History of St Kilda facts for kids

St Kilda is a group of islands far out in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Scotland. People lived there for over 2,000 years, starting in the Bronze Age. But we don't know much about their early history. The first written mention of the islands was in the late 1300s. A writer named John of Fordun called one island 'Irte,' saying it was "on the margins of the world."

The islands belonged to the MacLeods from Harris. A person called a steward collected payments from the islanders. In 1549, Donald Munro visited and wrote about the people. He said they were "simple poor people" who didn't know much about religion. The MacLeod's steward would visit once a year with a chaplain to baptise babies.

Because the islanders were so isolated, their beliefs mixed old traditions, like Druidism, with Christianity. This was true until a minister named John MacDonald arrived in 1822. For example, in 1764, a writer named Macauley said there were five old stone altars on Boreray, a smaller island near Hirta.

In 1697, the population was about 180 people. The steward would sometimes bring sick friends from nearby islands to St Kilda. They would recover their health by eating the island's rich, natural food.

Life Changes on St Kilda: 1700s and 1800s

In the 1700s, visiting ships brought diseases like cholera and smallpox. In 1727, so many people died that new families had to move from Harris to St Kilda. By 1758, the population grew to 88. It stayed around 100 until 1851, when 36 islanders moved to Australia. The island never fully recovered from this loss.

Religion's Impact on Island Life

Religion greatly changed life on St Kilda. An early missionary named Alexander Buchan visited in 1705. But organised religion didn't really take hold then. This changed when Rev John MacDonald arrived in 1822. He was very enthusiastic, preaching many long sermons. He visited often and raised money for the St Kildans. He was surprised by how little they knew about religion. The islanders liked him very much and were sad when he left in 1830.

His replacement was Rev Neil Mackenzie, a Church of Scotland minister. He lived on the island and made many improvements. He helped reorganise farming and rebuild the village. He also oversaw the building of a new church and a minister's house. With help from a school society, Mackenzie and his wife started formal education. They taught reading, writing, and maths. They also had a Sunday school for religious lessons.

Mackenzie left in 1844. He had done a lot of good. But the islanders had become very dependent on outside help. This became a problem when Rev John Mackay arrived in 1865. He was a minister from the new Free Church of Scotland. Mackay was very strict about religion. Many people believe he harmed the St Kildan way of life more than anyone else.

He made Sunday a day of strict religious services. Islanders had to attend three services, each lasting two to three hours. A visitor in 1875 wrote that Sunday was "a day of intolerable gloom." People had to walk to church with sad faces, looking at the ground. It was considered wrong to look around.

The huge amount of time spent in church started to affect daily life. Old women and children who made noise in church were lectured. They were warned about terrible punishments after death. Once, a relief ship arrived on a Saturday during a food shortage. But the minister said the islanders had to prepare for church on Sunday. Supplies were not unloaded until Monday. Children were not allowed to play games. They had to carry a bible everywhere. The St Kildans lived under Mackay's strict rules for 24 years.

Stac Lee, a tall sea stack near St Kilda.

Tourism's Influence

Tourism also changed St Kilda, but in a different way. In the 1800s, steamships started visiting Hirta. This allowed islanders to sell things like tweed cloth and bird's eggs for money. But it also made them feel like curiosities to the tourists. The boats also brought new diseases. One was tetanus infantum, which caused very high baby deaths. Up to 80% of babies died in the late 1800s. A sickness called the cnatan na gall, or boat-cough, became common.

By the early 1900s, formal schooling was normal. In 1906, the church was made bigger to include a schoolhouse. Children learned English as well as their native Gaelic. Better midwifery skills helped reduce childhood tetanus. There had been talk of leaving the island in 1875. But even with some food shortages and a flu outbreak in 1913, the population was stable. It was between 75 and 80 people. No one knew then that the island's long history of people living there would soon end.

World War One and St Kilda

Early in World War I, the Royal Navy built a signal station on Hirta. For the first time, St Kilda had daily communication with the mainland. On May 15, 1918, a German submarine arrived in Village Bay. After a warning, it started shelling the island. Seventy-two shells were fired. The wireless station was destroyed. The minister's house, church, and jetty storehouse were also damaged. But no one was killed.

One person who saw it said the submarine "only wanted Admiralty property." One lamb was killed. All the cattle ran across the island when they heard the shots. After this attack, a gun was placed overlooking Village Bay. But it was never used in a real fight.

More importantly for the islanders, the war brought regular contact with the outside world. A money-based economy slowly developed. These things made life easier but also made the islanders less self-reliant. These changes were big reasons why the island was left empty just over ten years later.

The Evacuation of St Kilda

Boreray, Stac Lee, and Stac an Armin (left) seen from Conachair, St Kilda.

There were many reasons why the islanders left. For centuries, the islands had little contact with the rest of the world. But tourism and the military during World War One showed the islanders other ways of life. They saw that they didn't have to suffer the hardships they were used to. Even with a small jetty built in 1902, the islands were still at the mercy of the weather. The government couldn't do much to help them. But later, they spent millions of pounds on radios and other things for the military base.

After World War One, most young men left the island. The population dropped from 73 in 1920 to 37 in 1928. Four men died from influenza in 1926. There were also several years of bad crops in the 1920s. The final blow came in January 1930. A young woman named Mary Gillies died from appendicitis.

On August 29, 1930, the last 36 islanders were moved to Morvern on the Scottish mainland. They had asked to leave.

It was a perfect day for the evacuation. The sun rose over a calm, sparkling sea. The impressive cliffs of Oiseval were warm. Following tradition, the islanders left an open Bible and a small pile of oats in each house. They locked all the doors. At 7 a.m., they boarded the Harebell ship. They were said to be cheerful during the move. But as the island faded from view, the deep connection to their home became real. The St Kildans began to cry.

In 1931, Lord Dumfries bought the islands. For the next 26 years, the island was quiet. Only a few St Kildan families returned for summer visits.

St Kilda's Military Role After Evacuation

The islands were completely empty during World War II. But three aircraft crashed there during that time. A Beaufighter plane crashed into Conachair mountain in June 1943. A year later, in June 1944, a Sunderland flying boat crashed at the head of Gleann Mor. There is a small plaque in the church for those who died in this accident. A Wellington bomber crashed on the south coast of Soay island in 1943. It wasn't until 1978 that anyone tried to investigate the wreck. Its exact identity is still not known. A Royal Canadian Air Force cap badge was found. This suggests it might have been a plane lost in September 1943.

In 1955, the British government decided to use St Kilda for a missile tracking range. This range was based in Benbecula, where tests are done. So, in 1957, St Kilda became permanently inhabited again. New military buildings and masts have been built. This includes the island's first pub, called the 'Puff Inn'. The Ministry of Defence rents St Kilda from the National Trust for Scotland. A small number of civilians still live on the main island of Hirta all year round. They work at the military base.