ABSTRACT
The clearances that took place in the name of the Duchess/Countess of Sutherland and her millionaire English husband, Lord Stafford, occupy the central ground in all accounts of the Highland clearances. The process of change on the Sutherland estate was delayed until the 1800s. The plans for the clearance of the Sutherland estate were brought to greater readiness in 1802 when the countess and her husband visited the northern estates. The revitalised planning for the Sutherland estate took shape in 1812 and 1813 when new clearances were executed at several parts of the county. The Kildonan and Assynt riots of 1813 occurred during one of the most devastating phases of the Sutherland clearances. The actual clearances executed in the period 1813 to 1816 are not so well documented as other aspects of the estate administration. Contrary to Young’s perception, other estate advisers recommended a much more cautious and gradual approach to the removals.
