Hebrides

Hebrides, group of islands extending in an arc off the Atlantic (west) coast of Scotland. They are subdivided into two groups—the Inner Hebrides to the east and the Outer Hebrides to the west—which are separated from each other by channels called the Minch and the Little Minch. The Outer Hebrides are administered as the Western Isles council area. The northern Inner Hebrides lie within the Highland council area, and the southern Inner Hebrides are part of Argyll and Bute council area.

The Hebrides comprise more than 40 islands and innumerable barren islets, but only a few of those islands are inhabited. There has been considerable depopulation, especially in the Outer Hebrides during the 20th century, because of a lack of economic opportunities. The chief islands of the crescent-shaped chain of the Outer Hebrides are Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra. St. Kilda lies some 40 miles (65 km) northwest of the main chain. The main islands of the Inner Hebrides are Skye, the Small Isles (Canna, Sanday, Rhum, Eigg, and Muck), Tiree, Mull, Colonsay, Jura, Islay, and Coll.

The Hebrides are known for their unique natural features. The Cuillin Hills of Skye—reaching an elevation of 3,309 feet (1,009 metres)—are said to be the most spectacular massif in Britain. The small island of Rhum became a Nature Conservancy Research Centre in 1957, specializing in the study of the local geology, flora, and fauna. The wildlife of the Hebrides is particularly rich and includes red deer, wild goats, Highland cattle and ponies, and, on Soay Island, a primitive wild sheep.

The Hebrides’ Celtic inhabitants of the 1st millennium ce suffered from Viking raids after the 8th century and were eventually placed under Viking sovereignty until 1266. The fusion of Celts and Vikings produced a period of relatively high cultural and material well-being in the 11th and 12th centuries. The cessation of local wars and the increased cultivation of the potato as a food crop were instrumental in the subsequent population increase, which soon reached the limit of the subsistence economy. A period of social unrest ensued, and in the 19th century emigration from the Hebrides to Australia and Canada became common. The immigration of sheep farmers to the islands from the Scottish mainland—they paid high rents for large acreages of ground—caused the eviction of many small tenants, who resettled in coastal townships where they supplemented the produce of their small plots of land by fishing. In the 19th and 20th centuries the United Kingdom assumed a greater role in the islands’ administration. In 1886 an act of Parliament gave the crofters (tenant farmers) security and heritability of tenure. Later fair rents were established by a Crofters Commission.

The economy of the islands centres on crofting (tenant farming), weaving, and fishing . The grassy plains (machair) on the western coasts of some of the islands are the most fertile agricultural areas in the Hebrides, especially when fertilized with seaweed, the common local practice. Cattle raising and dairying are also practiced. Weaving and fishing are concentrated on the rocky infertile eastern coasts of the islands. The best-known textile enterprise is the manufacture of Harris tweed, which traditionally has provided a part-time occupation for the crofters. The manufacture of tweed in the Hebrides is historically of ancient origin. The wool was originally vegetable-dyed, hand-spun, and handwoven in the crofters’ own homes. Today, before in-home weaving takes place, the washing and dyeing of sheared wool as well as its blending and carding into embryonic yarn, along with the spinning and warping processes, occur in factories, to which the woven tweed returns for finishing and stamping. The whole process now takes place on Lewis and Harris. Herring fishing is important at Stornoway on Lewis. Tourism and the oil industry are also important economic engines. Pop. (2001) Lewis and Harris, 19,918; Barra, 1,078; North Uist, 1,320; South Uist, 1,818; Skye, 9,251; Islay, 3,997; Jura, 188; Colonsay, 113; Mull, 2,696; Tiree, 770; Coll, 164; (2011) Lewis and Harris, 21,031; Barra, 1,174; North Uist, 1,312; South Uist, 1,754; Skye, 10,013; Islay, 3,228; Jura, 196; Colonsay, 132; Mull, 2,819; Tiree, 653; Coll, 195.