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PART I.
SCOTTISH HISTORY - 7000 B.C. TO c. 1800 A.D.
To fully understand the history of Clan MacIntyre one must be familiar with the ethnic origins of the Scottish
people, the creation and inheritance of Scottish surnames, the Scottish clan system, and the major events in
Scottish history. What you are about to read is neither pure fact nor fantasy but simply the best judgment of this
author after reading the opinions of many writers, including the author of the first edition. These authors are in
general agreement but often disagree on the details.
Sources of Information. In the Gaelic tradition, the history of Scotland and Clan MacIntyre comes primarily
from legend. The Celtic culture and Druid religion relied on bards (poets), storytellers, and seanachies
(genealogists/historians) to maintain a rich oral history in the form of sagas, legends, songs, and poems.
Archeology can confirm approximate dates but the search for truth requires a sprinkling of common sense and
intuition. For example, legends abound in fanciful exaggeration and may miss the mark by a millennium or a
continent, yet they still contain a great deal of truth. It is the desire to know our past and to pass it on that
creates these stories and this book. Legends make wonderful bedtime stories and MacIntyres are truly blessed
with many colorful ones. 1
Written histories don’t appear until the last half of the 15th century and it was still difficult to distinguish
between legend and fact until the 20th century. The most reliable information comes from church and legal
documents. The next best information is from the so-called Black Books that were kept by many clans,
although these are clearly biased, as are all histories.
THE SCOTS -- Origin, Surnames, and Clan System
Origin of the Scots. There is archeological evidence in Scotland of the presence of hunter-gatherers around
7000 B.C. By 3000 B.C., there were Neolithic farmers and cairn 2 builders. Around 1500 B.C., there is
evidence of early Mesolithic, Bronze-Age people. The first wave of Celtic tribes from southeastern Europe3
arrived about 1200 – 1000 B.C. These people were not the ancestors of the Scots.
According to the legends, in about 500 B.C. the Celtic people in Ireland were conquered by another Celtic
group who came by sea from the Iberian Peninsula. These conquerors have been called by several names:
Gaels, Milesians, and Scoti.4 Their legends had foretold they would find an Isle of Destiny and they brought
with them their “Stone of Destiny” (Lia Fail)5 upon which they proclaimed their High Kings (Ard Righ).
Around this time, the Britons, who were an Iron-Age Celtic group from northern Europe, conquered England
and Wales.
Because the Celts did not have a written history of their own, the only written descriptions of them were by
outsiders who said they were warlike, artistic, and egalitarian. Some combination . . . but it fits the Gaelic and
Scottish persona like a glove!
At the beginning of the first millennium A.D., most of the western world was under the control of the Roman
Empire except for the British Isles, still controlled by Celts. To the outside world, Scotland was known as Alba
or Caledonia; Ireland was known as Scotia or Hibernia; and, England plus Wales was known as Britannia. The
English Channel did not deter the Roman Legions who subjugated the Britons by the middle of the first
century.6 Although they tried, the Romans could not vanquish the inhabitants of Alba, whom they called Picts.7
The Picts were so fierce and troublesome that Emperor Hadrian built a protective wall from sea to sea.8 The
location of this wall is almost identical to the present border between England and Scotland.
The Romans had plans to conquer Scotia (Ireland) but their empire was declining and they never got around
to it. Deprived of doing battle with the Roman Legions, the Scoti continued to battle each other - an enduring,
1 A few of these legends are included in Part I but most of them are in Part V.
2 Pile of stone indicating a gravesite.
3 This area is due north of Greece and Turkey that is now known as Romania. It was the site of the ancient Scythians.
4 Named Gaels after their place of origin in Asia Minor, Milesians after a revered king, and Scoti after an ancient queen.
5 See Part V. Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny) and The Isle of Destiny.
6 Unless otherwise noted, from this point forward, all dates will be A.D.
7 The Romans called these people Picts because their warriors drew colorful designs (pictorials) on their skin.
8 Hadrian’s Wall was built from 122-128 A.D.
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if not endearing, hallmark of the Gaelic people. Between battles, they continued to live on their Isle of Destiny
and to give temporary allegiance to their High King at Tara.
(Map showing Tara, Ulster, Scotia, Iona, Alba, Argyll, Dal Riada, The Dalriada, Loch Etive, Glen Noe, Ben
Cruachan)
The Celtic Isles c. 33 A.D.
Ulster, the northeast corner of Scotia, was only a short distance across the sea from the west coast of Alba so
there was a natural interchange between the islands. Around the time of Christ,1 the Scoti High King, Conor
(Conchobar) MacNessa unintentionally started the first known Scoti colony in Alba as described in Deirdre of
the Sorrows, one of the three Sorrows of Irish legend.2 This legend is important in MacIntyre history because it
refers Glen Noe, Loch Etive, and Ben Cruachan, the ancestral home of the MacIntyre Chiefs.
Two hundred years later, in the third century, High King Carbris Riada established a significant Scoti colony
on the west coast of Alba. He called it “The Dalriada” after his Kingdom of Dal Riada in Ulster. The Dalriada
was located in the area we now call Argyll, meaning “of the Gaels” or “coast of the Gaels.” This enclave of
Scoti (Scots) had to be continuously defended against the Picts. About every 100 years, the colony was
strengthened and enlarged by kings of Ulster, including King Eric who assigned the task to his three sons -Lorne, Angus and Fergus Mor. Lorne ruled the part of Argyll around Loch Etive and it is still referred to as
Lorn. The Dalriada was further strengthened in the latter-half of the sixth century by the mission of St.
Columba, who converted the Picts to the Celtic form of Christianity. This change in religion, removed a major
difference between the Scots and Picts. In 576, the colony formally claimed independence from Scotia and
became known as Scotia Minor, to distinguish it from Scotia Major.3 In recognition of their independence, they
brought the coronation Stone of Destiny to the island of Iona and later to their capitol, Dunstaffnage, at the
entrance to Loch Etive.4
Scotia Minor kept increasing its territory until the middle of the ninth century, when Kenneth MacAlpin
united the Picts and the Scots to become the first King of Scotland.5 In keeping with this change, Scotia Minor
became Scotia and was eventually called Scotland, while Scotia Major reverted to being called Erin or Eire, the
names before the Scoti Gaels arrived in Ireland.
This has been a brief, albeit complicated, recounting of the origin of the Scots and Scotland. It demonstrates
the close connection between Scotland and Ireland resulting from their common Celtic-Gaelic-Scoti ancestry
that involved centuries of trade, colonization, communication, religious missionaries, and intermarriage.
Although most of these connections are not described in written records, they are manifest in the commonality
of their Gaelic language, family names, art, literature, music, and customs. The cultural heritage of the modern
Scots does not end here but its most enduring and distinctive roots are from the Gaelic Celts.
The Influence of other Bloodlines and Cultures. The Norse and the English were the last two important
bloodlines and cultures to influence the Gaelic world. Around 800 A.D., the Scandinavian kingdoms of the far
north began to attack and even settle parts of Scotland, England, and Ireland. The Vikings, as they were called,
started their expansion in the northern islands of Scotland. They hop scotched to the northern mainland, then to
the Western Isles (Inner and Outer Hebrides), and south to the Isle of Man, and over to Ireland. Over the next
500 years, they went as far south as Sicily, east to Kiev, and west to Newfoundland (Vineland). Although often
ruthless in their brutality toward those they conquered, they were not alone in this approach. Contrary to this
stereotype, the Vikings often settled down and intermarried with the local population. For example, they
established the city of Dublin, the Kingdom of Sicily, and a large Duchy in France called Normandy (Land of
the North Men).
The Vikings did not spare Argyll and the western islands of Scotland. There were raids followed by times of
accommodation, when tribute was paid and strategic marriages were arranged. The founders of most of the
1 There is a brief history of the world inside the back cover. Important events inside and outside of Scotland are listed chronologically.
2 Part V. Legend, Deirdre of the Sorrows.
3 Scotia Minor was ratified as an independent Kingdom in 576 at the Convention of Drimceatt in Scotia Major (Ireland).
4 ## Bibliography, p. 155 (In Scotland Again, H.V. Morton, 1933). Part V., Lia Fail-Stone of Destiny.
5 King MacAlpin was a Scoti but his mother was of Pictish descent.
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Highland Scottish clans, including the MacIntyres, had Norse blood in their veins. Highland clans, like the
Andersons, were primarily Norse.
The Norwegian Kingdom didn’t relinquish its last Scottish possession until 1266 A.D. Given the 400 years
they were overlords of northern and western Scotland, the remnants of the Norse influence is very small. They
left many place names and family names but had relatively little cultural influence. Many of the Norse men
married Scoti women and never returned to their homeland. This allowed the mothers to speak Gaelic and to
pass on the legends that embodied the Scoti-Gaelic heritage.
The final cultural and political influence came from England where wave upon wave of political refugees Britons, Angles, Danes, Saxons, and Normans - came over Hadrian’s Wall and resettled in the Scottish
Lowlands. It was from these refugees that the Gaelic-Scoti political system met its match and was eventually
overcome.
Scottish Surnames. Shakespeare has Juliet muse, “What’s in a name?” Alas, Romeo and Juliet lost their lives
because one was a Montague and the other, a Capulet! In a like manner, many a Scot lived or died, prospered
or declined because of their clan name.
In the Gaelic culture, last names were just that, the last name in a list of names and the last name changed,
depending on where one stopped reciting the list. The Scottish bards and seanachies spent most of their lives
memorizing and reciting the lineage and heroic deeds of their patrons. Alexander (Alister) James MacIntyre of
Inveraray related how nine generations before, his grandfather Alister had a common ancestor with Duncan
Ban MacIntyre, the famous Gaelic bard. In the early 1800s, when these two gentlemen met on the main street
of Inveraray, Duncan Ban would greet Alister’s grandfather as follows: “Failte Alister, Mac Alister, Mac
Alister, Mac Alister, Mac Alister, Mac Alister, Mac Iain, Mac Hamish, Mac Callum, Mac Callum Mhor.” The
recitation of names not only kept the names alive, but more importantly, the associated stories and legends.
Mac means “son of” or “descendant of.”1 Thus, if you were Ian, son of Fergus, your name was Ian Mac
Fergus. If Ian Mac Fergus had a son called Donald, his name would be Donald Mac Ian. If there were another
person in the village with the same name, as well there might, these two individuals would be distinguished by
adding the grandfather’s name e.g., Donald Mac Ian Mac Fergus. The names from each generation would have
to be recited until there was no confusion with someone else, and to show pride in their origin. Nevertheless, in
a normal conversation, nicknames were used just as they are today, emphasizing some personal characteristic,
e.g., Donald the Fair (Ban). Within a family, a second name was often used to indicate the position of a son
within the family as Og (younger or first son) and Faich (second son). If your father was the town’s only
shipwright, you might be known as Donald, son of the wright. Nicknames were not passed on to the next
generation unless that individual started a new clan and his nickname became the new clan’s name. If the
famous ancestor’s name was Donald, then your surname would be MacDonald “descendant of Donald.” If, in
honor of a heroic act, you started a new clan and your nickname was Bheathain or “lively one”, then your
descendants would be Mac-ic-Bheathain, pronounced MacBain or MacBean, “descendants of the lively one.”
Clan System. The clan system is based on blood relations, usually led by a patriarch. All old-world cultures
used this system, which had both social and political functions. Clans are as old as the concepts of family,
ancestor, and leader. Even the word “chief” sounds like, and has the same meaning as, “sheik” from far off
Arabia. This system is associated with Scots and Scotland because Scottish clans endured into the modern era
when it was surrounded by newer systems, especially the feudal system. For similar reasons, the clan system
has been both romanticized and vilified. The Scots fine-tuned this system and it sustained them through the
“best and worst of times” as they were dispersed to the four corners of the earth. The clan system continues to
bring Scots together at Highland gatherings, a rare demonstration of national and cultural solidarity.
Clans, Branches, and Septs. Over the centuries, Scottish clans emerged and disappeared. New clans were
formed to honor an individual for a heroic act or to acknowledge an individual’s leadership or strength. As a
clan prospered, the lack of space or a problem of succession resulted in groups going their separate ways. If the
new group came from the male line of the chief and claimed a new name, it was a new clan. If there were
further subdivisions and it retained its clan name, it was called a cadet or branch of the clan.
1 “Daughter of” in Gaelic is “Nic.” Since “Nic” is not used as a family name, we have added “descendant of” as a meaning for “Mac”, especially
when used as a clan name.
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If the group was led by someone other than the male heir of the chief or was by a daughter of the chief, they
were referred to as a sept. The term is also used to describe the relationship between a weak clan seeking
protection from a more powerful clan, or a clan forced to submit but allowed to keep their name. A sept could
also be formed when an individual clansman attached himself to another clan as their piper or bard.
Most recently, the term ‘sept’ has been applied to surnames that might be connected with a clan. This became
popular when people with Scottish ancestry wanted to know their Clan name, because their name was included
in the list of tartans. Their name wasn’t listed because their clan had been eliminated or because their Gaelic
surname was Anglicized when they immigrated. For example, MacDonald might have been changed to
Donaldson, which is why Donaldson is listed as a sept of Clan Donald. It is for this reason that in this edition,
Wrightson has been added to the list of MacIntyre septs.
Regardless of how a sept is formed, it is not part of the heraldic system. Of course, there were clans who
were decisively defeated in battle and lost everything -- their lives, land, and even their clan name.1
The Chief and his Clansmen. Among his clansmen, the chief was considered the first among equals. The
land belonged to the clan and those who lived on the clan’s land were usually related in some way. Although
the chief administered justice, he did not make the laws. Special individuals called brehons helped to develop
and passed down the laws. Although this system eventually disappeared, to this day Scottish and English laws
differ in important ways.2
The clan name indicated a personal relationship between the clansman and his chief through a common
descent from the first chief. This relationship was also expressed by symbols that were worn on their bonnet,
such as the badge (plant)3 and the crest badge.4
Thus, the clan system was a large extended family that ensured a degree of certainty and safety to clansmen
in times when both were far from guaranteed. This concept of family even extends to acknowledgment of a
close relationship and duty among independent clans who had a common ancestor, as illustrated by the
MacIntyres, MacDonalds, and MacDougalls.
Selection of the Chief. In determining who would succeed a chief, the Celtic tradition used a method called
tanistry in which the chief named his successor (tanist).5 While in later times this was often his eldest son, in
earlier times it was usually his brother. It could also be a stronger but younger son. If the chief died without
naming a tanist or without a male issue, then any male in the chief’s family who had the same great-grandfather
could be selected to be chief. This took place at a derbhfine (council meeting) of those eligible to be the chief.6,
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The chief was central to the clan’s survival. Inheritance of property by the chief’s son was not an issue, since
the territory belonged to the clan. Once the feudal system took hold in Scotland, the chief owned the land,
which his first son inherited. If the main line was without issue then the senior cadet became chief and if there
were no cadet, the clan became extinct.
The King and the Chiefs. Just as the chief was the first among equals within his clan, the Gaelic king was
only the first among his peers, who were the clan chiefs.8 The clans retained their own lands and administered
their own justice. Until the time of Robert the Bruce, the Scottish kings had very little legal authority.9 This is
one reason why the Scottish kings had difficulty in bringing the clans together for any length of time to oppose
1 For many years, the MacGregors were outlawed and were forbidden from using their surname. They used neighboring Clan names, e.g. MacIntyre.
2 There is no law in Scotland against trespassing as there is in England. Also, Scot’s Law has a not proven verdict, in addition to the standard verdicts of
guilty and not guilty.
3 The badge refers to the plant, e.g., white heather.
4 The crest badge is the crest of the chief’s coat-of-arms encircled by a belt. This does not mean that all persons with the surname MacIntyre, or
variations thereof, are descendants of the first chief. This name could also have originated in Scotland outside of the Highlands, simply as the son of a
wright. This was true for Ireland as well. Nevertheless, the need for family, that we all crave may lead anyone with the name MacIntyre, or an associated
name, to want to be part of the extended Clan MacIntyre. Who would deny someone this basic need?
5 Tanistry, as distinct from the feudal system. The feudal system used primogeniture (the eldest son inherited all of his father’s land and titles).
6 There were rare exceptions when a female inherited the chiefship, as in the case of the Mackintoshes.
7 An adaptation of this method is still available for use by the Court of the Lord Lyon in selecting a temporary clan representative (ad hoc
derbhfine).
8 This was the same as in the old Scotia (Ireland), where there were the regional kings and then there was the elected, High King at Tara.
9 MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, was able to ignore the Kings of Scotland through an alliance with the Norse Kings.
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their enemies. The interests of the individual clan were always more important than the king or nation. When
the English fought the Scots, the Scots usually won the first battle but lost the war. Even when it appeared that
the clans were united, there were clans who abstained from fighting, and sometimes fought on the other side.
Conversely, the English were ruled by an absolute feudal king who the barons had to support, or else. The best
alternative was exile but the punishment was often the Tower of London or the chopping block.
DEMISE OF THE CLAN SYSTEM1
Clash of Cultures. In Scotland, two major systems of governance and culture competed for preeminence.
There was the clan system that originated with the Celts and was refined by the Scoti. From the south came
the newer European feudal system that originated with the Germans. Both systems affected daily life and
their differences instigated many conflicts. The final battle in support of the Gaelic clan culture was fought
at Culloden in 1746. There was a third influence from the Norse, but it was quite similar to the clan
system.
In the modern vernacular, the clan system was organized from the bottom up and the feudal system from the
top down. The essential difference was the clan’s emphasis on family, relative equality, and leadership, while
the feudal system was based on land ownership, inequality, and ultimately on the divine right of kings.
In the feudal system, the barons (equivalent to Gaelic chiefs) gave their land and allegiance to the king who,
at his pleasure, returned to them the use of the land along with honorary titles and privileges. These privileges
included administering the laws, “in the name of the King.” The land and honorary titles were passed on to
the first-born male, as the heir apparent, in a system known as primogeniture. The king had the power to create
new titles and he reclaimed his land from any baron who failed in his allegiance and give them to a more loyal
subject, for services rendered or promised. In the feudal system, the people who worked on the noble’s land
were not related to him, except for extramarital relations. In fact, the livestock were often treated better than the
peasants because they were more valuable, reliable, and less trouble.2 Feudalism, and its continuations in the
form of the “barons” of industry, eventually lost its control of the peasants to still newer social, political, and
economic systems that were based on freedom of the individual.
By comparison, in the Gaelic clan system the position of chief was by consent of the clansmen, who were
family. A change in a Gaelic king did not change the relationship of a clan chief to his clansmen. A chief
would not and could not treat his clansmen as his personal property. Clan territory belonged to the clansmen
and could not be transferred by the chief to another clan or to the king without their consent. The chief and the
clansmen protected each other with their lives, even against the king. This meant that the military strength of
the clan determined their independence from the king and the strength of the king depended on the strength of
his clan. The chief’s status depended on his wisdom, military prowess, and leadership skills. Among different
clans, there were always disagreements due to the lack of distinct territorial boundaries and fierce clan loyalty,
without regard to right and wrong.
The collision between the English and Gaelic cultures and between the feudal and clan systems intensified in
the middle of the 12th century and continues to this day.3 The flashpoints for these differences were at the
border of Scottish Highlands. The conflicts were also Highlands vs. Lowlands, traditional vs. new, and
Catholic vs. Protestant. The problem originated at the border between England and Scotland that was crossed
by wave after wave of vanquished English rulers and their entourage. This immigration continued for more
than a thousand years. These “refugees” smoothed their welcome and forged alliances by offering gold, and
their daughters. The sequence of influx was: Britons, Saxons, Angles, and Danes, the latter having lost to the
French-Norman, William the Conqueror, in 1066. William brought from the continent a highly sophisticated
and oppressive form of feudalism. It was another one hundred years before the Anglo-Normans became the last
1 For those who can’t wait to read about Clan MacIntyre’s history, you can skip to Part II. For genealogists, anxious to study the MacIntyre Chiefs and
Chieftains, go directly to Part III. For those who have had enough “history” for a while, you can take rest by reading poetry and stories in Parts IV and V.
For the rest of you, I say, “ charge ahead.”
2 See Jonathon Swift’s, A Modest Proposal, which is from a later period and satirical but the based on the same premise.
3 It is the reason Scotland recently voted for devolution and their own Parliament.
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major group to enter Scotland from the South. In 1154, an internal fight brought the losing French-Norman
faction to the Scottish doorstep with their money, daughters, and most significantly, their feudal system.
While most of the nobles came from England to Scotland, there were instances when the flow was reversed,
when an unsuccessful claimant to the Scottish throne fled to the English court for the safety of his family.
These children were brought up speaking English and learning the customs of the English court (Anglicized).
When the tide turned back in Scotland, usually after a king was assassinated, a call went out for the son of the
previous king to return to Scotland. Unfortunately, he was Scottish in name only and eventually not even in
name.
In the Scottish court and at the border of the Highlands, the concept of chief and clansman began to lose
ground to the concept of lord and subject. The nobles from England curried favor with the weak, Anglicized,
Scottish kings, and in return, for their money and daughters, they were given land, titles, and privileges. The
lands were often taken from Highland clans who backed the losing side in the intrigues over who was the
rightful king. The concept of land ownership within the feudal system slowly became imposed on much of
Scotland, which meant that the king and not the clans owned the land.
A Slow Death. The clan system reached its high point in 1156-58 when Somerled took control of Argyll and
the western Isles from the Norse overlords. It never had a chance to rest due to constant pressure from the
feudal tide from the south. In fact, it lost its first battle in 1164, after Somerled was murdered on the eve of a
great battle with Malcolm IV (the Maiden), King of Scotland.1 One would think that a united Scottish
Kingdom would be good for the clan system, but the system was based on the independence of the clans
loosely held together by an appointed king. Starting with this victory, the kings of Scotland began to impose
the feudal system on the Highlands that included an inherited monarchy. This led to a Scottish civil war which
superficially ended in 1266 when the feudal King of Scotland, Alexander III defeated The MacDonald, Lord of
the Isles, the strongest supporter of the clan system. By outward appearances, Scotland was at its strongest,
with both the Highlands and Lowlands united under one feudal king who was of direct Scoti descent and to
whom all owed their fealty (feudal allegiance). However, neither the marriage between the clan and feudal
systems nor the marriage between the Gaelic and English cultures, was ever consummated. The internal
conflicts based on their inherent differences contributed to constant conflict and the eventual loss of Scotland’s
independence. Not by coincidence, Alexander III (1249 – 1286) was the last King of Scotland with direct Scoti
blood descent.
The demise of the Gaelic culture in Scotland was also unfolding in Ireland but with less subtlety. There were
direct attempts by the English to conquer, subjugate, and, if necessary, annihilate the Irish Gaelic population in
order to take over their Isle of Destiny. The first attempt was by the newly established King, William the
Conqueror. His Normans conquered Ireland in a military sense but failed to conquer the Gaelic culture, which
they found so enjoyable that they became “more Irish than the Irish.”
However, that didn’t stop the English kings from trying again and again. The efforts intensified when Henry
VIII’s new religion made it legal to kill Roman Catholic priests and to steal from the monasteries. Ireland was
now seen as the bastion of Catholicism. Elizabeth the First carried on where her father left off, and it was close
to genocide. The resistance of the Gaelic chiefs (earls) led by Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tir-Owen, continued for
nine years. Although the English lost most of the battles, they eventually wore the Irish down. Their Gaelic
King, “The O’Neill,”2 with a red hand on his banner, reluctantly agreed to terms. But Elizabeth I, died before
the agreement was signed. Her successor, King James VI of Scotland, now became King James I of England as
well. King James was an ardent Protestant and his Irish solution was to settle O’Neill’s land of Ulster with
Scottish Protestants who could control the Catholics and Gaels. So, in 1607, The O’Neill and his earls were
forced to leave Ireland for the Continent. This tragic event in Irish history is known as “The Flight of the Earls”
and signaled the end of 2500 years of Gaelic rule in Ireland. The O’Neill was eventually hunted down and
murdered in France. It is indeed ironic that this took place at the hands of a Scottish king who should have
supported Gaeldom. Unfortunately for the Irish, James had become “more English than the English.” Once the
1 He was the King of Scotland but not a Scottish king because only a small portion of the King’s blood was Scottish and he possessed even less Scottish
culture. After all, English had been the language of the Scottish court for 100 years, starting with Malcolm III (Canmore) and his Saxon wife, Margaret.
2 In an act of defiance, Hugh O’Neill, called Earl of Tir-Owen under the feudal system, returned to his Gaelic roots, publicly rejected his Earldom, and
henceforth, was only addressed by his Gaelic title, The O’Neill.
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Ulster chiefs had left Ireland, their lands became forfeit and King James gave them to his English and Scottish
supporters. These plantations were mostly populated by Protestants from Scotland. The consequences of this
policy continue to this very day in the violent religious and cultural divide known euphemistically in Northern
Ireland as, “The Troubles.”
After their “success” in Ireland, the English monarchs turned their attention once more to putting an end to
the last vestige of Gaeldom, the Scottish clan system. This should have been easy since for over three hundred
years, Scottish kings hadn’t been of Gaelic or Scoti descent and Gaelic hadn’t been spoken in the Scottish
Court or Parliament. Yet, the Highlanders were still speaking Gaelic and acting as if they were Gaels, and this
represented a real threat to the Crown. Time after time, it appeared that the clans were doomed. Malcolm IV
ostensibly united the Scottish Kingdom as far back as 1164. In 1266, Alexander III defeated The Lord of the
Isles, which supposedly sealed the fate of the clan system. In 1314, Robert the Bruce appeared to maintain an
independent Scottish Kingdom at Bannockburn and technically this continued in 1603, when the crowns of the
two kingdoms (Scotland and England) were united under the Scottish King, James Stewart, the sixth of
Scotland and the first of England. Despite the appearance of a Scottish born king, but he ruled from London. In
1707, the de facto domination of England became a legal reality, when the two kingdoms (with one king)
became one kingdom. Under immense pressure, liberal bribes, and threat of invasion from England, the
Scottish Parliament, by passing the Act of Union, created a single country, Great Britain.1 This appears to be
the only instance where a sovereign nation voted itself out of existence.2
Resistance. The forced union of Scotland with England coincided with the subjugation of the Gaels in
Ireland. The Highland clans continued their resistance to this “union” for another 150 years. The clan system,
with its family ties based on equality and a blood relationship, was so strong that it could not be dismissed
easily or peacefully. In a direct effort to weaken the clan system, an Act of Parliament in 1608 officially
severed the patriarchal relationship of the chief to his clansmen by making him their legal landlord. Although
this did not change the hearts of the Highlanders or their loyalty to their Chief, it was another incursion of the
feudal system. It was now necessary to provide proof of title, both to land and nobility. This included a coat of
arms, a land designation, and an honorary title. Even the staunchly Gaelic chiefs began to accept this system of
nobility, including those who didn’t have title to their land e.g., MacDonald of Keppoch and MacIntyre of
Glenoe. The Scottish chief’s coat of arms signified his families’ past and therefore the past of his clan, but it
was a symbol of feudalism.
HIGHLAND WARS
There were always feuds among clans that sporadically resulted in minor battles. These battles were short
because they took the combatants away from cultivation of their meager crops. The feuds ranged from a single
death (blood feud) to conflicts over land, inheritance, or power (king of the hill). Every so often, feuds
escalated into major conflicts. These were usually kept within the confines of Scotland, but when they involved
the Scottish monarchy, one side often sought help from the English, with disastrous consequences. The wars
were ostensibly fought over important principles, but the underlying conflict was between the Highland/Gaelic
culture and the English/Feudal culture.
Civil War. Starting in the late 1500s there was disagreement over governance of the Scottish church. On one
side were the King and his appointed bishops, known as Royalists. Opposing them was the laity, known as
Presbyterians or Covenanters. The result was a civil war. Although it made no outward sense, the MacDonalds
supported the King and the Campbells supported the Covenanters.
This was just the beginning of a long period of large scale fighting which saw clans fighting on one side and
then reversing themselves and fighting for the other side. The changes were some times just pragmatic - to be
on the winning side - or based on a change in the issue, e.g., from church governance to independence from
English domination. Among the major events during this period of upheaval were the execution of the Stuart
King Charles I of the United Kingdoms, the exile of Charles II, the rise and fall of Oliver Cromwell, the
restoration of Charles II, the execution of the Marquis of Argyll, the rise and fall of James the VII of Scotland
and II of England, the accession of William and Mary, and the massacre of the MacDonalds at Glen Coe.
1 See Robert Burn’s poem, Parcel of Rogues, with the famous line “… bought and sold for English gold.”
2 The only other possibility would be East Germany.
8
Rebellion. The civil discord that started in the late 1500s never really ended because the Scots were never free
of the English yoke. The Parliament was in London and the new King, William of Orange, had no connection
with Scotland. In 1715, the monarchy was given to George I, a German from Hanover. This instigated a failed
rising in support of James, the son of James II, who was the legitimate blood successor to the throne of the
United Kingdom through the Stuart line. Once again, it was the MacDonalds leading the Highland clans
against the Campbells, who supported the monarchy, even though the King was a German. The rebels were
called Jacobites, Latin for James. If successful, James, called the Old Chevalier or Pretender, would have been
James III of England and VIII of Scotland.
In 1745, there was one last great rebellion to return to the throne to the son of James VIII, Charles James
Stuart. His supporters called him Bonnie Prince Charlie and his detractors called him the Young Chevalier or
Pretender. The motivation was to free Scotland from English domination even if it meant accepting feudal
system. As we all know, that after initial success brought the rebels to the doorstep of London the rebellion
ended when the depleted and bedraggled Highland clans were defeated at Culloden, on April 16, 1746.
Aftermath of the ’45 Rebellion. Despite loss of their rights, internal warfare, and total military defeat at
Culloden, the sense of clan loyalty, based on eternal feelings of kith and kin, the Gaelic culture, and the
Highland lifestyle could not be quenched. The losing chiefs fled to the Continent and many of their clansmen
voluntarily or involuntarily emigrated to the colonies. The concept of the clan and the loyalty that it demanded
was still alive during the major Scottish emigration to the New World. While clans have been characterized by
the feuds between the Martins and the McCoys, the clan system and Gaelic culture served as a source of
strength for the Scottish immigrants. The warm coals of clanship remained and were rekindled wherever they
were taken. They continue to burn in the hearts and minds of Scots to this very day in every corner of the earth.
As happened to the Irish earls 150 year before, the lands of the Highland chiefs who supported the Jacobite
cause were forfeited to the Crown and given to chiefs who supported the Government. Unlike what happened
in Ireland, at least the forfeited lands in Scotland were given to Scots instead of foreigners. However, this
didn’t end the strife, because in one respect, the new landlords were worse than foreign conquerors, they were
traitors! The Campbells were the major beneficiary of this land grab. They became the hated agents of the
Crown and collected the rents. Many clansmen remained loyal to their exiled chiefs and in addition to paying
rent to their new “Land-Lord,” they made a secret payment to their chiefs in exile. In this way, they recognized
their clan obligations even though there was no legal bond.
The victorious English now took numerous steps to eliminate the last vestiges of the Scottish clan system.
Following the indiscriminate butchery of the survivors of Culloden, laws were enacted that kept Scots from
bearing arms or even playing the bagpipe, for the pipes were considered Articles of War.1 Recognizing the
potential threat from cultural and family ties, the Hanoverian government outlawed and ruthlessly suppressed
the wearing of the kilt or showing the tartan. They had previously abolished the hereditary jurisdiction of the
chiefs as local magistrates and they fostered the feudal system that discouraged a family relationship between
the lord of the manor and his tenants.
These restrictions were retained for almost forty years, more than a generation, during which they were
resisted by Scots whenever possible. The resistance is evidenced in one of R.R. McIan’s famous prints where a
MacIntyre has a plant badge of white heather in his bonnet and has used a skirt of purple cloth stitched down
the middle, to masquerade as trews (trousers). The white heather was a statement that he was a member of the
MacIntyre clan, and the pants were clearly a kilt in disguise, sans tartan. Duncan Ban MacIntyre, a famous
Gaelic poet, protested the ban on wearing the kilt in his The Song of the Breeches and he spent time in jail for
his breach of the peace. It was not until 1782 that the fear of another clan rebellion had receded enough for
James, Marquis of Graham, to obtain a repeal of the ban on the wearing of tartan and kilt. Duncan Ban
celebrated its repeal in his verse, The Highland Garb, but the “clan” as a way of life and governance, was
doomed forever. It was the very next year that the first MacIntyre from the chief’s line, Donald, the Younger,
and heir apparent to James (III), emigrated to the New World on the heels of the defeat of the English in the
American Revolution.
1 There was an element of logic in this since the kilted Scots were piped into battle.
9
Although the Stuart crown was lost, the Jacobite cause lingered on into the present century. It was fueled by
sentimentality rooted in the Highland and Scoti clan culture and traditions. In January 1966, the Royal Stuart
Society held a meeting of the Jacobites in England to celebrate a mass for James VII of Scotland and III of
Great Britain. They proclaimed Albert of Bavaria as the legitimate Stuart successor to the claims of Prince
Charles Edward and their “rightful” king, although they knew that the German Prince Albert would not claim
the throne or apply for recognition to the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms as Chief of the Royal Stewarts.
THE SCOTTISH DISPERSION
The many military defeats resulted in both voluntary and involuntary exile of Scots to all the continents. At the
same time, there were social and economic changes that worked against the survival of the clan system and
caused many people to leave Scotland.
The Scotch-Irish. Since the time when the Scots came from Northern Ireland to settle Alba (Scotland), there
had been continuous interchanges between these two lands, especially between Ulster and Argyll. County
Antrim in Ulster is only 20 miles across the Irish Sea from Kintyre in Argyll. The Scottish MacDonnell, Lords
of Islay and Kintyre at one time held the Glynns (Glens) of Antrim, married with the O'Neills, fought against
plans to colonize Ulster with English settlers and a descendant of his became the 1st Earl of Antrim.
As mentioned previously, to subdue the Irish Catholic rebels and to stabilize control of the forfeited territory,
Queen Elizabeth I established the Plantation of Ulster (1608-20), which gave the lands of the Gaelic Chiefs to
English and Scottish friends of the Crown. Scots were brought to Ulster to manage the plantations. This
practice was continued under her successor, James VI/I of the United Kingdom. MacIntyres were among those
leaving Scotland to settle on plantations in Northern Ireland, particularly Tyrone and Donegal.1 Scots were
considered the best settlers because of their work ethic. The major problem was their tendency to intermarry
with the native Irish.
In 1717, drought caused an economic depression that forced around 5,000 of these Scotch-Irish to leave
Ulster for America and emigration continued in significant numbers until 1775. By 1790, Scotch-Irish was the
second largest nationality group in the United States.2 They preferred the Appalachian mountain range, because
it reminded them of Scotland. They initially settled in New York and moved south across Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Significant concentrations of MacIntyres can still
be found in the mountains of New York and North Carolina.
Scottish Emigration and the “Clearances.” After each of the continuing conflicts, clansmen and clanswomen
were forced into exile and most of them never returned. Although relatively peaceful, the period from 1775 to
1825 was perhaps an even more difficult challenge to the clans than the ‘45 defeat. This period include crop
failures, fear of war with France, and more importantly, the rapid advancement of the Industrial Revolution.
These problems weren’t as acute as a war, but the ultimate effect was more devastating and long lasting.
The threat and reality of the Napoleonic wars required coke to stoke the iron furnaces and the coke was made
from Highland timber. Wool for the mills could not be obtained from the continent so the Highland pastures
were converted from cattle to sheep. These two activities, tree cutting for coke and pasturage for sheep,
complemented each other. The forested hills of Scotland quickly became the largely barren, grazing hillsides
we see today. The higher elevations were used for deer hunting by the Lords and their friends. One shepherd
could look after many sheep and perhaps the forest as well. As a result, many of the crofters were put off the
land. The removal of the tenants was chronicled in the two books, Highland Clearances by John Prebble and
The History of the Highland Clearances by Alexander Mackenzie.
(PHOTO) (newspaper article from that time enumerating the loss of population)
By this time, fewer and fewer Scottish tenants were blood relations or even in the same clan as the owner of
the land. Also, the sense of clan obligation had diminished over the 200 years since the clans owned the land.
Despite these major economic and social changes, between 1755 and 1795 there was only a small reduction in
1 A map of Ireland, published on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1954 by The Washington Post Washington, D.C. shows MacIntire in County Donegal and
MacIntyre in County Tyrone among the great names of the Emerald Isle.
2 The Germans were the largest group and the English were third, after the Scotch-Irish.
10
the population around Glen Noe. This was only a temporary reprieve because in the ten years between 1831
and 1841, there was a sixty percent reduction in the population of Argyll. The new, largely absentee, landlords
used the land for the highest monetary return. In only a short fifty years, sheep had replaced cattle and then
hunting had replace sheep as the most valuable use of land. An important factor was economic with that land
for hunting requiring even less workers than sheep. Fewer workers meant fewer problems and fewer expenses
for the lords who used the added profits to pay for townhouses in Edinburgh and London. The uprooted tenants
had three choices: seek their fortune overseas, go to England as beggars or servants, or enlist in one of the
King’s kilted regiments that forged the bonds of the Empire upon which the sun never set.
Fighting was a well-known vocation and avocation for Highlanders. For centuries, clansmen had fought in
foreign armies, either as mercenaries or for a cause in which they deeply believed (e.g., against England). The
Kings of France had a Scots Guard in which you could find clansmen with names like Bouquenaine and Ualis,
which had been Buchanan and Wallace. There were Scots in the army of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden,
who took part in the Thirty Years War in Germany. The Protestants served Sweden and their military
experience later helped the Covenanting Army. The Catholics entered the service of Spain, Austria, and
France. Often a bantering over a rampart or a challenge by a Scot in Gaelic would be answered in Gaelic!
Centuries later, Scots who served in the British navy went to Chile to train their sailors and remained in some
numbers. While some Latinized their name, there was an Admiral Donald MacIntyre in the Navy of Chile
some generations later.
Previous civil wars between England and Scotland had produced forced migration. Those Scots captured
after the Battles of Worcester and Dunbar against Cromwell in 1651 were deported to the colonies. Among the
places they were sent were Barbados and the Carolinas. Almost a century later, following the debacle of
Culloden, a second contingent of prisoners arrived to these locations and, to their amazement, heard the natives
and slaves speaking the Gaelic they learned from their overseers!
Regardless of the reasons for their emigration, a Scot kept a warm spot in his heart for the glen he called
home. He also took stories of loyalties and injustices, which he passed on to his descendants, via the same oral
method that his father and grandfather used; in fact, the same way my father passed them on to me (until he
wrote this book). Thus, clan loyalties (and feuds) did not die with the destruction of the clan system. To this
day, there remains a strong kinship among people of Scottish descent, especially those who bear the same
name. There is no other explanation for the feeling pride or disgrace that we feel when someone with our name
is in the news. Regardless of their socio-economic status, location, religion, or race, we know that we are
somehow connected to them and that this connection is important. There is also a sense of rivalry between
clans who at one time, many years ago, were enemies. At annual clan gatherings, there is a feeling of unity
while maintaining, in jest (usually), the traditional clan feuds such as, the MacDonalds vs. Campbells with the
MacIntyres still caught in between. Even as we toast the Queen, we think of her as the Scottish Queen so we
can retain our enmity toward the English who tried to take away our Highland heritage. We also smile when we
see the present monarchy take pleasure in wearing the kilt on their Scottish holidays at Balmoral Castle,
especially because the “Queen Mum” is a Scot by birth.
Despite centuries of defeats on the battlefield, the culture of the clan has survived, as witnessed by this book,
the Lyon Court of Heraldry, the Clan Societies and the many annual Highland gatherings. A worldwide
gathering of the clans was held in Edinburgh, Scotland in May 1977, when the descendants of those who had
left centuries before, returned to celebrate their clan’s survival and to visit the land their clans once held. This
reunion was testimony to the hardiness - and luck - of ancestors who survived war, famine, pestilence and the
other hardships of life in both the old and the new world. The motto of all of the clans might well be the
MacIntyres’ Per Ardua.