history that are well chronicled in MacDonald's writings.

The National Historic Person designation means that Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale will be included in Canada’s system of national historic sites, persons and events, on the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

You can read a short backgrounder on Glenaladale here:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/relea...1689&andor1=bg

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_M..._of_Clanranald
and
http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/relea...1926&andor1=nr