Crofting

The distinctive landscape of the Highlands and islands, including the area around Uig Bay, does not stem from an ancient way of life, but is the result of the introduction, in the 19th century, of Crofting.

Crofting is not an idyllic form of self-sufficiency. Crofts were created for families who had been farming the fertile inland areas when they were moved to the margins to make way for sheep and then deer. In the marginal areas in which they were created, a croft was not large enough to provide a living for a family unless they supplemented their income with other occupations.

The spirited resistance, in this and other areas of Skye, to the injustices imposed at and subsequent to the time of the development of crofting, led to such unease in the government that gunboats were sent to Uig Bay and, more sensibly, Lord Napier was asked to lead a Royal Commission to investigate the circumstances of the crofters. The resulting Crofters Act of 1886 for the first time safeguarded the rights of individual crofters and gave them the security which allowed them to improve their land free from the fear that their landlord would appropriate any land they improved. Many additions to crofting law later, the Crofters Commission today oversees what crofters may and may not do.

Crofting is much different now than in the past with more crofts diversifying. Crofts are now worked part time as most of the crofts in Skye now are too small to allow for a sustainable income.