ABSTRACT
This chapter offers two windows into the problems of the Highlands during the period of transition, between Culloden and the clearances. Several of the migrants were old patriarchs uprooting their extensive families because of the oppression of factors and tacksmen. The large emigrations of the 1780s and at the turn of the century filled Highland landlords with the greatest anxiety. Military service created considerable employment opportunities in a society in which underemployment was an endemic problem. Highlanders were recruited into the regiments by a number of factors. The great champion of the Highlanders, and of the martial spirit, Major General David Stewart, never had any doubts about the enthusiasm and loyalty of the common soldiers. In the decades up to Waterloo it became increasingly difficult to raise recruits to the old Highland regiments. The transition in the role of military service was symbolic of the general transformation of Highland society between Culloden and the age of the clearances.
