North Uist
143567
226146565
2008-07-17T01:01:07Z
68.239.11.231
{{Infobox Scottish island |
|Map=
|latitude=57.6
|longitude=-7.333
|GridReference=NF835697
|celtic name=Uibhist a Tuath
|norse name=
|meaning of name= From "inni-vist", Old Norse for "dwelling"
|area=30,305 ha
|area rank=10
|highest elevation=Eaval 347 m
|Population=1,271
|population rank=11
|main settlement=Lochmaddy
|island group=[[Uist]]s and [[Barra]]
|local authority=[[Na h-Eileanan Siar]]
| unitary_scotland= [[Outer Hebrides|Na h-Eileanan Siar]]
|references=<ref>2001 UK Census per [[List of islands of Scotland]]</ref><ref name=Smith>{{cite book| author=Haswell-Smith, Hamish| year=2004| title=The Scottish Islands| location=Edinburgh| publisher=Canongate| isbn=1841954543}}</ref><ref name=OS>{{cite map| url=http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/getamap/| title=Get-a-map| publisher=[[Ordnance Survey]]}}</ref><ref name=MunchGoss>{{cite web| url=http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/manxsoc/msvol22/author.htm | title=The Chronicles of Mann'' vol 22. | author=edited by Munch & Goss| publisher=Manx Society| location=Isle of Man| date=1874 | accessdate=2007-10-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/png/oi_zoega/b0229.png| title=A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic| author=Geir T. Zoëga| date=1910| publisher=[[Germanic Lexicon Project]]| accessdate=2007-07-04}}</ref>
}}
'''North Uist''' ([[Scottish Gaelic]]: ''Uibhist a Tuath'') is an island in the [[Outer Hebrides]] of [[Scotland]].
==Description==
North Uist is the ninth largest Scottish island and the thirteenth largest island surrounding [[Great Britain]].{{Fact|date=October 2007}} It has an area of 117 square miles (303.05 [[Square (algebra)|sq]] [[km]]),<ref name=Smith/> slightly smaller than [[South Uist]]. North Uist is connected by [[causeway]]s to [[Benbecula]] via [[Grimsay]], to [[Berneray, North Uist, Scotland|Berneray]], and to [[Baleshare]]. With the exception of the south east, the island is very flat, and covered with a patchwork of [[peat]] bogs, low hills and [[lochan]]s, with more than half the land being covered by water. Some of the lochs contain a mixture of fresh and tidal salt water, giving rise to some complex and unusual habitats.
According to the 2001 census North Uist had a population of 1,271, (1,320 including [[Baleshare]]).<ref name="occasional-paper-10-table1">{{cite web| url=http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files1/stats/occasional-paper-10-table1.pdf| format=PDF| title=Number of residents and households in all inhabited islands| publisher=[[General Register Office for Scotland]]| accessdate=2007-10-17}}</ref>
===Settlements===
The main settlement on the island is [[Lochmaddy]], a [[port|fishing port]] and home to a [[museum]], an [[arts centre]] and a [[camera obscura]]. [[Caledonian MacBrayne]] ferries sail from the village to [[Uig, Skye|Uig]] on [[Isle of Skye|Skye]], as well as from the island of Berneray (which is connected to North Uist by road [[causeway]]), to [[Leverburgh]] in [[Harris]]. Lochmaddy also has [[Taigh Chearsabhagh]] - a museum and arts centre with a cafe, small shop and post office service. Nearby is the Uist Outdoor Centre.
The island's main villages are [[Sollas]], Hosta, Tigharry, Hougharry, Paible, Grimsay and Cladach Kirkibost. Other settlements include [[Carinish]], [[Port nan Long]] and [[Scolpaig]], home to the [[19th century|nineteenth century]] [[Scolpaig Tower]] [[folly]].
===Things of interest===
North Uist has many prehistoric structures, including the [[Barpa Langass]] [[chambered cairn]], the [[Pobull Fhinn]] [[stone circle]], the [[Fir Bhreige]] [[standing stone]]s, the islet of [[Eilean Dòmhnuill]] (which may be the earliest [[crannog]] site in Scotland),<ref>Ian Armit, Ian (1998) ''Scotland's Hidden History''. Tempus. ISBN 0-7486-6067-4</ref> and the [[Baile Sear]] [[Roundhouse (dwelling)|roundhouses]], which were exposed by storms in January, 2005.<ref>{{cite news| last=Ross| first=John| url=http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1079032007| title=Race to study Iron Age roundhouses before they are lost to sea storms| work=[[The Scotsman]]| date=11 July 2007| accessdate=2007-12-04}}</ref>
The island is also known for its [[bird]]life, including [[Corn Crake|corncrake]]s, [[Arctic Tern|arctic tern]]s, [[Northern Gannet|gannet]]s, [[Corn Bunting|corn bunting]]s and [[Manx Shearwater|Manx shearwater]]s. The [[Royal Society for the Protection of Birds|RSPB]] has a nature reserve at Balranald.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/wisles/wisles.asp| publisher=[[Scottish Natural Heritage]]| title=Wildlife and habitats of Uist| accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref>
The island is also famed for its extremely successful athletics club (North Uist Amateur Athletics Club). This club has performed exceptionally at local, regional and national athletics competitions - taking into consideration the island's lack of facilities and small population.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
==Etymology==
In Sir Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one island of ''Ywst'' (Uist). Starting in the south of this 'island', he described the division between South Uist and Benbecula where "the end heirof the sea enters, and cuts the countrey be ebbing and flowing through it".<ref name="monro-westernislands">{{cite web| url=http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usebooks/monro-westernislands/index.html| title=A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides| publisher=Undiscovered Scotland| accessdate=2007-10-31}}</ref> Further north of Benbecula he described North Uist as "this countrey is called Kenehnache of Ywst, that is in Englishe, the north head of Ywst".<ref name="monro-westernislands"/>
Some have given the [[etymology]] of Uist from [[Old Norse]] meaning "west",<ref name=Smith/> much like [[Westray]] in the [[Orkney Islands]].<ref name="Thomas-p475-476">{{cite journal| author=Thomas, F. W. L.| title=Did the Northmen extirpate the Celtic Inhabitants of the Hebrides in the Ninth Century?| journal=Proc. Soc. of Antiq. Scot| volume=11| pages=475–476}}</ref> Another speculated derivation from Old Norse is ''Ivist'',<ref name=MunchGoss/> derived from ''vist'' meaning "an abode, dwelling, domicle".<ref>{{cite web| author=Cleasby, Richard and Vigfusson, Gudbrand| title=An Icelandic-English dictionary| date=1874| page=711| publisher=Germanic Lexicon Project| url=http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/png/oi_cleasbyvigfusson/b0711.png| accessdate=2008-01-06}}</ref> "Ívist" was the name used for Uist in the Old Norse [[saga]]s.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} A [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] etymology is also possible, with ''I-fheirste'' meaning "Crossings-island" or "Fords-island", derived from ''I'' meaning "island" and ''fearsad'' meaning "estuary, sand-bank, passage across at ebb-tide".<ref name="Thomas-p475-476"/><ref name="fearsaideag">{{cite web| url=http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MB2/mb17.html#fearsaideag fearsaideag| title=An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language| accessdate=2007-10-31}}</ref> Other place-names derived from ''fearsad'' include [[Fersit]], and [[Belfast]].<ref name="fearsaideag"/>
==Population==
In the eighteenth century the total population of the combined [[Uist]]s rose dramatically, before the population crash of the [[Highland Clearances]]. In 1755, there was an estimated combined population on the Uists, of 4,118; by 1794 it rose to 6,668; and in 1821 to 11,009.<ref name=Smith/>
'''North Uist'''
<br>The pre-clearance population of North Uist was about 5,000 and it has dwindled to about 1,300 people in 2001.
{| border="1" cellpadding="2"
|-
|width="76pt"|<center>'''pre 1820s'''<ref name="Hebridean-Princess"/></center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1841'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1881'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1891'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1931'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1961'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1971'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1981'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''1991'''</center>
|width="70pt"|<center>'''2001'''<ref name="occasional-paper-10-table1">[http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files1/stats/occasional-paper-10-table1.pdf Number of residents and households in all inhabited islands] Scotland's Census 2001 - Statistics for Inhabited Islands. [[General Register Office for Scotland]]. Retrieved on [[2007-10-17]]</ref></center>
|-
|<center>abt 5,000 ||<center>3,870</center> || <center>3,398</center> || <center>3,250</center>|| <center>2,349</center>|| <center>1,622</center>|| <center>1,469</center>|| <center>1,454</center>|| <center>1,404</center>|| <center>1,271</center>
|}
<small>From Haswell-Smith (2004)<ref name=Smith/> except as stated.</small>
==History==
After the [[Norse]] occupation of the Western Isles the [[MacRuairidh]]s controlled the island.<ref name=Smith/> North Uist was granted to Macdonald of Sleat in 1495,<ref name="undiscoveredscotland-NU">[http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/northuist/northuist/index.html North Uist (Uibhist a Tuath)] Retrieved on [[2007-10-14]]</ref> and remained in possession of the Macdonald's of Sleat until 1855, when it was sold to Sir John Powlett Ord.<ref name="Hebridean-Princess"/> Today the island is owned by the Granville family through the North Uist Trust.<ref name="Hebridean-Princess"/>
The [[force-fire]] was last made in North Uist in about 1829.{{Fact|date=October 2007}}
===North Uist and the Clearances===
{{see also|Highland Clearances}}
North Uist was hit hard during the [[Highland Clearances]], and there was large scale emigration from the island to [[Cape Breton]], [[Nova Scotia]], [[Canada]].<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII">Lawson, Bill. [http://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/gazbl/gazbl35.htm "From The Outer Hebrides to Cape Breton - Part II"]. ''[http://www.globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/ The Global Gazette]''. [[1999-09-10]]. Retrieved on [[2007-10-14]]</ref> The pre-clearance population of North Uist had been almost 5,000,<ref name="Hebridean-Princess">[http://www.hebridean.co.uk/_pdf/Hebridean-Princess-Scotland.pdf Hebridean Princess Scotland] Retrieved on [[2007-10-17]]</ref> though by 1841 it had fallen to 3,870,<ref name="undiscoveredscotland-NU"/> and has further dwindled to about 1,300 people today. The clearances occurred later on North Uist, which was predominately Presbyterian, than on South Uist which was mostly Roman Catholic.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/>
The main reason for the massive scale of emigration was the failure of the island's [[kelp]] industry. Since the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] the kelp industry had been North Uist's main source of income.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/> Though with the collapse of their main source of income the [[crofters]] of North Uist could not afford the high rents.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/> Even as the landlords reduced the rents, such as in 1827 when the rents were reduced by 20%, many crofters were forced to emigrate.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/>
The first real clearances on North Uist occurred in the 1820s.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/> In 1826 the villages of Kyles Berneray, Baile Mhic Phail and Baile mhic Conon, located on the north-east corner of North Uist, were cleared of their inhabitants. Although some moved further east to Loch Portain, most of those affected moved to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/> The effect of this is shown in the rental roll of 1827, which states that over fifty families had "Gone to America", meaning Cape Breton.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/> As the economic conditions worsened and with reports of islanders succeeding overseas, the numbers of families emigrating from Scotland to [[North America]] greatly increased.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/> In 1838 1,300 people from North Uist were recorded as being cleared.<ref name="clannada">Blamires, Steve. "[http://www.clannada.org/highland6.php The Highland Clearances - An Introduction]". [http://www.clannada.org Clannada na Gadelica]. Retrieved on [[2007-10-16]]</ref> It is misconception that most families involved in the clearances were "cleared" from their holdings, though in 1849 there was rioting as 603 inhabitants from [[Sollas]] were forcefully cleared by [[Godfrey William Wentworth Bosville-Macdonald, 4th Baron Macdonald|Lord Macdonald]].<ref name="freeuk-ScottishClearances">[http://home.freeuk.com/easson1917/ScottishClearances.html History of Scotland The Highland Clearances] Retrieved on [[2007-10-16]]</ref><ref name="clannada"> In the incident the women of Sollas took large part in the rioting.<ref>[http://viscds.ca/sep02news.pdf Island Fling, September, 2002]. [http://viscds.ca Vancouver Island Scottish Country Dance Society]. Retrieved on [[2007-10-17]]</ref> As a detachment of Glasgow police officers advanced on the protesters, the Sollas men were said to have stood aside, but the women of Sollas stood up to the authorities, and pelted the police with rocks. The police then descended upon the Sollas folk and attacked them with their truncheons.<ref name="MacQuarrie-boston">MacQuarrie, Brian. "[http://graphics.boston.com/globe/magazine/2-25/featurestory1.shtml In search of Scottish roots]". ''[[Boston Globe]]'' Retrieved on [[2007-10-17]]</ref> In fact a Hebredian settlement in [[Cape Breton County]], Nova Scotia was originally called Sollas (now [http://maps.google.com/?&z=14&q=45.996389+-60.293889 Woodbine]).<ref name="Scotlandtrip2001">[http://museum.gov.ns.ca/hv/images/Scotlandtrip2001.pdf Turas Rannsachaidh dha 'n Albainn: Research Trip to Gaelic Scotland] Retrieved on [[2007-10-16]]</ref><ref>[http://www.johncardinal.com/ca/ns/c3.htm Places in Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia] Retrieved on [[2007-10-16]]</ref> North Uist surnames affected during the clearances were the MacAulays, MacCodrums, MacCuishs, MacKeigans, and MacDonalds.<ref name="globalgenealogy-LawsonII"/>
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:North Uist near Solas.jpg|Looking along the beach and [[machair]] of the [[Spit (landform)|spit]] Corran Aird a' Mhòrain.
Image:North Uist Satellite Map.png|[[Landsat]] image of North Uist
</gallery>
==Bibliography==
* ''Islands in the Sound: Wildlife in the Hebrides:'' by Alison Johnson. (Contains black and white drawings by John Busby). <ref> Detail taken from ''Islands in the Sound.........." Published by Victor Gollance ([[London]]) with a date of 1989 and with an ISBN 0 575 04640 6 </ref>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/balranald/index.asp Balranald Nature Reserve]
*[http://www.taigh-chearsabhagh.org/ Taigh Chearsabhagh]
*[http://www.isle-of-north-uist.co.uk/ Explore North Uist]
*[http://www.uistoutdoorcentre.co.uk/ Uist Outdoor Centre]
*[http://www.ampaipear.org.uk Am Paipear Community Newspaper]
{{hebrides}}
{{coor title dm|57|36|N|7|20|W|type:isle}}
[[Category:Islands of the Outer Hebrides]]
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