Iona : the living memory of a crofting community / E. Mairi MacArthur.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

MacArthur, E. Mairi, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Crofters.

Crofters--Scotland--Iona--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (321 pages)

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2007.

Summary:

The Hebridean island of Iona has been the focus of intense outside interest for over fourteen hundred years, from the time of St Columba’s monastery in the sixth century through to the transfer of its renowned monuments into the care of Historic Scotland in the year 2000. Yet the people who lived and worked alongside its sacred sites have been largely overshadowed until now. This book is the first to redress the balance, taking an in-depth look at Iona’s economic and social history during the 18th and 19th centuries, a period that saw profound change across the Highlands and Islands.It charts the agricultural reorganisation that led to a crofting system, follows the islanders through the harsh decade of the potato famine and records their worship and education, their crafts and customs, and the ties of kinship that underpinned their community. A broad range of sources are woven together – documentary, material and topographical.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Section I 1700–1800

1 Peopling the Landscape

2 The Age of Improvement

Section II 1800–1845

3 The Making of the Crofts

4 Gathering Storms

Section III 1846–1860

5 The Year the Potato went Away

6 Continuing Crisis

7 Adjustment at Home and Abroad

Section IV 1860–1900

8 The Broadening of Horizons

9 A Voice for the Crofters

10 Custom and Community

11 The Iona Crowd, Out West and Down Under

Section V 1700–1900

12 A School for Education

13 A Temple for Worship

Section VI

14 Conclusion: Change and Continuity

Select Bibliography

Appendix I

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Index

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

0-7486-7347-4