The Highland Clearances was a dark episode in Scottish history when many
thousands of people were forced off lands that they and their kin had
lived on for generations. Some boarded ships destined for the colonies
of America and Australia, others ended up on small barren plots by the
coast or in city slums. A few men were outspoken against the atrocities,
and one of them was Donald Ross. Donald Ross was a Highlander, born in
Sutherland in 1813. His father was the miller on the Skibo Castle Estate
and Donald took over the mill when his father died. He and his family
were subsequently evicted, fighting against their eviction in the
Supreme Court but losing the case. Donald moved to Glasgow and within
two years, as Agent for the Poor, helped over 1,500 people receive
poor-relief payments, which were being withheld by local parish boards.
In the 1850s Donald became the most outspoken critic of the Highland
Clearances and wrote many detailed newspaper articles and pamphlets
about mass evictions on Barra, Knoydart and Skye. His most famous
publication was The Massacre of the Rosses, in which he graphically
described the women of Strathcarron being brutally beaten by policemen
for refusing to accept eviction notices. Donald supplied over 8,000
books and pamphlets for emigrants on the ill-fated Hercules. He also
raised a lot of money to help poor people in the Hebrides, particularly
during the infamous Potato Famine. However, Donald's efforts were cut
short by a scandal that saw him and his family emigrate to Nova Scotia.
Donald's inspirational story makes him an unsung hero of the poor.
