Bernera Riot facts for kids
The Bernera Riot happened in 1874 on the island of Great Bernera in Scotland. It was a stand against the unfair actions of landowners during a time called the Highland Clearances. Even though it's called a "riot," it wasn't a street fight. Instead, it was a big legal battle in Scottish courts. This event was important because it was the first time people successfully challenged powerful landowners in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It also helped start a bigger movement called the Crofters' War. Today, changes to land ownership laws in Scotland can be traced back to what happened during the Bernera Riot.
Where is Bernera?
Great Bernera (also known as Beàrnaraigh Mòr) is an island located in Loch Roag. It's found off the coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The island is quite close to Lewis. For a long time, there was no bridge connecting them. In fact, a bridge wasn't built until 1953, and only after the islanders threatened to use dynamite to create their own path! Back when the riot happened, Bernera was a community of "crofters." Crofters are people who rent and farm small pieces of land. Today, this way of life is becoming less common.
How the Trouble Started
For over a hundred years, many parts of the Scottish Highlands faced something called the Highland Clearances. This was a sad time when landowners forced many people off their land. While many songs and stories remember this difficult period, people rarely fought back strongly. Bernera was one of the first places where islanders stood up to the authorities. Another famous stand happened on the island of Skye, known as the Battle of the Braes.
A man named Sir James Matheson bought the Isle of Lewis and also took control of nearby Bernera. He hired a lawyer named Donald Munro to manage his estates. Munro was seen as a very harsh manager. His actions, like forcing people off their land, were naturally very unpopular. At that time, the crofters didn't have any legal right to stay on their land, and most couldn't read or write. This meant Munro had a lot of power to make very strict rules.
In 1850, the people of Bernera lost their summer grazing lands on mainland Lewis. These lands were taken to create a new area for hunting deer, called the Uig deer forest. On top of that, the islanders were forced to build stone walls (called dykes) at their own expense. These walls were meant to create a new boundary between their animals and the hunting estate. Over time, the hunting estate wanted even more land. In 1872, Munro announced that the Bernera people would lose even their smaller grazing areas. Their ancient rights to use these lands would disappear completely. The islanders had had enough and decided to fight back against this unfair treatment.
The "Riot" in Court
When the people of Bernera refused to give in to Munro's unfair demands, he sent officials to the island. These officials, called Sheriff Officers and Ground Officers, arrived with eviction notices for 58 families. An eviction notice is a legal paper telling people they must leave their homes. At first, when these notices arrived in the village of Breaclete, people were quietly shocked.
However, when the officials reached another village called Tobson, the islanders fought back. They threw clumps of earth at them. The Sheriff Officer even had his coat torn. He then threatened that if he had a gun, many Bernera mothers would be sad because their sons would be hurt. This confrontation led to a court case. The "riot" wasn't a big street fight, but a legal battle where the islanders stood up for their rights against the powerful landowner.
What Happened Next
The Bernera Riot was talked about in many Scottish newspapers and magazines that supported change in the years that followed.
Less than ten years later, in 1882, a similar event happened on Skye. It was called the "Battle of the Braes" (or Blàr a' Chumhaing in Scottish Gaelic). Crofters there refused to pay their rent and faced off against the Sheriff's Officer who came to evict them. They even made him burn the eviction papers! This led to about 50 police officers from Glasgow being sent to the area. They were met by an angry crowd of men, women, and children armed with whatever they could find.
These events, including the Bernera Riot, helped lead to a bigger movement called the Crofters' War. This "war" was not fought with weapons, but through protests and legal challenges. It eventually led to the creation of the Napier Commission, a group that looked into the problems faced by crofters. Their work resulted in important changes for crofters in Scotland, starting with a law passed in 1886 called the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886. This law gave crofters more rights and security over their land.
A Gaelic poet named Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn (John Smith) lived near Bernera on Lewis when the riot happened. He wrote a poem called Spiorad a' Charthannais (Spirit of Charity). In his poem, he spoke out against the unfair power of the landowners.
