A little history, on how so many of our ancestors left Scotland

[jhockin]

Hopefully this won't be judged "out of bounds" / "too political", as it is part of the reason so many of our ancestors left Scotland. I found it a very informative read.
However, I will understand ( and accept) if the mods decide to delete it. Please read through it first, though:
( weblink to a .pdf academic paper; if link doesn't work, you may have to copy, then paste, into your browser):

[PDF]Common Land in Scotland: A Brief Overview - Scottish Commons

www.scottishcommons.org/docs/commonweal_3.pdf

by A Wightman - ‎2004 - ‎Cited by 5 - ‎Related articles
This paper traces the history of Scotland's once extensive and diverse forms of common land. It provides an insight into why very little of this common land is still ..."

[ThistleDown]

Jerry, you might find these two works of 'land ownership' interest, too:

The People's Clearance 1770 -1815. J.M. Bumsted. Edinburgh University Press ISBN 85224 419 3
and
From Chiefs to Landlords...1493-1820. Robert A. Dodgshon. Edinburgh University Press ISBN 7486 1034 0

EDIT: I meant to include a third work of controversy even now about forty years on:
The Making of the Crofting Community. James Hunter. Birlinn Press. ISBN 9781 8415 8853 7

[Orionson]

"The Poor Had No Lawyers - Who Owns Scotland and How They Got It." Also, published by Birlinn.


http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts-e...linn-1.1065164

The above new book is a "must read" for anyone interested in this topic. It is also available on Amazon.

[GrainReaper]

Very interesting reads, it's always good to learn history, and the more angles and sides that can be presented help bring understanding of the whole truth. Since history is written by the victorious it can often be misleading without a volume of accounts to study.

[Orionson]

"Since history is written by the victorious it can often be misleading without a volume of accounts to study."

So, true - yet in this case, Dr. Hunter's excellent book and "The People had No Lawyers..."​are definitely not written from the "victor's" perspective. They each bring the much needed balance of the common people's perspective to the discussion.

[tulloch]

Very interesting, folks. Thanks. I have the paper printed and will read it soon. I have just ordered The Poor Had No Lawyers - Who Owns Scotland and How They Got It from Bookdepository and will have it soon. I get so much from this site!