20 Comments
Oct 4, 2023Liked by John Lovie

Thanks for this, John. Land ownership is a huge issue here in Scotland, where we have the most highly concentrated pattern of ownership of any country besides, apparently, Brazil. The Highland Clearances had a powerful and lasting impact, and well-meaning 'rewilding' and carbon offsetting projects seem set only to consolidate this further. Land reform was a high priority for the Scottish Government and although some changes have been made, they have fallen far short of aspirations.

I'm currently reading Chris Smaje's "A Small Farm Future" and he makes some really good points about how changes in land ownership have deep and long-lasting environmental and political impacts.

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I think Scotland Outdoors has done a few episodes on the concentrated land ownership in Scotland, haven't they? I had no idea until listening to it that that was true. It's devastating when you think of the history of people living on and with that land for thousands of years.

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Thanks so much for reading and for your comment, Sam. I've bought Chris Smaje's book. My TBR list is getting so long!

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I lived in Ireland a long time where the potato famine is very much perceived as a crisis caused by English land grabbers. I love these more concentrated stories of history. The impact makes it less obscure and other. Nice angle into land ownership issues.

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Thanks, yes, it's always a bit more complicated. If we're to learn from the past, it's important to learn from the whole of it, including the bits that were airbrushed out because they didn't fit the narrative, otherwise we're destined to repeat it.

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Experiencing both English and Irish education systems was enlightening that way. I wasn't a great history student either, but that is one thing I learned - it changes with the teller.

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I've read this in a few places. There's some accounts of trainloads of food leaving Irish farms and going to absentee landowners in England, while people who lived and worked on the land were left with the potatoes, or lack thereof.

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The same happened in Scotland. "Agricultural efficiency" was one of the justifications for the enclosures of the commons, with the need to grow food for the cities. Meanwhile, the locals were being starved off the land. We see the same everywhere we see colonization.

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💯💯💯

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And it so often involves cows.

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And SHEEP. The more I read about both land theft through enclosures, and environmental degradation, the more I side-eye sheep.

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"Side-eye sheep". Yes!

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Great to find this important work!

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Thank you Lucy, I'm glad you found it.

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I love how what family stories can make history feel more personal--of how the politics and context at the time directly affected a family, continues to affect their descendants. It was absolutely colonization what happened in Scotland--and it's heartbreaking to read about how systematically culture and traditions was stamped out. And I also hadn't known of the potato famine in Scotland--grateful to have read more about this, and how these systems continue to impact so many lives.

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Thank you, Freya. May we learn from the past so that we may stop repeating it.

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I love family history John. That's an impressive insight into your family line. I have never heard of the potato famine outside ireland but it makes sense their diet and weather conditions being similar.

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Thanks for reading Jen. I didn't know either until I started doing this research!

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This is a fascinating read John specially because you dated the history along side your family tree and their personal journeys. I see a lot of research and hard work here. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, I am on to the next chapter.

And the Highland Potato Famine ! Wow I had no idea that is an actual world event that propelled migrants from the highlands into the new world. So interesting!

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