Highland Scots faced many push factors that led to large-scale emigration in the 1800s-1900s. There was not enough land for subsistence farming, soils were poor, and the Potato Famine devastated the population. Later, jobs were lost in kelp harvesting and fishing as foreign competition and changed tastes impacted demand. Mechanization also reduced the need for farm labor. Further, isolation made accessing services difficult while land clearances forcibly evicted tenants so estates could be used for more profitable sheep farming. Combined, these social, economic, and political pressures left many Highlanders with no choice but to emigrate to places like Canada.

1. Migration &
Empire,
1830-1939
Emigration Push Factors –
The Highlands

2. In today’s class I am learning to:
• Identify various problems faced by
Highland Scots during the 1800s-1900s
• Explain why each reason caused
Scottish emigration
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

3. In the 1800s and 1900s, large numbers of Highland
Scots left their homes to seek a new life elsewhere,
whether other parts of Scotland or overseas.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

4. The Highlands relates to
areas of Scotland in the
north of the country (and
islands), often with the
highest mountain ranges.
Push factors are when
people are forced to move
elsewhere to escape
problems they face in their
home area.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

5. The Highlands of Scotland
saw a mass exodus of
people to Lowland
Scottish areas, or to places
such as Canada.
Some major reasons for
this were unemployment,
poor housing, isolation
and also the Highland
Clearances.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

6. Most people who lived in
the Highlands worked as
crofters (farmers).
Due to increasing
population, there was not
enough land. This meant
that farms were often sub-
divided, meaning they
were too small to earn
enough money on which
to live.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

7. Farming was very tough;
the soil was often stony
and of poor quality, and
the harsh climate meant
there was only a short
growing season for crops.
Also farming equipment
was very basic, including
tools such as the cas
chrom (used for ploughing
stony land).
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

8. The Potato Blight of the
1840s famously
devastated Ireland – but it
also hurt other places
across Europe, including
the Scottish Highlands.
This resulted in a famine
as Highlanders that relied
on their potato crop did
not have enough food to
eat or sell.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

9. Jobs were very hard to
find in the Highlands.
Many people worked
collecting kelp (seaweed
used to make chemicals).
This paid very little,
keeping the workers in
poverty and when
cheaper foreign kelp
became available those
Highland jobs were lost.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

10. New technology being
developed also led to
farming unemployment.
As machines like tractors
began to be used in the
early 1900s, this reduced
the number of workers
needed.
This led to both fewer jobs
and also lower wages.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

11. The fishing industry
provided various jobs,
such as catching and
processing fish.
During World War One,
herring could not be sold
to Germany and Russia.
These markets did not
return after the war
ended, leading to job
losses.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

12. The fishing industry also
suffered due to
changing tastes.
After World War One,
more farms in Scotland
began breeding poultry
(chickens and turkeys).
As more people could
afford this meat, they
bought less herring.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

13. Poverty was a huge
problem. Low incomes
meant poor diets which
led to poor health.
The quality of housing was
extremely poor;
blackhouses were often
shared with animals or
had leaky roofs. Other
houses lacked basic
facilities such as toilets.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

14. Highland village life was
very isolated; villages or
small farms might be
located miles and miles
from other people.
As a result of this, many
people found it hard to
access health services or
entertainment, such as
music halls or football
grounds.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

15. This isolation could also
make life difficult for
children.
Aside from being bored,
it was harder for them
to get an education.
Many rural communities
had no school, or a great
distance had to be
travelled each day.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

16. Perhaps the most famous
reason for people leaving
the Highlands was the
Highland Clearances.
Farmers and fishermen
were very poor, and some
landowners wanted them
off their land, so the land
could be used for other
activities, making them
more money.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

17. The landowners wanted to
use the land for sheep
farming. Sheep (like the
Great Cheviot) could be
sold for meat and wool.
Other Highland areas
became hunting estates,
and attracted rich people
who would come to hunt
animals such as grouse or
stags (deer).
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

18. Some landowners helped
the Highlanders to leave,
by giving them money or
tickets to go abroad.
However others used
different means, including
putting up rents to levels
the Highlanders couldn’t
pay, and then forcibly
evicting them from their
homes.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors

19. After being evicted,
people’s homes were
sometimes burned down
to prevent them from
returning.
This caused outrage and
anger across the Highlands
and there were often riots
to try and stop this.
However most people
were forced to leave.
Scottish emigration – Highland Push Factors